Health & Hospitality

COMBATING WORKPLACE STRESS

Due to the pandemic, stress levels of bar employees have skyrocketed in the face of uncertain employment, health concerns, and the need to follow an entire new set of regulations.

“Stress is insidious and has so many negative effects on mental, emotional and physical health,” says bestselling author, former immunologist, and leading mindbody wellness expert Jaya Jaya Myra. “In addition to weakening the immune system and elevating cortisol in the body, stress directly impacts a person’s willpower, decisiveness, confidence, and overall ability to perform at their jobs.”

Myra offers a few solutions to help combat this stress, starting with meditation. “Meditation can be a quick and effective deterrent of all types of stress, and you don’t have to meditate for hours to see these effects. Even a few minutes a day makes a big difference. It’s about how and when you meditate that makes it effective at reducing stress. Meditation in the morning helps to set a level pace for the day, whereas meditating before bed can help people unwind and process the events of the day, and also get a better night’s sleep.”

Aside from meditation, Myra says it’s all about the breath. “Whenever you are able to lengthen and deepen your breath, you automatically slow down what is happening in the mind, while alleviating stress and anxiety,” she says. “During your work day, I recommend taking three minutes to sit and just focus on lengthening and deepening the breath. This in and of itself can help the mind slow down, relax, and regain focus.”

For those on their feet—like bartenders and servers—she says deep breathing combined with movement is a great way to minimize stress. Self-care throughout the day is also important. “If you’re on your feet, prioritize some self-care and a good set of insoles for your shoes,” she says. “Take quick breaks when you can to checkin and be mindful. All of this adds up and helps cultivate a healthy, happy mindset.”

The WELL Method, a framework from her book The Soul of Purpose, was created to teach people an ethos for forming a healthy mindset that impacts all areas of life.

“Use The WELL Method to create your own bespoke daily action plan to get the most out of your day and to use your actions to improve the lives of others,” says Myra.

The WELL Method stands for: WorkLife Harmony; Expect/Enable Excellence; Live Your Purpose; and Love, Not Fear.

For example, Expect/Enable Excellence means to expect excellence in yourself and enable it in others. Myra says to pose yourself a series of questions: “What daily habits do you have that empower you? What goals are you working towards? What are you doing to help other people succeed? Most importantly, what would you be doing if you knew you would not fail?”

“[The WELL Method] helps people cultivate their deepest potential and make that potential a reality,” says Myra. “The WELL Method is a reminder that you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Strategies to beat stress.

BY ASHLEY BRAY