Humor Combats Work Stress – Humor Health News

Here’s a great story I ran across about how humor is being used to combat stress at the work place. In this case, its the stressful work environment of a supermarket.

By Liliana Castillo
Link To Original Article

Randy Gant uses humor to keep stress at bay for himself and his employees.

Gant is one of the store managers of S&S Supermarket in Clovis. He said in order to keep stress levels low, you’ve got to laugh.

“We kid around a little bit to keep it light,” Gant said. “It helps you be buoyant and not to let the stress chew you up.”

Gant supervises about 25 employees. Along with jokes, Gant also said his staff members and supervisors talk to each other often.

“We have meetings, we talk a lot,” he said. “It helps release stress. We have one-on-one meetings where we can talk things out and it goes away.”

Gant’s one-on-one meetings, dubbed the three-minute mile, allows his employees to be honest with him about what issues are causing stress for them at work.

Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury, according to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

NIOSH sites that the concept of job stress is often confused with challenge, but these concepts are not the same. Challenge energizes employees psychologically and physically, and it motivates them to learn new skills and master their jobs. When a challenge is met, employees feel relaxed and satisfied. Thus, challenge is an important ingredient for healthy and productive work.

Dr. James Sawyer, a family physician at Plains Regional Medical Center, not only works in a stressful field, but also deals with people in stressful situations.

He said that many people deal with stress in the wrong way.

“Some people smoke or overeat,” he said. “It’s not really helping.”

Healthy ways Sawyer suggested to help with stress are alternative medicine such as tai chi or transcendental meditation.

But he also said dealing with stress doesn’t have to be complicated.

“Just out walking your dog will help reduce stress,” Sawyer said.

He said being around pets relieves stress.

“They take you out of your private environment for a while,” Sawyer said. “Getting away from a problem is good. It let’s you stand back objectively and see how it should be dealt with.”

Sarah Leos helps ward off stress for her clients.

As a massage therapist in Clovis, Leos said she helps her clients relax, which experts say is the best way to relieve stress.

“Whenever I start, you can feel that they are tight and then they release,” Leos said.

She said that massages work against stress by lowering cortisol levels in the body. Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone” because it is involved in response to stress.

The link between stress and heart-related problems has been widely studied, and researchers say that mental stress increases the body’s demand for oxygen by raising blood pressure and heart rate, according to WebMD.

Stress can also make healthy people more vulnerable to sickness by weakening the immune system and making it easier to catch a cold or other contagious illness, according to the site.

Tips to handle stress at work
• Resist perfectionism — Employees put undue stress on themselves by trying to do everything perfectly. No project, situation or decision is ever perfect.
• Clean up your act — If you’re always running late, set your clocks and watches fast and give yourself extra time. If your desk is a mess, file and throw away the clutter; just knowing where everything is saves time and cuts stress.
• Flip your negative thinking — If you see the downside of every situation and interaction, you’ll find yourself drained of energy and motivation. Try to think positively about your work, avoid negative-thinking co-workers, and pat yourself on the back about small accomplishments, even if no one else does.
• Get time away — If you feel stress building, take a break. Walk away from the situation. Take a stroll around the block, sit on a park bench, or spend a few minutes meditating. Exercise does wonders for the psyche. But even just finding a quiet place and listening to your iPod can reduce stress.
• Talk it out — Sometimes the best stress-reducer is simply sharing your stress with someone close to you. The act of talking it out — and getting support and empathy from someone else — is often an excellent way of blowing off steam and reducing stress.
• Cultivate allies at work — Just knowing you have one or more co-workers who are willing to assist you in times of stress will reduce your stress level. Just remember to reciprocate and help them when they are in need.
• Find humor in the situation — When you — or the people around you — start taking things too seriously, find a way to break through with laughter. Share a joke or funny story.