Tips for Job Stress Management during a Career Change
April 30, 2010 by Steven Diamond
Filed under Daily Blog, Guest Bloggers, Tony Deblauwe, Uncategorized
By Guest Blogger: Tony Deblauwe
A career change can be a difficult transition, even if you are excited about pursuing your dreams. Maybe you’ve just earned an online degree that has opened up possibilities in a new field. Or, perhaps you have decided to start your own business. Either way, job stress management will be important during the remaining weeks or months at your current place of employment. You’ve got a lot going on – especially if you have significant obligations to fulfill at your old job before you move forward.
Pressure from Your Boss
Ironically, the more your boss likes and depends on you the worse her reaction may be when you give your notice. Sometimes, a manager will take it personally when you decide to leave. This can create unnecessary stress during your departure phase. Give your boss a few days to adjust; he or she will generally come around to being happy for you.
Leaving on good terms is important for keeping emotional stress to a minimum. Knowledge retention is one of the most important parting gifts you can give your old employer. Before you even announce your intention to leave, begin putting together a transition folder. It should include detailed instructions for how to do the more difficult parts of your job – the things it took you years to learn because no one told you how to do them.
Present this to your boss when you give your notice and offer her some options. She can have you continue to document your job, provide mentoring/training for your replacement, or simply keep performing your duties as usual until your last day. This shows good faith on your part and can make it easier for your boss to fill your position when you are gone.
Pressure from Your New Job
Your future employer probably isn’t sweating you about stuff yet, but you are no doubt getting nervous anyway. It is normal to be anxious when you are about to start all over again in an unfamiliar environment.
If you have been mailed a new-hire packet, go through it thoroughly and make a list of questions to ask on your first day. Even better, if you are given access to an acculturation onboarding portal take full advantage of it. Browse the profiles of your soon-to-be coworkers, and start building relationships and making connections.
Pressure from Your New Business
Are you are going into business for yourself? You are dealing with long hours and lots of decisions. You are probably also worried about whether or not you will succeed or crash and burn. Good job stress management skills are especially critical during the startup phase.
You may have been working two full time jobs for quite a while as you built your own business venture and continued working for your existing employer. Now is the time to shift your energy and your focus entirely into your future. Disassociate from any office drama – you are leaving that world behind. Streamline your “day job” by offloading any long-term projects ASAP. Your boss should be willing to help you do this so things don’t come crashing to a halt when you leave.
You also shouldn’t let your new business enterprise take over your life. The habits you make regarding work/life balance when you are getting your company off the ground are likely to persist. If you don’t make time for your family and relaxation now, you won’t later either. This doesn’t mean you can’t work evenings and weekends. However, you should do at least one thing every day that will:
- Promote the growth of your business
- Strengthen your relationship with your loved ones
- Nurture or pamper yourself
No matter what kind of career change you are experiencing, preparation and focus are key. If you can accomplish this, your chances of succeeding on the job and in life will reap the rewards you so strongly worked for.
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Mr. Tony Deblauwe
Tony Deblauwe is a Workplace Expert based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
He is an award-winning and regular contributor to career social networks sites
such as Brazen Careerist and TrackAhead. He directs the Innovation
Committee for Career Directors International.
For more information on Tony, please visit: http://www.workbabble.com
I have operated a stress management clinic for over 20 years and have many self help cds at http://www.DStressDoc.com but recently I have learned that one thing to remember is that stress can severely deplete the body’s glutathione levels. And of course there’s all kinds of stress such as pollution, habits such as smoking, drinking and so on, plus toxins in our food in addition to mental stressors.
Our body makes it’s own glutathione. Unfortunately after age 20 it diminishes by 10% to 20% each decade. Glutathione is in every cell of your body. It protects your DNA, boosts your immune functioning. reduces inflammation. gets more oxygen to the brain, stops premature aging. and more just to name just a few things.
Even though there are hundreds of research studies verifying the value of
glutathione, until three years ago there was nothing that could be done about it,today we now have a glutathione accelerator available.
I always said that the first defense against stress was deep breathing, and it still is, but concurrently another most important defense against stress, pollution, toxins, free radicals and so on is having sufficient glutathione.