Wednesday 3 November 2010

Managing Stress - Part One

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development time off through stress has increased, with the recession blamed for elevated stress levels.

Factors such as extra workload, worries about company reorganisations and domestic problems have led to higher levels of anxiety and depression, employers reported.
The research also found that more employees were struggling into work even when they were ill, because of concerns about losing their jobs.

But how do you manage stress & strain if you cannot take a day off? As a business owners or entrepreneurs it can be a lonely existence where no one is available to share the strain of your business struggle. As Julie Meyer recently said, in an interview with StartupTV, running your own business is not glamorous but requires you to be 'obsessed and addicted' to succeed in order to continue when times are hard. Such obsession can be overwhelming for anyone.

Business solutions, like The Virtual Office, can relieve some of the immediate pressure by providing administrative support and managing your telephone calls allowing you to get your head down and finish projects or to take a well deserved day (or two) holiday.


Although some find it hard to justify such as service, for less than the cost of a sandwich you can get some R&R making you more productive and more focused when you return.

There are also many online tools and communities available to help entrepreneurs feel less isolated such as Enterprise Nation and UK Business Forums. However you cannot underestimate the importance of networking groups such as Sister Snog and Business Junction for sharing experiences and building relationships with like-minded individuals. Discussing your business situation or just having a chat with people who are in the same boat with the similar worries can be reassuring.

To quote Julie Meyer, there are lots of 'other people climbing the mountain'.


Let's help each other to the summit.

No comments:

Post a Comment