World Mental Health Day: Top 3 expert tips to combat workplace stress

It is time to prioritise mental health in the workplace! On World Mental Health Day, Wellbeing Coach Harpreet Chana shares effective ways to minimise stress 

The mental health challenges faced by pharmacists are a significant concern that is frequently discussed within the industry today. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) fifth annual workforce wellbeing survey indicated that 86% of pharmacists are at a high risk of burnout. Key factors contributing to this burnout include inadequate staffing, poor work-life balance, and extended working hours.

Mental Health UK also identifies burnout as one of the most pressing issues affecting modern workplaces. According to the charity’s Burnout Report released in January 2024, 9 in 10 adults in the UK reported experiencing high or extreme stress in the past year.

The charity warns that burnout may increase the risk of developing mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety, underscoring the need for serious attention.

Today, on World Mental Health Day, we reflect on the theme, “It is time to prioritise mental health in the workplace.”

Harpreet Chana, an experienced pharmacist and founder of the Mental Wealth Academy, has shared three tips to help combat stress in the workplace.

1. Do a brain dump

We wouldn’t dream of working in a cluttered workspace because of the effect it has on our concentration, yet we work with a cluttered mind all the time!

A brain dump can help you to clear your mind and switch off at night; take a piece of paper and jot down everything that is on your mind at the moment. Get it all out! As a list or a mind map, whatever works best for you.

And then, I want you to take a big black marker and cross through anything that you are worried about that is outside of your control. We spend so much time worrying about things that we cannot hope to change or control. And these are the things that we need to let go of as we waste so much time and energy on them. So, this exercise is great for that.

As you strike through each item, say to yourself, “There is nothing I can do about this right now, so I am choosing to let this go.”

2. Organise your to-do list

Next, look at what you now have left on your list. These should only be the things that you can actually change and control. Some of these will be a priority and some of them won’t. Go through each item that is left on your page and put a ‘U’ next to it if it is urgent (i.e. needs to be completed in the NEXT TWO DAYS) and an ‘I’ next to it if it is important TO YOU. Some items will have UI, some will have U, some will have I and some will have nothing.

Prioritise these items in this way;

A actions - any items that have both UI should be ACTIONED immediately. These are your A items and the things that should be on your to-do list for today/tomorrow. Ideally, you don't want more than three things on your To-Do List per day. Any more than that, and you are setting yourself up to fail. Number these tasks in order of urgency and complete one at a time

B actions - for those things that have an I but don’t have a U, these need to be pushed BACK and scheduled into your calendar to be done at a later date. These are your B items. It's great to get these down on paper so that they're not taking up valuable space in your head.

C actions - for those items that have only a U but no I, you need to CHOOSE whether you do them as these are time-wasting tasks. Ask yourself, do I really need to be doing these? Can I delegate them to somebody else? Because, if they are not important to you, chances are you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place! These are your C items.

D actions - And then finally, if you have things that have neither letter, these are the items that you need to DROP. You really shouldn’t be doing these! These are your D items.

Organising your to-do list in this way can be really helpful in minimising stress because you aren’t forgetting anything and are only focusing on those activities that you really need to do.

3. Plan in regular self-care

Self-care has become a total buzzword since COVID. We all think we know what self-care is but actually in reality, many of us don’t.

Self-care isn’t just looking after yourself and it definitely isn’t selfish. Self-care is making the time and space to do an activity that you absolutely love to do and which helps you to flourish and not just function.

There are things we do every day that we need to do in order to just function e.g. eat well, exercise, sleep, etc. but self-care helps us to be at our best and really thrive. And it’s important in our roles in patient care that we look after ourselves first so that we can help others.

So, think of an activity that you love to do, which you might not have done for some time or tell yourself you don’t have time to do, and schedule it into your calendar. Make it a non-negotiable date with yourself and use that time to be really present in that activity and give it your full attention. I promise you, it will be worth it!

Harpreet Chana, founder of the Mental Wealth Academy

Harpreet Chana is a qualified pharmacist with over 20 years’ experience of working in hospital, community, primary care and national policy. She is also a certified Executive Leadership and Wellbeing Coach and founded the Mental Wealth Academy in 2019, which helps pharmacy professionals and organisations to strengthen their mental health by investing in their ‘mental wealth’.