With workplace pressure being one of the leading causes of office illness, Sue Jones, Director of Marketing for Airwave, shares her top tips on tackling excessive stress and staying resilient in the face of workplace challenges.
The communications expert reveals that her secret to managing office pressure is to surround herself with a fantastic support network. Knowing she has a strong team around means she can be confident that she’s got the right people to back her up when the going gets really tough.
“One of the worst periods and the most challenging times I’ve ever endured was during a crisis a few years ago when I turned around to my support network and found that they weren’t there. It was a very lonely and isolating experience but a lesson very well learned for me. So since then I have been much more robust about how I build my support network and test it regularly, even not in a crisis.”
When you’re working in a fast-moving environment where things are thrown at you that you don’t expect, having a really good support network around you can pay dividends. But how can you build those relationships so that they’re there when things get really tough and you need them most? “I think the first thing is never doubt your doubts,” says Sue.
Sue had previously had doubts about her support network before her negative experience and felt isolated but yet had given the team a chance. “The role that I do is external facing – it’s marketing, it’s a lot of PR and media-related activities – where the first response you give is the one that gives the lasting impression so you cannot take those risks.
“I make sure now that if have doubts about anybody I will go and challenge them. And if I feel that they’re not fulfilling what I need and can’t help us be successful that I have to find the right people who can do that. It comes with trial and error and it comes with experience. But I think deep down you know and you have to be absolutely true to yourself because sometimes that’s the only way to get the people that you need to help you.”
