A recent blog post over at Life of an Architect got me thinking about how I deal with workplace stress. The blog post was about burnout and touched on methods keep it from happening.
I was wondering if we could start a discussion about how we all attempt to deal with workplace stress.
So how do you attempt to deal with workplace stress? Other than posting here. ;)
sameolddoctor
Apr 27, 22 11:23 am
Seeing that the "workplace" is my home these days (and hence working a lot more than usual), I try to bike as much as I an (shorter rides 2-3 times a week) and a long tour on the weekend. Just finished 300-mile April as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
This has helped thus far, but I feel the burnout is catching up with me these days, unexplained aches, sleeplessness etc are coming back...
tduds
Apr 27, 22 12:04 pm
In short: Drinking less, exercising more, sleeping better, and learning to say 'no'
Wood Guy
May 1, 22 10:25 am
That's been my approach as well. It's helping a lot. Especially learning to say "No, I can't do that."
Everyday Architect
Apr 27, 22 12:40 pm
I (sort of) wrote about this a while ago (can't believe it's been almost 9 years) while interning, but I think some of the same concepts apply. https://archinect.com/arch-ell...
I've learned sleep is a big thing for my stress relief.
I still get out on the bike as often as I can, but I've learned I need to be more consistent with it ... 3-4 shorter rides a week is better for me than one big one on the weekend that takes the same amount of time.
Setting boundaries has become much bigger while WFH. It's easy to let work stress take over home life so I've had to set better schedules and realize that I can put off things overnight and get to them in the morning rather than staying logged on later to get ahead of something or catch up on something (whatever the case may be).
One thing I'm missing right now is a good break from it all. I haven't taken a decent vacation in way too long. I've got the time accrued, I just need to take it.
OneLostArchitect
Apr 27, 22 5:18 pm
usually when I’m under stress i go take a 30 minute dump
Chad Miller
Apr 27, 22 6:28 pm
I got in trouble for doing that. Caused more stress.
RJ87
Apr 29, 22 11:34 am
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime. That's why I poop on company time.
Wood Guy
May 1, 22 10:26 am
Watch out for hemorrhoids. They cause stress too.
Stasis
Apr 27, 22 9:49 pm
As for me, I do few things.
Start a gratitude journal - Start writing about how you feel on that day, but write subsequent paragraphs with something that you are grateful for.. it could be small things.. Like, at least i have a job.. I can support for my family, my kids suck most of time but also great to have them, or I am not in Ukraine and going through what their people go through etc.. Being thankful and appreciating little wins distract me from zoning in on negatives...
Going off of number 1, I tried to watch inspirational books, audio books, or movies that conjure up gratitude in me. This is subjective and everyone reacts differently to movies, but I tend to watch people in extreme poverty and or those who find happiness in little things..
Taking a walk outside - Sometimes walking and running reset your mood for the day.
Starting a new diet - I cut away sugar and carbs (because I am a diabetic).. It really helps my mood swings..
Just try a new routine - any of the above, or anything.. I think introducing a new routine can break off tendency to dwell in your dark place..
sameolddoctor
Apr 28, 22 12:10 pm
I tried to cut off sugar and carbs, but then I have no energy to bike ... so that did not work. Eating healthy is a great stress reliever for sure though...
Wood Guy
May 1, 22 10:28 am
Sameold, if you reduce carbs enough to go into ketosis, you'll have more energy than ever, and no hunger pangs.
sameolddoctor
May 1, 22 12:19 pm
High cholesterol (from genetics) is not great for Keto...
Wood Guy
May 1, 22 3:05 pm
It can go either way. There is a lot of high cholesterol in my family but mine has held pretty steady on a keto diet. YMMV.
Chad Miller
May 3, 22 11:50 am
Being in a state of ketoacidosis can be very, very bad for liver and kidneys. It would be best to speak to your doctor before doing such a dietary change.
square.
