Embrace Your Achievements, Find a Support Network, and Take Time for Yourself to Reduce Stress from Work  

Women often place an enormous amount of pressure on themselves while trying to successfully balance home, life and career. They also often play many roles in life, and each role requires a different set of skills and focus. Playing all of these different parts demands a constant switch of energy and emotional strength.

Examples of these myriad functions: being a caring friend who calls to check in when her friend’s dog is sick; being a supportive wife and mother who asks her family how their day went, then actually listening and engaging; taking an aging parent to a doctor appointment in order to make sure s/he knows what medication to take; and coordinating child care for early and late night meetings or business trips.

“Sometimes it feels like I am juggling so many things,” says Danielle, a 42-year old working mother of three young girls, “and if I stop and take a moment for myself, one of those balls will drop.”  With so much pressure to strike the perfect balance between home, life and career, it’s not surprising that women often find themselves overwhelmed. Which means it’s extremely important that women take time for themselves, find a network of peers to support them, and revel in their accomplishments at work, in life and at home.

Take Time to Re-Charge, and Let Tech Be Your Friend

The desire to be successful at work is one of many factors that can take a toll on a woman’s health and well-being.  In a study done by the Families and Work Institute, it was found that nearly 50% of American women feel they don’t have enough free time, which can lead to feeling stressed in the workplace.  Studies also show that strain in the workplace is more commonly reported by women (37 percent of women versus 33 men).

Additionally, women are less likely to feel there are enough opportunities for internal career advancement (35 percent of women versus 43 percent of men) and to report feeling less valued by their employer than men (48 percent of women versus 54 percent of men). With stress being a major factor in developing depression, it isn’t surprising that women are twice as likely as men to suffer from depression during their lifetime.

There are many ways to relieve the stress brought on by working, and lots of them require as little as fifteen minutes. Every person will likely find that something different works for them: for instance, mindful exercise like yoga, Pilates and running encourages you to place focus on specific breathing techniques which can then have a calming effect.

Or you may find that the practice of meditation is helpful. There are now many smartphone apps available that offer a variety of meditation for different environments and situational needs, even providing on-the-go guided meditation you can do during your workday. Some of these apps are community-based,  so you can find tips from others who are learning how meditation best fits into their lives.

Schedule Time with your Own Cheering Section

Experiencing your own successes can be difficult under the weight of workplace stress, and women may set aside their personal and professional goals in an attempt to keep things running. Creating space for yourself can feel awkward or selfish if you are used to sacrificing your time for others. However, making time to nurture self is an important part of maintaining a healthy balance in your life, your family, and your career.

Having a support system to help you keep sight of your goals can also be particularly helpful in combatting stress. Women can be an incredible source of strength and motivation for each other, as well as a resource that ensures you have the right support to work towards professional and personal goals.

For example: Paula, a working mom of two, describes a tactic she and several of her coworkers/friends implemented to help reenergize around their work and personal lives. “Several coworkers and I started a Quarter Club, that meets up every three months – it’s a group of professional women who all met originally through work, and wanted to find a way to help each other identify, track and achieve our professional and personal goals.”

The group was originally established via email with the expectation that each person would come to the first meeting with a set of goals they hoped to achieve.  The objectives could be personal, professional or a mix of both.  Paula explains that they meet and use the time to review these aims, as well as the progress made since the last meeting. “Then we outline any additional goals or new actions we want to take over the next three months.”

Each person in the group takes a turn being the coordinator for that quarter’s event, using a Doodle invite to find a day and time when the majority of people are available. Then, a fun venue – usually a local restaurant — is selected so that the meeting includes a social aspect that allows the group to catch up and enjoy each other’s company, as well as to spend time discussing the progress made on their objectives.

This social atmosphere also serves to help them relax and shake off any guilty feelings they may have if they weren’t able to achieve all of their planned tasks for a quarter.  And the other members of the group are fully supportive and understanding about the day-to-day realities that can impact the best-laid plans. “I never feel like I’m being judged if I didn’t finish something I had on my goals list. In fact, I love being able to hear suggestions or adjustments I could make to take any of that pressure off, and make it seem even more attainable,” Paula continues.

The critical element in the example above is that the group has developed a method to hold each other accountable in a way that relieves, rather than exacerbates, stress.  Having the support of other people, especially other women dealing with similar challenges, can be an incredible source of strength.

So take a look at your network of friends and coworkers — you may find that you know other women who would benefit from an organized group, and appreciate the opportunity to work together towards to become helpful, ongoing advocates for each other’s success.