It’s a trying time for everyone. The price of essential commodities keep going up, but salaries are not increasing at the same rate to help everyone live comfortably. You or someone you know might be working two or more jobs to make ends meet. With all these things considered, it’s essential to care for your well-being and to avoid neglecting your personal needs.
What about other people? Is your plate so full that you can’t help anyone else?
Redirecting Stress at Work
They say if you follow your passion, work will become play. However, your passion might not be enough to cover your basic expenses, which makes that idea impractical in today’s world. The idea that you’re doing something you hate adds to the stress of the actual job itself. However, your mindset toward work can be changed to lower your stress levels. For example, if you’re going through scalp pigmentation training or learning about hairstyling, think about the help you can offer others. Anyone who’s ever been insecure about their hair (or lack thereof) will see an improvement in their confidence because you are doing the kind of job that can help them. If you think of your job’s value to other people, you’ll be grateful for the opportunity to work in this industry.
Sharing the Burden
No job is easy. Executive roles and menial labor can both be taxing mentally and physically. They’re even harder to tackle if you don’t have friends at work. This isn’t just because your friends can help with tasks you might not have time for; friends at work can act as a confidante you can turn to when things get too much. From the very first day you spent at school, you are expected to make friends. This doesn’t change now that you’re an adult and working in an office. Friends are there to share your burden, and this reduces work-related stress significantly to that point that it can even prevent someone from leaving the company. It goes both ways: if you can reach out to other people, you’re sharing your burdens with them, and you’re also sharing their burdens. This means instead of just stressing about work, you’re offering to be someone’s shoulder to cry on, giving you a purpose in the workplace aside from doing the rote tasks you’ve been assigned.
Volunteering After Work
Of course, work is still mostly for work, and the amount of time you spend helping friends should not exceed the amount of time you use to complete your tasks. Some days, it might be all work and rarely any communication with work friends. Still, this doesn’t mean you should live for work. After your shift is done, what you do with your time can also help manage your stress levels. Volunteering at homeless shelters or using your free time to dog sit can be rewarding in their own way. Instead of going home and just wallowing in the stress you accumulated the whole day, you can find these small acts of kindness that will make your life feel fuller and more meaningful.
You live a happier life, no matter how stressful your job, if you have a purpose. And that purpose could be helping other people.
