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5 Signs Of Stress At Work

What are the signs of stress at work?

Mood swings
Becoming withdrawn
Less motivation, initiative, and creativity
Headaches and fatigue
Skin problems

Almost all employees work hard at their job. At their best, they can do what they’re being paid to do really well. But as the stress levels go up, some employees start performing below what they’re capable of. And it’s usually those who don’t detect the signs of stress at work that get affected badly.

Sometimes, we got so engrossed in our work that we don’t notice how much it’s already affecting our bodies, our minds, the output that we produce, and even our relationships. That’s why we should know the signs of too much stress so we can address them properly.

Here, we talk about some signs that you should look out for at work to know if you’re getting way too stressed. Keep reading to learn more!

Mood Swings

Have you had to deal with an irate coworker? Cut them some slack. Maybe they’re experiencing more stress than they can take. One of the biggest signs of stress at work is if they start having mood swings even if they normally don’t.

Stress can easily overwhelm us, and it could translate to being irritable or snapping at people. You could also become too emotional. Do you become tearful at small things? Do you suddenly get aggressive? Maybe it’s a sign of excessive stress. This not only affects productivity, but also the morale of the rest of the team, so it’s best to address this problem right away and take some time off.

Becoming Withdrawn

In addition to the occasional mood swing, you might find yourself being withdrawn when you’re too stressed. Everything becomes too tiring and even interacting with your teammates could become too much for you. When was the last time you chatted casually with a coworker? Have you recently turned down anyone who tried to start a conversation with you? Try checking yourself and assess if the stress is getting to you.

Less Motivation, Initiative, and Creativity

The double-edged sword of stress will also affect how much you want to work. As mentioned earlier, it can affect the amount and quality of your work, no matter how competent you are. If you don’t handle stress well, you could notice that you no longer enjoy what you are doing or that everything seems monotonous.

Headaches and Fatigue

Stress can definitely affect our physical health in more ways than we realize. Getting too stressed at work could lead to headaches, sometimes even migraines. If you’ve been popping a painkiller pill for your headache a bit too often recently, it could be caused by stress.

Excessive levels of stress would also leave you feeling tired all of the time, especially if you’re losing sleep because of work.

Skin Problems

Because of stress, your skin could develop disorders. Developing an acne breakout because of stress is more common than you think. The problem with this is it could affect your self-esteem as well, pushing you down the negative spiral even more. To avoid getting these disorders, try keeping yourself healthy and managing your stress so it doesn’t affect you too badly.

Key Takeaway

With all these signs of stress at work, you would be surprised when you experience them but don’t notice them. They creep up at you and you’ll see in hindsight that it should have been obvious. Still, being aware of the signs and being vigilant towards yourself helps in preventing any worse effects.

Sometimes, a change of setting is all we need to do our work without external stresses. That’s why Workplays, a co-working space, aims to create an environment that’s conducive to working. We cater to freelancers, startups, small businesses, and anyone else who needs a new place to work. Read more about our pandemic protocols and answers to frequently asked questions here, or contact us for any inquiries!

How to Socialize in Coworking Spaces

What are the different ways to socialize in coworking spaces?

Connect with them after work
Be concise
Focus on optimism
Offer your time

Talking with other people seems to be enjoyed by most of us. Communication is done by two or more people who socially connect if they want to discuss a topic that they both want to know more about. However, there are a lot of challenges to face when socializing with others, especially when there’s a good number of them. Can we keep up with their knowledge of the subject matter? How do we keep the conversation going? How can I effectively communicate what I’m thinking to the person I’m socializing with? Talking for a long period with someone else is a form of art that most people nowadays find difficult to do because of the influence that technology has brought to our lives.

Socializing in coworking spaces is very important. No matter what language or dialect you speak, we cannot deny the fact that we always have to communicate with one another because it is a way of establishing connections with other people. You can start with socializing by getting their attention by asking them a question or their insights about a certain topic so that a relationship can be made between the two of you. Without further ado, here are the different ways to help you have better communication skills so that socializing in coworking spaces will be a piece of cake.

Connect With Them After Work

If you decide to do this, you will be able to establish a deeper and stronger relationship with your fellow freelancer and this contributes to the growth of your career since both of you will be tackling various topics outside of your field. You have the chance to know more about their personal lives when you try to socialize with them outside of the professional context. Try to ask questions about what they like to do in their spare time, their hobbies, or anything that both of you are interested in like baking or football. You will not only be establishing a connection with them but, hopefully, you’ll also be able to establish a friendship with them which goes beyond the boundary of just acquaintances.

Be concise

For any occasion that you go to with your coworker, we highly suggest making the conversation shorter and concise so that they do not get tired of what you are talking about. If you say a lot of repetitive and hifalutin words, your listener will not be interested in the conversation anymore. Make sure to control the number of words that you say and be more brief and clear in the best way that you can. Aside from the fact that it will make your listener interested, they will most probably ask for more stories from you. This also enables you to save more time and make being direct and straightforward a habit – something that more people need in a busy world.

