Top Performance under Pressure: Stress Relief for Event Managers
Phew, I’m sure you know the feeling: Event managers are often juggling so many tasks at once that they hardly get time for a breather! Here is some advice on how to stay centered – even in the biggest chaos!
Forbes magazine confirmed again – the Event Manager job is one of the top 10 most stressful job in the world in 2017, shortly after police officer and pilot and even ahead of the managing director of a large corporation.
Deadlines are a part of the events business. This includes contact to customers, visitors, exhibitors and service providers and it’s not always the case that they are all happy! Conflicts are part of daily business.
Multitasking is a good description of an event manager’s daily work – feeding social media channels in the morning, then on bargaining prices with caterers, checking graphics, briefing fair constructors, answering visitor questions in between and managing the finances and billing on the side. Jeez…
Positive and Negative Stress
It goes well enough for a while, but when projects start to mount up, as is often the case in spring and fall, things start to get uncomfortable. Stress definitely has positive components, as it enables us to be more alert and performance-driven – the so-called Eustress.
But it can get uncomfortable, over-demanding and threatening – then we’re talking more about Distress. In the worst case, this type of stress in the long run can make you sick and leads to burnout and depression.
Stress Relief Strategies
As a result, strategies to calm back down are an integral part of a stressful job.
A managing director of a large events agency told his staff once “do something on the weekend that you have never done before! “. Obviously, sleep in! 😉
But seriously though, what contributes to stress relief can differ from person to person. For one person, its contact to family and friends to keep them ‘grounded’, for others it’s having fun in the stadium at the local football match, or partying to electro beats at the club.
The important thing is to have activities that have absolutely nothing to do with work, to make sure that your thoughts are completely elsewhere.
Fidget spinners are all the rage in school playgrounds at the moment. This is a good solution for ‘restless leg’ sufferers and can lead to relaxation.
Strengthening your Back
You spend a lot of your time at events on your feet, often late into the evening or even night. In the time leading up to the event however there are a lot of stressful days on the phone and laptop, involving a lot of time sitting down.
Pilates comes highly recommended to avoid the negative results of a tight back. Prophylactic Pilates exercises strengthen your core, lower back and help strengthen you during longer stints in the office. It also helps to combat the more physically demanding time spent at fairs.
Corporate Health: What Can I Do at Work?
The topic of sport and movement is generally important as a remedy for a wide range of job-related malaise. It comes therefore as no surprise that a new ‘corporate health’ branch established itself over the past few years.
This includes financial support for company bikes, a weekly fruit basket as well as special deals for fitness clubs and ergonomic design for workspaces.
At the publishing house, t3n, staff members can get moving, using the provided facilities such as table tennis, fascia massages using the black roll, table football, chin-up bars, yoga areas, stretch bands, or simply by doing chair gymnastics using the office chair. Here is a link to the relevant workout – please do try this at home!
Nowadays, in an environment where it is getting harder to hire and retain specialist staff, such initiatives are often decisive in measuring the attractiveness of an employer.
Get More Done Using the Tomato Technique
Another good approach to not getting caught up in the stress of work is the ‘Pomodoro technique’. Set a stopwatch to 25 minutes, in which time you work as concentrated as possible. This is followed by a five-minute break, then another 25 minutes’ work. After three repetitions, take a longer break. It is amazing how much more work you’ll manage to chomp through using this technique!
Harmony of Body, Mind and Soul
There is a wealth of advice on the topic of stress relief and burnout prophylaxis. They all have one thing in common – it is all about the harmony of body, mind and soul.
None of these factors should be overlooked – sport and movement for the body, change and good work organization for the mind and the balance through friends, family and social contact for the soul!
With this in mind, the Converve team wishes you a stress-free working day!
