If your workplace stress is due to your co-workers, this tip may help. You can’t pick your co-workers. However, you can pick how to get along with them in order to reduce workplace stress.
You can reduce workplace stress when you collaborate with others, rather than compete. While competition often induces stress, collaboration reduces it.
Since I developed my Without Stress approach from my many years of teaching experience, an example from the classroom can best help illustrate the point. Picture this: A teacher is giving an exam. The expectation is that each student will come up with the right solutions to all the problems. Some will succeed, and some will fail—but few will solve all the problems.
Those who do find the right answers will not share them with others because that would be considered cheating.
In contrast to this traditional approach of students competing to obtain a good score, suppose the teacher were to say, “I’m not testing you as individuals; I’m testing you as a class. Put your heads together and come up with the answers.”
In most probability, no individual would possess all the knowledge needed to solve all the problems or all the aptitude needed to apply the knowledge. But the class as a whole would have the knowledge and aptitude. Instead of some people succeeding and some failing, everyone would succeed.
What is traditionally known as cheating in the typical classroom is known as collaborative problem solving in the workplace. Collaboration is the key to success in today’s economy. It is also the key to reducing workplace stress.
Tip: When you can, collaborate for better results, even with people you may not see eye-to-eye with. The more collaboration you engage in, the better results you’ll achieve and the less workplace stress you’ll experience.
You can get many more empowering tips like this one in my award-winning book, Live Without Stress: How to Enjoy the Journey. Buy one and get one free as a gift. You will not want to depart with your own copy. Be sure to check out the Without Stress Facebook Group where you can connect with other life-minded people on a journey to reduce stress.