May 3, 22 12:07 pm
i refuse to believe in any diet that says beans are not ok to eat
SneakyPete
May 9, 22 6:38 pm
Also your breath will likely get you the social distancing you need for covid safety.
Chad Miller
May 9, 22 6:56 pm
You should be wearing a mask anyways . . . :)
square.
Apr 28, 22 9:55 am
get organized...
axonapoplectic
Apr 28, 22 10:06 am
I started scheduling in lunch every day so people won’t schedule me for meetings during my lunch time. If there’s an all office meeting during lunch time I will take my actual lunch break after the meeting. And I never eat lunch at my desk. I also schedule in blocks of time to answer email and get actual work done - especially if I am on a deadline.
I stop work no later than 6pm no matter what. I very rarely break this rule.
I make sure to get enough sleep, exercise 6-7 days a week (run and strength work), and eat relatively healthy.
I also avoid driving as much as possible - I am lucky enough to live close enough to work to be able to bike or take transit. My bike route is mostly on separated paths and is pretty nice most of the time. I find driving in city traffic just makes me even more stressed and tired. Transit puts me in the best mood for work - I get in relaxed and mentally prepared.
przemula
Oct 20, 23 9:40 pm
Interesting take on taking public transit vs driving - nothing stressed me out more in my job than taking public transit to it.
When it's warm outside, I commute on my motorcycle or bicycle. When it rains or once it gets cold, I take so called Chicago 'L' and oh boy, I've seen some thrilling scenes out there - and I live in safe neighborhood, I can't imagine what people living in the ghetto have to go through.
And if I got stressed being 6'-3" male with extensive combat sports experience, I don't even want to think what females or smaller guys felt.
proto
Apr 28, 22 12:00 pm
1) define your work time as distinct & defined time...no letting it slide into personal time [this is really the biggest thing, imho]
2) for me personally, getting outside during personal time is essential for my brain health; when my heart rate goes up, my brain turns off & goes into primordial mode. Others may just want different brain engagement (social activity; non-arch brain activity: puzzling/taichi/learn portugese; cheer sports team; etc)
Archinect
Apr 28, 22 1:48 pm
Good topic! Here are some articles we've published looking at this common issue in the industry...
a lot of great suggestions here, but they rely on personal/individual decision making, which will help alleviate some of the stress, but is unlikely to change the source of it. if problems in the work place aren't addressed systemically, it will be left to you to mitigate what keeps getting thrown at you; burnout is a result of the widespread inability of individuals to do so.
Stress in the profession is by and large systemic coming from the top down. Some firms may be less stressful than others but all work in a system of low fees and rush schedules. People say to "care less" about your job to reduce stress but it's hard to do the bare minimum in an arch firm without being noticed. Might get away with it for a couple weeks than all of a sudden you out of a job.
atelier nobody
May 2, 22 6:57 pm
(I keed, I keed!) (Well, sort of...)
Wilma Buttfit
May 3, 22 11:31 am
I play Pac-Man.
G4tor
May 4, 22 2:20 pm
during work?
Chad Miller
May 4, 22 4:13 pm
I think tintt works for him / her self. ;)
Wilma Buttfit
May 10, 22 4:06 pm
Yes. My other stress-buster is dancing to disco. They don’t allow that in offices either.
Chad Miller
May 10, 22 4:33 pm
tintt - Your boss sounds like a big meanie. ;)
Wilma Buttfit
May 10, 22 5:43 pm
So mean. I get to have my dog at my feet. Work hours are M-W 9:30 to 2:00 and Thursdays 10-2 with occasional longer days. Paid lunch. Unlimited espresso.
atelier nobody
May 18, 22 12:38 pm
"Yes. My other stress-buster is dancing to disco. They don’t allow that in offices either."
