Some pressure at work can be motivating, but when the pressures or demands become excessive, it can lead to work-related stress. The way you deal with stress can encourage unhealthy behavi-our, such as smoking and drinking too much, which can increase your risk of heart disease. Good stress management in the workplace is therefore criticalto your overall health.

Life Coach Suzy Greaves says one of the key skills to managing workplace stress is knowing how to say no. She explains that saying yes can win you brownie points in the short-term, but if you take on too much and fail to deliver, it can be a dis-astrous long-term strategy.

According to Greaves, you can prevent exhaustion by knowing how much work you can take on. By taking on too much, you could end up doing nothing well. So, she recommends calculating how long you will need to deal with your current workload so that you can see if you have any extra capacity.

“If you’re extremely busy and your boss asks you to do more, you can say no. Outline your reasons in a specific, measurable

way, but always offer a solution,” Greaves advises.

Learn to recognise the physical effects of stress and do something about it before it makes you really ill. Beware of work stress spilling over into other areas of your life. What-ever the source of your stress, speak to your manager or someone in your organisation that you feel comfortable talking to. Or get outside help.