Focus on Optimism

Learn to be cautious about the things that you say specifically about the person that you are talking about and do not speak negatively. Spreading negative information about your colleagues may lead to lower self-esteem as well as the creation of an unhealthy and toxic coworking space.

Negativity achieves nothing and it only worsens problems and issues. If you want to adjust to the situation, change the way you perceive things such as: what is the root cause of the problem and then decide on the most appropriate reaction that you need to make. For instance, a solution should be known by involved parties. Socializing and effective communication is one of the solutions to make the coworking space a healthy and productive space to work at. The words that we speak are a significant factor to this so it is better to focus on the positive things rather than pulling each other apart.

Offer Your Time

Several coworking spaces have the opportunity to organize and run volunteer activities. They do this so that they can repay what society has given to them. You will never regret this experience because you will see how a positive mindset can change the lives of so many people. This is a better way to spend your day off and to take a break from your work. Besides, you will also get to know more and socialize with your colleagues during the activity.

Key Takeaway

There are indeed other methods on how to improve and be better in socializing in coworking spaces. However, the suggestions that we have given you above are only a fraction of the other things that you should also learn. One of the most important parts to remember is that we have to concentrate on the values that we have and to incorporate it in our coworking space. With this, we can establish a great and stronger relationship with the people around us. We just have to communicate every day and make it a part of our daily routine.

Building Dreams in Manila: Coworking Spaces and Start-up Companies

Why are coworking spaces and start-up companies perfect for each other?

1. The rent is affordable compared to long-term office leases.

2. The rental leases are flexible and allow companies to move to bigger areas of the space when they expand.

3. There is a community of like-minded entrepreneurs in coworking spaces that the collaborate with each other or just offer inspiration and advice to each other.

4. It’s a professional place to meet up with clients compared to a coffee shop.

With so many office spaces available dotted all over the map, one may wonder why coworking spaces in Manila remain so dominant, especially when it comes to attracting startups. The demand for it comes from those who want to be able to work comfortably without having to deal with the high costs that come with acquiring, building, or even maintaining an actual office space.

That means that Manila’s coworking spaces are perfect for solo freelancers or young entrepreneurs who want to be able to experience the luxuries of having a traditional office space without having to worry about the baggage that comes along with actually having one. And while that may be the main reason for many to adopt the habit of working in a coworking space, there is a multitude of other possible reasons:

It’s Affordable

Just like mentioned above, coworking spaces in Manila are very affordable compared to a long-term office lease. It’s perfect for any business’s initial budget. While the rent at one is a bit more expensive than buying a large cup of coffee at your favorite local coffee shop, it doesn’t leave you with that dreadful feeling of staying somewhere you don’t need to be for 8 hours. Plus, the coffee is usually free in coworking spaces. Just bring packed lunch daily and you don’t need to spend on anything else on top of the rent.

Grow The Space as You Do

The great thing about renting a coworking space in Manila is that these establishments usually have flexible rental setups. This means that you don’t need to rent a single space every single month. You can change as you go. With such a rental setup, you can start off with just yourself and 5 employees on a table in the coworking space’s public area. Then, when you start earning more, you can hire more employees and move to a bigger area. Of course, you will need to pay more for a bigger space.

Building a Close Network is Easy

The community of businesses that can be found in a single coworking space in Manila can be very diverse. You may find a law firm, video production company, tech startup, and graphic designers all in one office; just divided by their individual spaces. This opens up many possibilities for you to expand your network and gain beneficial contacts for your business. After all, you’ll never know when you will need graphics, notarization, production, or eve product reviews. Being that most people in coworking spaces are like-minded entrepreneurs, starting a connection in such a space will be easy.

Also, coworking spaces are filled with freelancers too! Making them your business contacts could provide you with quality service on a project basis. This will be useful for you when your initial budget cannot afford to have a regular designer, accountant, etc. In fact, it’s not uncommon for a whole group of freelancers of different specialties to be available in coworking space in Manila. Often times, these freelancers do projects for their fellow tenants.

Not to mention, working with said individuals will be a breeze because setting up a meeting is just as easy as walking over and saying hi.

A Good Work Environment

As aforementioned, there are many like-minded individuals in a coworking space. This not only makes for really good business contacts, but also a source of inspiration and support. Sometimes you will need that when you realize how difficult the startup life could be. There will be days that you will feel insecure and like you want to give up. Surrounding yourself with people that fight through these feelings every day will encourage you to do that same.

Also, there could be 1000+ things that you don’t know about business. When you are surrounded by fellow start-ups that are just a bit ahead of you in the game, then friendly advice could just be a few steps and words away from you.

A Professional Meetup Place

Basically, meeting up with clients in coworking spaces is much more professional that meeting in a coffee shop. Most coworking spaces in Manila even have conference rooms where you can set up big presentations on either a projector or a big screen TV.

Key Takeaway

In a coworking space in Manila, you can find a workplace that is affordable, flexible, professional, and with a great work environment. The only limitation is that you’ll need to move out when your startup becomes a bustling company with 100 employees.