I live in my noise-cancelling headphones at the office, and I often catch coworkers snickering when they see me rocking out in my seat. I wonder if they'd still snicker if they understood how much violence they are being spared...
kenchiku
May 9, 22 7:12 am
Lifting weights 3-4x per week
Meditating. Usually a 10min session in the evening. Sometimes I'll do one mid-day while just sitting at my desk at work. If you've never meditated before, it's pretty wild to see how hectic and distracting our minds are.
archanonymous
May 9, 22 2:47 pm
I quit my job because work is bullshit and this industry is a cesspool.
Highly recommend everyone here do the same.
Chad Miller
May 9, 22 2:58 pm
What job did you move to?
square.
May 10, 22 10:13 am
the suspense is killing me
Chad Miller
May 10, 22 10:33 am
Wait, is AA still allowed to post here is he / she isn't involved in architecture. ;)
Non Sequitur
May 10, 22 10:34 am
Chad, Jawknee is... so I don't think involvement in arch is a prereq.
Chad Miller
May 10, 22 10:40 am
I only pretend to be an architect while I'm at the firm. I'm not really an architect.
archanonymous
May 11, 22 11:09 am
a new job? haha no. I already told you guys I'm living in my van down by the river. Work is for suckers.
square.
May 11, 22 11:24 am
:')
Chad Miller
May 11, 22 11:54 am
Ah - so AA is just a bum leeching off society. ::I'm jealous::
atelier nobody
May 18, 22 12:37 pm
I was most of the way to zeroing out the last of my debt so I could do something like that...then I went to the dentist...sigh.
Chad Miller
May 18, 22 12:59 pm
I'll never be able to do that. We only have $100K in mortgage debt but I'm a Type 1 Diabetic so I need good health insurance.
:(
RJ87
May 18, 22 5:21 pm
Even the guy who lived in the van down by the river had a job.. he was a motivational speaker. Can't disrespect Matt Foley like that.
Chad Miller
May 18, 22 5:42 pm
.
whistler
May 10, 22 4:52 pm
just say no! very liberating!
Non Sequitur
May 10, 22 5:14 pm
I got to do that today. One of the partners came over looking to me to bail another staff’s project because they overestimated their abilities. Nope. I don’t have time.
whistler
May 10, 22 6:13 pm
Had two this morning, one was to resolve some homeowners red tag issue because he had been caught doing something illegal or without a permit. The other was for a renovation, to a renovation that was a phased build on a project that was halted due to construction problems...I had to say no three times before the project manager got that I wasn't interested in working on a dog's breakfast that had already come out the wrong end! haha.
Felt good to say no!
sameolddoctor
May 18, 22 5:45 pm
I feel I'm saying no to a lot of asinine requests from my superiors who have zero idea how shit gets done.
MDH-ARCH
May 10, 22 7:07 pm
What has helped me is to meditate in the morning, 10 minutes is all you need to clear your head. Work out a few days a week, throw some weights around. I've literally broken personal records on days where clients were driving me insane. Eating healthy, proper sleep, SAY NO and turn down everyone who you know will be a problem. I've found most of my biggest issues are from dealing with the wrong people.
Miyadaiku
May 16, 22 9:38 pm
A big part of dealing with stress is getting to the point where you really know your own personal stress threshold.
Whenever I feel that creeping up, I get up and walk; just walk. It's both meditative and gives me some nice mild exercise. Lather rinse repeat until I chill out enough to solve the problem giving me stress (yeah, sadly you generally have to eventually solve the problem....)
If I continually pass my personal stress threshold it's like getting injured trying to train my body; gains lost and time wasted.
Also, I try to increase competency. Usually the things that stress me out do so because.....I suck at them. Once I get better, I find those things aren't so stressful anymore.
Things outside of my control are well.....outside of my control. Someone else can stress over that.
Chad Miller
May 17, 22 11:08 am
Thanks for the insight!
Archi-Fartsy
Oct 13, 23 6:56 pm
Try and not get stressed in the first place by:
1 - Build a detailed / realistic schedule and work plan.
