How to Remove Stress at Work

Picture this, 3,500 8th graders descend upon an event center. The energy. The excitement. The hormones.

This group is at a true crossroads between childhood and adulthood. They are packed with nervous, goofy excitement. They don’t know a ton about their own personal identity, but they’re definitely out to impress each other.

This group was unlike any the Prophit Co. team had worked with before and they had to pivot to speak the preteen’s language during a recent expo.

The experience made me think. So much of our lives are dependent on communication—actually, a really significant chunk. When you get up in the morning, you’re talking with your spouse or kids, when you get to work you’re talking with co-workers or customers, when you sit down at your desk you may be emailing, texting, tagging or calling people all day. You’re having in-person and virtual meetings while talking and reading presentations. According to a study by Klemmer & Snyder in the Journal of Communication, “50%–80% of the workday is spent in communicating, two-thirds of that in talking.” I’d bargain that it’s closer to 90%.

And because we’re all flawed as human beings, we leave information out. We make assumptions that others see the full picture. We place pressure on others to meet our expectations. It’s easy to see why this creates stress in the workplace. It’s not just heavy workload. It really comes down to how we communicate with others.

Good news: you can de-stress by sharpening your communication skills. In fact, we have a whole curriculum around it that we teach leaders across the globe.

Discover the key to treating others with dignity and breaking down the communication roadblocks that are holding you back. You will begin to have powerful, impactful conversations that will make life run more smoothly.

JOE KIEDINGER

ACTION PLAN: Our Interpersonal Communication training courses will get your team on the right track. Or, for some added delight, take your learning on the road with a Leadership Adventure!