How to Manage Stress at Work

To effectively manage stress at work follow these simple tips:

Pray

Begin each day by thanking God for your job even if it is full of stress because we are to Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. (Psalm 100:4)

Then, ask Him to bless your work. For this you can pray, Let  the beauty of the Lord my God be upon me and establish the work of my hands for me, yes, establish the work of my hands. (Psalm 90:17)  

Finally, petition Him to intervene in your workplace so that you can work in peace. To do this effectively, read How to Pray for your Stressful Situation.

Work for the Lord

Regardless of whether you are working for a secular company or a religious organization, working as if God is your employer is a great way to manage job stress. This is because it helps you to look up to God for your reward even if your earthly employer ignores your efforts, places unreasonable demands on you or stressed you in any other way.

Therefore regardless of your actual job, Whatever you do, do it well as if you are doing it to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance because you serve the Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24)

Tithe

Give God 10% of the total amount of money you make from your job because He tells to “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. 

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field. ” says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:10-11)  

We can see the effect of a person's tithe ensuring that his vine bears fruit in his field even if he is working in a stressful field from Isaac. This is because he promised to give God a tenth of everything at Bethel if God would be with him, keep him and give him food and clothing. (Genesis 28:20-22)

Isaac then landed a very stressful job working for Laban because Laban cheated him and changed his salary 10 times. (Genesis 31:7) However, God blessed Isaac in the midst of his stressful job because when Laban set his salary to be the speckled flock, all the herd bore speckled animals. If he changed the salary to streaked animals, all the flock bore streaked animals. Regardless of what Laban did to ensure that Isaac did not succeed at his place of work, God ensured that he prospered so much so that by the time he was leaving, God's Angel told Isaac to look at the flock and see that all the rams were speckled, streaked and spotted. 

God did this for Isaac because He had seen how badly his employer was treating him for He said, "I have seen all what Laban is doing to you." (Genesis 31:12) God had also remembered Isaac's promise for He said to him, "I am the God of Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar and made a vow to Me." (Genesis 31:13) 

Therefore, ensure that you pay your tithe by giving a tenth of all that you make to your Church so that God can bless you and help you prosper even if you are working in a stressful place. 

To learn more read Christian money management principles: Tithe

Meditate on God's Word

Meditate on Bible verses so that you can renew your mind and stop feeling stressed because of the things going on in your workplace. You can meditate on job Scriptures as you commute to your job and during your breaks at work.

Bible verses that you can meditate on to manage stress at work include:
Isaiah 49:4 which declares Surely, my just reward is with the Lord God and my work is with my God. 

This means that even if you are not being remunerated fairly at your place of work, you have to believe that God will reward you fairly for the work that you are doing.  

Therefore do not work half-halfheartedly because of the meager pay you are receiving. Put in your best effort with the expectation that God Himself will reward you.

Ecclesiastes 9:1 which declares that the work of the righteous and the wise is in the hands of God. 

This means that even if the source of your job stress is a supervisor scheming to terminate your services unjustly, the final say is not from them. It is from God. 

Therefore, do not let the fear of being sacked stress you as long as you are doing the right thing in the sight of God and behaving wisely at your workplace.

Psalm 75:6-7 which states that promotion does not come from the east or the west or the south. It comes from God. 

Therefore, if the source of your work stress is a boss who has refused to promote you or who ignores your good work or takes credit for it himself, remind yourself that God can still cause you to be promoted miraculously. 

So, keep working faithfully and keep believing that God will promote you.

Jeremiah 31:16 where God tells you to stop weeping and dry your eyes because your work shall be rewarded. 

Therefore stop crying and complaining because you are not being rewarded for your good effort at your place of work. 

Continue working while being certain that your efforts shall be compensated by God.

Wear your Armor

When Nehemiah and the Israelites were working on the walls of Jerusalem, they faced such strong opposition from their enemies that they had to be armed as they worked for he says, The builders who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem had swords girded at their sides as they built. (Nehemiah 4:17-18) 

Therefore put on your spiritual armor before going to your workplace so that you are ready to fight back spiritually. To learn how to do this read How to Put on the Armor of God. 

Exercise Regularly

Commit to exercising for at least 30 minutes four times a week and preferably each day, and you will be able to manage stress at your workplace more effectively. This is due to the fact that aerobic exercises cause the body to release endorphins which make you feel good even if the situation at your workplace is still far from good. 

Physical exercise also helps your body reduce the levels of circulating stress hormones which lowers your risk of developing stress related illnesses.

Therefore ensure that you exercise regularly by walking briskly, spinning, jogging or even by dancing and gardening.