How Japanese Psychology Teaches You to Handle Workplace Stress

Millions of men and women all over the world are stuck at their jobs. As the economy across the globe continues to struggle, it has become much harder for those that dislike their careers to leave for something better, as there is greater competition for the few jobs that are available.
But when you are stuck working for a company that doesn't treat you with the respect that you deserve, you find your work to be too difficult or unfulfilling, or you simply have issues with your coworkers, the amount of stress that you experience every day can be remarkable.
Many people report severe physical anxiety symptoms going to work every day when they dislike their careers. Stomach pains, nausea, and a lack of focus are common, and it's especially hard to keep yourself motivated to do your work when you know you're at an organization that isn't right for you.
What Most People Do
Most people that dislike their career, however, make the wrong decisions when it comes to dealing with their stress and anxiety . Rather than find a way to combat it, they fall into the trap of victimization – they see themselves as the victim because they have no other option, and change their behavior accordingly:
• Working only as hard as they need to rather than as hard as they can.
• Avoiding confrontation, friendships, and growth opportunities.
• Looking at work as something that will make them miserable.
This is the wrong attitude to have when you're trying to manage the stress and anxiety of work. It puts the responsibility of finding happiness at the hands of your career, and shows a cynical attitude about whether or not it's possible to even find that happiness . This is too easy an option for those that dislike their jobs, and it's one that isn't conducive to good mental health or a good career.
What Most People Should Do
There is a style of psychology known as Morita Psychology. Founding in Japan, Morita Psychology is a theory of dealing with anxiety that involves personal responsibility. That does not mean that other people cannot be contributing to your dissatisfaction – for example, an abusive boss is certainly going to bring stress and anxiety to the workplace – but it does mean that the way you manage that anxiety is your responsibility.
Part of this is because, in general, people try to fight anxiety. They do whatever they can to push it away, and when they cannot they feel that everything and everyone that contributes to their anxiety is pushing itself on them.
The teachings of Morita focus on the idea that you should embrace anxiety as an old friend, rather than try to push it away. By accepting and embracing the stress, you present possibilities that help you find your job more rewarding. These include:
• Embracing Your Job – You may not like your career, but you can still make something out of your job. Often people find that when they don't like their careers, they don't want to put 100% of their effort into their roles. But there are numerous benefits to working as hard as possible at your job. The day goes by faster, you have less time to think about the stress, you get no additional stress due to faulty deadlines, and you'll often be treated better by your bosses and coworkers. If you can embrace the stress, accept it, and focus more on your work, the more benefits you'll see and the less stress you'll experience.
• Improve Enjoyment – You may dislike your job, but that is no reason to fall into victimization, because there are always ways to like your job more. You can invent games to play with yourself or with coworkers at work. You can decorate your desk or listen to music or stand-up comedy tapes while you engage in your tedious tasks. There are ample ways to make work fun for yourself no matter how much you dislike it, but you can only do that if you accept that you'll still experience some anxiety and stress.
• Focus on the Rest of Your Life – Anxiety has a naturally cumulative effect, meaning that if you experience stress in your home life, your work life will be more stressful and vice versa. So if you want work to be less stressful, make sure you're focusing on yourself and your happiness at home. Understand that you will experience residual stress during your home life, but if you embrace that stress you'll still be able to enjoy your favorite activities.
Regardless of the efficacy of Morita Psychology as a whole, it's clear that looking at work in a different light is an important part of living with good mental health. You cannot afford to look at your career in terms of what you can't control. You need to embrace what you know will occur and work with it accordingly. That is the key to living with less anxiety in your workplace.