Feeling Stressed or Unhappy at Work

Everyone faces stress from time to time due to issues in their personal or professional lives. It’s vital to maintain a balance between the two and communication is key to sort out most issues. There could be some ethical dilemmas at work that are bothering you. Or, you could have been asked to travel for work and you are not familiar with the new work culture or language.

There could be a variety of issues that might be stressing you out and taking a toll on your well-being. In such times, it is essential to inform your boss on what’s bothering you. The way we approach our superiors in times of crisis matters as well. Read on to pick some points you need to keep in mind before having this sort of discussion.

Point#1: Block some time on your manager’s calendar in advance.

Plan and schedule a meeting in advance with your manager. This allows them to know what is ahead instead of suddenly being taken off-guard. By scheduling a meeting, you will have their full attention. It’s a bad idea to hold them back when they are going out to attend a meeting. They won’t have enough time to listen to the issue you want to discuss and help you out.

Point#2: Prepare what you are going to say

Take some time to note down what is bothering you and to prepare the context of the meeting. When you are upset or stressed, it’s easy to get emotional and say things that you might regret later. Moreover, preparing the content in advance allows you to ponder over all points you want to cover.

Point#3: Your manager is a human too!

It’s quite likely that your manager went through similar work issues and has experience on how to overcome them. Don’t overthink or over complicate the issue at hand. Speak to your manager in a transparent manner and you will get some advice on how to deal with the situation. Now that your manager is aware of the situation, he/she can help you by taking care of external parameters that he/she can control.

For example, if you are facing discrimination from your team then he/she can help you by providing strict guidelines and regular team monitoring to check that all is well.

Point#4: Find a solution to your problem

Before leaving the meeting make sure that you have discussed the possible ways to resolve your issues at work. For example, if you approached your manager because you felt that your performance review was not reflective of your performance, make sure to discuss and take notes of what the expectations from you were and ask for specific goals that need to be achieved in order for you to get a better review and that next promotion.

Take the suggestions and criticisms from your manager in a positive light and understand how you can apply these take away points to resolve your issues. Communicate to your manager on how you plan to put his/her suggestions into action.

Through this discussion you have brought to light issues bothering you that will allow your manager to understand your perspective. You have also taken a proper proactive action to initiate a conversation that looks at resolving these issues, which shows maturity to your superiors at work, and this effort from your end will surely be appreciated.