2 - Follow the work plan and only focus on the task at hand
3 - Communicate
4 - Set expectations
5 - Understand the appropriate level of detail / thought that needs to go into each aspect of your work.
6 - Do excellent work.
zonker
Oct 15, 23 7:41 pm
It's really about competence - the greater your proficiency, the less stress. Know your architecture and software - people get stressed when they are over their heads - don't be them - study on weekends - you did it in school - education is a continuing pursuit - it doesn't end on graduation day
allow extra time after normal work hours to work late on revisions and last minute stuff.
make sure you are working on the right things - if you misunderstand a BB Review markup and bark up the wrong tree, you have only yourself to blame when your PA/PM makes you revise it at 6pm on a Fridays night - no happy hour for you
also, expect to get Teams Messages at all hours - 12 midnight in San Francisco is 8am Zulu in London and they want you on the call
midlander
Oct 16, 23 10:17 am
in short, just work off the stress, and realize the real source of discomfort may be your own incompetence. i like the contrarianism of this advice.
sameolddoctor
Oct 16, 23 1:42 pm
You sound like one of the dumb Partners or PMs in my office. Fuck off.
Chad Miller
Oct 16, 23 1:50 pm
zonker - this is horrible advice.
Non Sequitur
Oct 16, 23 2:32 pm
Oh boy, this is some shitty advice.
Wilma Buttfit
Oct 16, 23 2:42 pm
Time away from work. Lots of time away. Some problems solve themselves if you ignore them and different scenery always helps jog solutions to design problems.
Chad Miller
Oct 16, 23 2:54 pm
This. Very little is worth sacrificing your free time. On a side note - I find some of my best solutions to troublesome design problems is when I take a break and not think about it. Typically this happens when I'm hiking, skiing, or driving. An idea will pop into my head. An 'ah ha' moment.
A recent blog post over at Life of an Architect got me thinking about how I deal with workplace stress. The blog post was about burnout and touched on methods keep it from happening.
I was wondering if we could start a discussion about how we all attempt to deal with workplace stress.
So how do you attempt to deal with workplace stress? Other than posting here. ;)
Seeing that the "workplace" is my home these days (and hence working a lot more than usual), I try to bike as much as I an (shorter rides 2-3 times a week) and a long tour on the weekend. Just finished 300-mile April as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
This has helped thus far, but I feel the burnout is catching up with me these days, unexplained aches, sleeplessness etc are coming back...
In short: Drinking less, exercising more, sleeping better, and learning to say 'no'
That's been my approach as well. It's helping a lot. Especially learning to say "No, I can't do that."
I (sort of) wrote about this a while ago (can't believe it's been almost 9 years) while interning, but I think some of the same concepts apply. https://archinect.com/arch-ell...
I've learned sleep is a big thing for my stress relief.
I still get out on the bike as often as I can, but I've learned I need to be more consistent with it ... 3-4 shorter rides a week is better for me than one big one on the weekend that takes the same amount of time.
Setting boundaries has become much bigger while WFH. It's easy to let work stress take over home life so I've had to set better schedules and realize that I can put off things overnight and get to them in the morning rather than staying logged on later to get ahead of something or catch up on something (whatever the case may be).
One thing I'm missing right now is a good break from it all. I haven't taken a decent vacation in way too long. I've got the time accrued, I just need to take it.
usually when I’m under stress i go take a 30 minute dump
I got in trouble for doing that. Caused more stress.
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime. That's why I poop on company time.
Watch out for hemorrhoids. They cause stress too.
As for me, I do few things.
I tried to cut off sugar and carbs, but then I have no energy to bike ... so that did not work. Eating healthy is a great stress reliever for sure though...
Sameold, if you reduce carbs enough to go into ketosis, you'll have more energy than ever, and no hunger pangs.
High cholesterol (from genetics) is not great for Keto...
It can go either way. There is a lot of high cholesterol in my family but mine has held pretty steady on a keto diet. YMMV.
