Enjoying your work is the basis of work engagement. Engaged employees have a more positive attitude to work, feel mentally and physically healthier and perform better than less engaged colleagues. UWES manual But enjoyment and engagement don't stand much of a chance if you are under pressure all day.
And that happens a lot. According to the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey 2025, 21% of employees have burnout symptoms, and more than a third feel that extra measures are needed against workload and work stress (Arboportaal). Gallup reports that 30% of Dutch employees experienced a lot of stress the previous day (Gallup, Netherlands). How do you make sure you and your colleagues experience less stress and more enjoyment? Here are some tips!
How can you reduce work stress at the office?
Work stress is far from always caused by too much work alone. How you plan your time and how often you are distracted by email, messages or colleagues often plays a part too. With a few simple adjustments, you can already do a lot about it.
Email can be a major source of stress. Make sure it distracts you as little as possible by dealing with it consciously. Researchers Kostadin Kushlev and Elizabeth Dunn had 124 people check their email only three times a day for a week, and as often as they liked for another week. In the week with fewer email moments, they experienced clearly less daily stress. Kushlev & Dunn
What can you do?
- Don't start your day with your inbox, but with your most important task.
- Plan a few fixed moments a day for your email, for example half an hour at the end of the morning and of the afternoon.
- Switch off notifications and pop-ups, so you are not constantly pulled out of your work.
Diary
Don't fill your diary too full. Just seeing an overloaded diary can cause stress. If something doesn't work out today, move it to tomorrow. Schedule the least enjoyable job at the start of the day: eat your frog first. Then you don't have to dread it for the rest of the day. At the end of the day your mental energy is often used up, so that is the time to plan simple jobs. And make your own plan: don't let your diary be dictated by other people's requests.
Breaks
To reduce work stress, it is important to step back at the right moments. Short breaks really work. A meta-analysis by Patricia Albulescu and colleagues showed that breaks of ten minutes or less give people more energy and make them less tired. Albulescu et al. So go for a short walk now and then, or use your lunch break to get some fresh air.
Are you bothered by noisy colleagues or constantly interrupted with questions? Then find somewhere else now and then where you can work in peace and concentrate.
How do you end your working day well?
A very important factor is not taking your work home with you, not even in your head. Research by German professor Sabine Sonnentag shows that people who detach mentally from their work after work suffer less from exhaustion and fatigue. Sonnentag
So at the end of every day, look back briefly: did you do what you wanted to do, and what could be better next time? Put tasks you didn't get round to on a list for another day, so they are out of your head. Tidy your desk, close your laptop and head home. Tomorrow is another day.
Sleep well, exercise and eat healthily
For good physical and mental condition, it is important to eat and sleep well. Obvious, I hear you think, but in practice many people find it difficult.
A quick snack is tasty and easy, but the energy you get from it is gone just as quickly. So choose food that gives you energy for longer more often, such as wholegrain products, vegetables and fruit.
Exercise keeps you fit and is also a good way to clear your head after work. So don't flop straight onto the sofa, but have a bite to eat and get moving. Believe me, you will feel a lot better afterwards.
A well-rested employee is also more productive. Clear your head before going to bed, for example by reading, meditating or writing things down. And put your phone away in good time.
What can the manager do?
Not everything is down to the employee. The Job Demands-Resources model by Wilmar Schaufeli and colleagues shows that work stress arises when job demands are higher than job resources for a long time. A manager can do something on both sides: remove unnecessary pressure and provide support, room to manoeuvre and appreciation. Schaufeli Make workload something people can talk about, and set a good example yourself, for example by not sending emails in the evening.
By applying these relatively simple tips, you can make sure you experience less work stress. You will enjoy your work more and have a better balance. You will become more engaged, and who knows, you may come up with ideas you didn't even dare to think of before. You will find more tips in reducing work stress: 4 effective tips. Do you want to know how workload and energy are doing in your organisation? You can measure it with the Employee Engagement Survey.
