How to Cope with Your Stressful Job

Whether it’s your first job or your fifth job, there will be a time in every woman’s life where it just doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to. There could be a variety of reasons why that is: the work environment isn’t as stellar as you had been promised, the workload is much heavier than you anticipated, or some other external factor that ended up putting a lot of stress on you. The most important thing to realize is that it isn’t your fault.

I’ve been a part of the working class ever since I was a sophomore in high school. I’d like to think I’m accustomed to the “grind” of everyday life, and I’ve done a pretty good job at balancing work with school and my personal life. However, that all changed when I decided to take on a second job at the beginning of my senior year in college. 

This job was an office position, and I was tasked with helping run the office and assisting in executive duties as well. At the time when I applied, I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but I figured I could handle it, seeing as I had more than four years of office experience under my belt. I mean, how hard could it be? 

I ended up having a mental breakdown on my second day of work. Never in my life had I ever felt more unqualified and stupid than in that moment. Things that usually came easy to me suddenly felt like rocket science. There was so much pressure to be perfect and do things exactly as I had been told, and the environment wasn’t exactly open to fielding questions either. On my walk home, I kept replaying every mistake I made, every disappointed stare I received from my superiors, and every thing I wish I had done instead. I convinced myself that I was doomed for a life of failure. If I couldn’t function in an office space that I was supposed to thrive in, what hope do I have for any real career in the future? It was so stressful to think about. I dreaded every day I was scheduled to go in after that day. 

I don’t want to lie and say it ended up getting better, because it really didn’t. After about a month of working there, I eventually quit. It just wasn’t a good fit for me, and that’s completely okay. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that if you’re under a lot of stress at your current job, you should always come first. Your health, your happiness, and your sanity should always always take precedence over anything else. Here’s some tough truth that I learned from my experience:

These companies don’t really care. 

It may seem a bit harsh, but hear me out. That was the most freeing revelation I had. The pressure of needing to be perfect all the time was suddenly lifted from my shoulders. This company didn’t care about me, they just cared about getting the work done. Therefore, if I put my happiness and sanity first and ultimately leave, they’ll just end up finding someone else to fill my place, and I will be free to pursue whatever else I need or want to do. It wasn’t failing, it was self-care. 

Now, I know some people may not have the luxury to quit the job that’s stressing them out. I was fortunate enough to be working 2 jobs at the same time, so when I left one position, I wasn’t floundering financially. So if you’re considering leaving your job because it’s too much to handle, be sure to have a proper safety net first. Your happiness is so important, but it will only be temporary if you don’t have something to fall back on. Make sure you have another job lined up, or at least 3 months rent saved to get you through the transition period. Otherwise, follow your gut. If you feel that leaving is the best thing for you to do, and all your ducks are in a row, go for it!

However, if you’re not yet ready to take the leap yet, that’s totally okay as well. You can still put yourself first in a stressful work environment. Small things like making sure you don’t receive notifications for emails from work when you’re off the clock will make a world of a difference! As I said before, the key thing to keep in mind is yourself. These corporations and companies value profit and getting shit done; they don’t really care about the means in which they achieve that. Don’t feel pressured to bite off more than you can chew. If you’re being asked to do work that wasn’t in your job description, don’t be afraid to set boundaries for yourself, and remember to give yourself enough time to rest. 

In order to truly thrive, you have to take care of yourself, and there is absolutely no shame in that.