Being in a state of ketoacidosis can be very, very bad for liver and kidneys. It would be best to speak to your doctor before doing such a dietary change.
i refuse to believe in any diet that says beans are not ok to eat
Also your breath will likely get you the social distancing you need for covid safety.
You should be wearing a mask anyways . . . :)
get organized...
I started scheduling in lunch every day so people won’t schedule me for meetings during my lunch time. If there’s an all office meeting during lunch time I will take my actual lunch break after the meeting. And I never eat lunch at my desk. I also schedule in blocks of time to answer email and get actual work done - especially if I am on a deadline.
I stop work no later than 6pm no matter what. I very rarely break this rule.
I make sure to get enough sleep, exercise 6-7 days a week (run and strength work), and eat relatively healthy.
I also avoid driving as much as possible - I am lucky enough to live close enough to work to be able to bike or take transit. My bike route is mostly on separated paths and is pretty nice most of the time. I find driving in city traffic just makes me even more stressed and tired. Transit puts me in the best mood for work - I get in relaxed and mentally prepared.
Interesting take on taking public transit vs driving - nothing stressed me out more in my job than taking public transit to it.
When it's warm outside, I commute on my motorcycle or bicycle. When it rains or once it gets cold, I take so called Chicago 'L' and oh boy, I've seen some thrilling scenes out there - and I live in safe neighborhood, I can't imagine what people living in the ghetto have to go through.
And if I got stressed being 6'-3" male with extensive combat sports experience, I don't even want to think what females or smaller guys felt.
1) define your work time as distinct & defined time...no letting it slide into personal time [this is really the biggest thing, imho]
2) for me personally, getting outside during personal time is essential for my brain health; when my heart rate goes up, my brain turns off & goes into primordial mode. Others may just want different brain engagement (social activity; non-arch brain activity: puzzling/taichi/learn portugese; cheer sports team; etc)
Good topic! Here are some articles we've published looking at this common issue in the industry...
Burnout, and the Architecture Work Culture
Burnout, Fatigue and the Architecture Workplace
How Overwork and Anxiety Led Architect Ben Channon to Focus on Designing for Happiness
Archinect Sessions Episode 121: Mental Health in Architecture
Working With Stressed Coworkers During COVID-19
The Importance of Physical Fitness in Mental Performance
Screen/Print #36: Harvard Design Magazine's "Well, Well, Well"
Have a life outside of work!
a lot of great suggestions here, but they rely on personal/individual decision making, which will help alleviate some of the stress, but is unlikely to change the source of it. if problems in the work place aren't addressed systemically, it will be left to you to mitigate what keeps getting thrown at you; burnout is a result of the widespread inability of individuals to do so.
hence, time to get organized.
Stress in the profession is by and large systemic coming from the top down. Some firms may be less stressful than others but all work in a system of low fees and rush schedules. People say to "care less" about your job to reduce stress but it's hard to do the bare minimum in an arch firm without being noticed. Might get away with it for a couple weeks than all of a sudden you out of a job.
(I keed, I keed!) (Well, sort of...)
I play Pac-Man.
during work?
I think tintt works for him / her self. ;)
Yes. My other stress-buster is dancing to disco. They don’t allow that in offices either.
tintt - Your boss sounds like a big meanie. ;)
So mean. I get to have my dog at my feet. Work hours are M-W 9:30 to 2:00 and Thursdays 10-2 with occasional longer days. Paid lunch. Unlimited espresso.
"Yes. My other stress-buster is dancing to disco. They don’t allow that in offices either."
I live in my noise-cancelling headphones at the office, and I often catch coworkers snickering when they see me rocking out in my seat. I wonder if they'd still snicker if they understood how much violence they are being spared...
Lifting weights 3-4x per week
Meditating. Usually a 10min session in the evening. Sometimes I'll do one mid-day while just sitting at my desk at work. If you've never meditated before, it's pretty wild to see how hectic and distracting our minds are.
