Google has a position called the “Chief Happiness Officer,” a title that sounds pretty enticing to me. The man behind the title is Chade-Meng Tan, who was an engineer with Google when it was still a nimble start-up company. Over the years, he has learned a lot about working in a stressful, deadline-driven environment, and he shared some of his stress-management tips with Inc.
Although we aren’t Google engineers here at Communiqué PR, we think Tan’s tips are quite applicable for PR and marketing professionals. Managing projects, client demands and internal responsibilities is quite a feat, and stress is inevitable. However, what differentiates the stars from the rest of the pack is how that stress is dealt with.
It’s common knowledge that consistent, high levels of stress aren’t healthy. It can result in all sorts of problems, from decreased productivity, to bad attitudes, to insomnia, to other serious health problems, like high blood pressure. In a hectic, deadline-driven environment, it is important for PR professionals to learn how to properly manage stress to ensure they are doing what is best for clients and what is best for them.
Tan’s three tips for managing stress are:
- “Learn inner calm.” Tan believes that mindfulness is key to keeping calm. When you’re feeling stressed out, projects are piling up, reporters are calling and you are stuck in meetings all day, he recommends focused breathing and meditation when you can manage it. Regarding inner calm, he says, “The analogy is a deep ocean: The surface is choppy but the bottom is very calm. If you’re able to go deep inside, you can access that calmness and exist in a world where you can be calm and in action at the same time.”
- “Increase emotional resilience.” Tan states that emotions, like stress, result in physical reactions, like chest tightening, nausea and sweating. He recommends acknowledging those feelings and just letting them go, without allowing the symptoms themselves to spiral you farther down the path of stress. Rather than letting the feeling of stress break you down, just let it pass and try to tap into that inner calm. A good way to do this is to take a breather. Tap into whatever activity will calm you down, take a walk, a run or put your headphones in a jam out to your favorite song.
- “Develop the habit of wishing success to others.” It is easy to develop a sense of competition with your peers, but this does not correlate to happiness. Competition adds stress and pressure to your work – instead, you should be pleased for your coworkers’ successes and help them achieve success. This focus on the “greater good” helps you inspire those around you and allows you to celebrate achievements without beating yourself up or feeling resentful.
Even though the environment we work in is much different than life at Google, Tan’s tips for workplace calmness are certainly applicable for just about any industry. Another good resource for stress management is the book “Perfect Breathing” by Don Campbell and Al Lee, the book offers simple tips to relieve stress and anxiety. What are some other ways you manage stress while you are at work?