Are You Feeling Stressed at Work? Try Learning Something New!

One of the best ways to deal with work stress is the one you've never tried. All you need is a little routine self-attention in the form of learning.

Common ways to cope with stress

Before we start, here are several methods to deal with work stress that are not effective. 

1. Juggernaut approach

This method relies on you to power through your workday until you finish your job and you're not supposed to stop when you're feeling tired. This method takes its toll on your work quality and mental health. In the long run, your work will become sloppier, and you'll end up tired every day.

2. Simple avoidance

This method says you have to run away from everything by taking the time out and disconnecting from work. Yes, you will be calm but only for a while as you're just postponing the inevitable pile of unfinished work. 

Learning can be a good way to escape from work stress.

How you can reduce stress by learning 

According to the Harvard Business Review, people who participate in learning activities at work can avoid stress and improve their mental health. 

Learning here means:

• Developing new skills
• Gaining fresh knowledge
• Pursuing challenges that require creativity and innovation

Before you can begin, you will need to develop two crucial elements:

1. Instrumental resources: Learning can give the knowledge required to solve problems. You can also use new skills to solve work issues in the future.
2. Psychological resources: from a mental health perspective, learning new skills makes us feel happy; we have faith in our competency, and during stressful times we're reminded of how we can develop ourselves.

Can you make learning at work a priority?

These are the steps to start learning at work and make it a habit:

1. Take on more responsibilities

Wait, why do you need more work if you want to learn new things? By taking on more responsibility, it will help you to deal with stress. You can expand your existing skills or learn from other departments. 

Of course, you're not going to start doing accounting when you're in the creative department. Here are a few suggestions to begin learning new things:

1. See how other departments work on their processes.
2. Try to understand the quarterly report of your company.

2. See stress as something positive

It's easier said than done when it comes to changing your attitude to stress, but just a little shift in mindset can help you to reduce its harmful effects. When you encounter a problem, see it as a chance to learn instead of panicking. 

3. The learning activity is a form of 'work break'.

You don't want this learning activity to be a part of your work, because nobody likes extra work. Instead, see learning as a break. If you see learning in the same way you would a coffee break, you will find learning relaxing and enjoyable. 

There is always someone out there who's always willing to lend a hand and impart their knowledge.

4. Find others to help you.

You can always find a colleague to help you with your problems. After all, two is better than one. They have ideas that will help you see things from a different perspective. You will also get to learn from their experiences and find out there are other ways to solve your problem.

Learning is a form of self-development, it is crucial to long-term growth and happiness, and we need to start treating it as such. The new skills you learn during work will help you in the future.