You exercise, you eat right, you get a good night's sleep, and you try to stay organized; you're doing everything you can to manage your own stress. But what if you work with someone who isn't managing stress well?

Regardless of where you might work, there are a lot of reasons for stress in today's workplace -- threats of layoff, increased workload due to reduced staffing, and so on. When you add in all the non-work-related causes of stress, it's no wonder some people aren't managing the pressure well. And, no matter how well you handle stress, when a co-worker is stressing you'll be affected by it.

So what can you do to help a stressed out co-worker? As long as you don't take on the reasons for their stress (e.g. taking their workload), it's a good thing to help out. And, if you happen to be the boss, it's imperative that you do so in order to maintain a positive workplace and to prevent productivity from slipping. Some ideas:

Source

I have a sticker on my mirror that says 'you're my favourite' on it. And each morning, before I blow-dry my hair, I look at the sticker, smile at my reflection and repeat what it says while staring myself in the eye. It sounds cheesy, and trust me, I've gotten some weird looks from Jon, but in the long run, it's been worth it.

You see, there's no one in the whole world who is harder on me than myself. I suspect it's the same for you -- all too often, we are our own worst enemies. It seems like we're wired to be critical of ourselves.

But there's no limit to the benefits that self-confidence and positive self-talk can have on both your emotional and physical health. It's not easy to change your behaviour, and the key is to start slow. Every day, while you're primping in front of the mirror, make an effort to say one nice thing to yourself. As for me, I have my sticker to remind, and it does, every day.