Work pressure is a subtle, yet very risky problem. It can start with a bit of stress. You might be feeling a bit over extended. Perhaps stretched too thin because of too many deadlines. Or maybe it’s been a lot since your last restful sleep.

We’ve already covered what work pressure is, and what it does to you. How it influences your productivity and your well-being. In the previous article of our series, we discussed a set of tips that should help you cope with, if not completely eliminate work pressure.

Here are 4 more recommendations, along with the certainty that time does not solve work pressure. Quite the opposite. In time, work pressure ads up. It can be overwhelming and it can burn you out.

#1 Recover from work pressure

We often neglect to do the obvious thing. For example, we know sleep is good for us, yet we don’t sleep enough. In fact, up to 40% of Americans sleep less than what’s recommended. And the worrying trend is towards even fewer hours of sleep.

We live in a workaholic culture. And while work is important, we often neglect to disconnect. To simply stay away from the causes of work pressure. Obviously, without disconnecting, we can’t recharge. It’s all known, obvious even. Yet, we fail to internalize it as such.

Much of it has to do with the workaholic culture. One that associates great quantitative success with an infinite work struggle. We often neglect ourselves because we believe that there are other, more important things. However, this is something we choose to believe. Besides, a workaholic culture means that we tend to overwork even when it’s not needed or required. It’s almost as if we choose to relax less.

For now, let’s make this clear. If you don’t take a break and recharge, you will burn out. It’s almost as if you choose to glide down in an abyss. One that’s particularly tough to climb out of. Sure, you won’t burn out today or tomorrow. Yet much like car crashes, you can’t process it until it happens.

It’s not just vacation days. Clearly, you can’t go on a vacation and fret about everything at work. That’s not a vacation, that’s remote work. There are many ways you can recover from work pressure. And it’s a lot easier than recovering from a burnout.

#2 Figure out how to relax from work pressure

Relaxation is trending right now. A lot of people are more and more interested in all sorts of ways to relax. From various types of meditation to breathing exercises and even physical ones.

The science backs this up. Meditation can offer you significant recovery from stress. It’s a temporary break from everything. A reboot that regenerates.

Even more, most deep relaxation techniques can help you recover very quickly. And it’s better than sleep. It’s more like active cleansing and pruning your system. Besides, it’s the most accessible way to do something like this. Meditation is free to use and easy to learn. An everywhere, anytime, every man’s solution.

Practiced regularly, meditation can even improve your blood pressure, sleep problems and heart disease. But that’s not the only way to go about things. Many people go to do the gym. Or go for a swim. Or do sports of various kinds. Any sort of exercise is good for your well-being. Team-sports simply add a social component that many enjoy.

Even though meditation is for everyone, it might not be your cup of tea. There are plenty of ways to relax, just make sure you choose the positives. Listening to music, reading, watching a movie can make you feel relaxed and can improve your well-being. You can choose anything, just do it.

Besides, your choice is not as important as regularity. Indeed, regularity in relaxation gives your mind time to recover. And it alleviates work pressure and stress, taking them right out of your system.

To conclude, don’t worry if you choose something that isn’t for you. A friend of mine recently went to a 10-day yoga and meditation retreat. Two days later she was back home. Why? It wasn’t her cup of tea.

#3 Take a step up

So far, we covered mostly individual solutions. Take the matter into your hand and do something about it. Learn to meditate. Start working out. Keep a feelings diary. Educate your behavior and consolidate healthy responses. All these wonderful measures take time and energy. And you might not have enough of either.

But what if it could be as simple as talking to your supervisor? There are so many reasons why your supervisor should help you with work pressure. One of them is reading this series, make sure you share it. Yet overall, work pressure affects people in so many bad ways that it can be a smart move to reduce it.

Think about it this way: if you could make your employees more productive, would you do it? Of course, especially when it’s your job to do so. Improving productivity and happiness at work, both with one move: fighting work pressure.

Granted, you can’t simply go ahead and complain. Rather, come forth with constructive suggestions. Firstly, think of 2-3 work pressure issues that your teammates might also be dealing with. Something such as “meetings are time wasters”. You can even go as far and explain that meetings make you fail deadlines.

Secondly, discuss the issues with your team. Try and see how they feel. Get the pulse on the matter. Is it an issue with everybody? If yes, you’ll all be motivated to discuss reasonable solutions. Figure out what you can do about the cause of work pressure. For example, you could read this ultimate guide on meetings, or this article on how to meet and beat deadlines. Or you could come up with your own solution. Lastly, take it to your supervisor. Present the issue, how it’s affecting everyone, and what your solution is.

#4 Get help with work pressure

Work pressure is something many people experience. Asking for advice on how to deal with it will help. Your friends and family as well as your teammates can lend a hand.

From what works for me types of advice to specialized articles or even professional help. You could get invited to join some breathing and relaxation techniques training you didn’t even know it existed.

We often assume that whatever it is we’re dealing with is a special situation. That nobody else ever felt tired. Or alone or sad. That our stress or anxiety are unique to us. And that we should feel ashamed about it. In reality, most people experience what you experience, at least once in their lifetime. So reaching out always has surprising results.

To conclude, make sure you do your best with work pressure. Don’t stress too much about it though. You are more than your job, your work or your career. Besides, most people want to be happy. Keep that in focus before you shift gears towards a burnout. You are in the pursuit of happiness. When confronted with work pressure, take a step back and prioritize. And if you’re a manager, make sure you take care of your team. Keep work pressure in mind.

This article is part of a series. Here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 on how to eliminate work pressure.