I quit my job because work is bullshit and this industry is a cesspool.
Highly recommend everyone here do the same.
What job did you move to?
the suspense is killing me
Wait, is AA still allowed to post here is he / she isn't involved in architecture. ;)
Chad, Jawknee is... so I don't think involvement in arch is a prereq.
I only pretend to be an architect while I'm at the firm. I'm not really an architect.
a new job? haha no. I already told you guys I'm living in my van down by the river. Work is for suckers.
:')
Ah - so AA is just a bum leeching off society. ::I'm jealous::
I was most of the way to zeroing out the last of my debt so I could do something like that...then I went to the dentist...sigh.
I'll never be able to do that. We only have $100K in mortgage debt but I'm a Type 1 Diabetic so I need good health insurance. :(
Even the guy who lived in the van down by the river had a job.. he was a motivational speaker. Can't disrespect Matt Foley like that.
.
just say no! very liberating!
I got to do that today. One of the partners came over looking to me to bail another staff’s project because they overestimated their abilities. Nope. I don’t have time.
Had two this morning, one was to resolve some homeowners red tag issue because he had been caught doing something illegal or without a permit. The other was for a renovation, to a renovation that was a phased build on a project that was halted due to construction problems...I had to say no three times before the project manager got that I wasn't interested in working on a dog's breakfast that had already come out the wrong end! haha.
Felt good to say no!
I feel I'm saying no to a lot of asinine requests from my superiors who have zero idea how shit gets done.
What has helped me is to meditate in the morning, 10 minutes is all you need to clear your head. Work out a few days a week, throw some weights around. I've literally broken personal records on days where clients were driving me insane. Eating healthy, proper sleep, SAY NO and turn down everyone who you know will be a problem. I've found most of my biggest issues are from dealing with the wrong people.
A big part of dealing with stress is getting to the point where you really know your own personal stress threshold.
Whenever I feel that creeping up, I get up and walk; just walk. It's both meditative and gives me some nice mild exercise. Lather rinse repeat until I chill out enough to solve the problem giving me stress (yeah, sadly you generally have to eventually solve the problem....)
If I continually pass my personal stress threshold it's like getting injured trying to train my body; gains lost and time wasted.
Also, I try to increase competency. Usually the things that stress me out do so because.....I suck at them. Once I get better, I find those things aren't so stressful anymore.
Things outside of my control are well.....outside of my control. Someone else can stress over that.
Thanks for the insight!
Try and not get stressed in the first place by:
1 - Build a detailed / realistic schedule and work plan.
2 - Follow the work plan and only focus on the task at hand
3 - Communicate
4 - Set expectations
5 - Understand the appropriate level of detail / thought that needs to go into each aspect of your work.
6 - Do excellent work.
It's really about competence - the greater your proficiency, the less stress. Know your architecture and software - people get stressed when they are over their heads - don't be them - study on weekends - you did it in school - education is a continuing pursuit - it doesn't end on graduation day
allow extra time after normal work hours to work late on revisions and last minute stuff.
make sure you are working on the right things - if you misunderstand a BB Review markup and bark up the wrong tree, you have only yourself to blame when your PA/PM makes you revise it at 6pm on a Fridays night - no happy hour for you
also, expect to get Teams Messages at all hours - 12 midnight in San Francisco is 8am Zulu in London and they want you on the call
in short, just work off the stress, and realize the real source of discomfort may be your own incompetence. i like the contrarianism of this advice.
You sound like one of the dumb Partners or PMs in my office. Fuck off.
zonker - this is horrible advice.
Oh boy, this is some shitty advice.
Time away from work. Lots of time away. Some problems solve themselves if you ignore them and different scenery always helps jog solutions to design problems.
This. Very little is worth sacrificing your free time. On a side note - I find some of my best solutions to troublesome design problems is when I take a break and not think about it. Typically this happens when I'm hiking, skiing, or driving. An idea will pop into my head. An 'ah ha' moment.