Stay on top of office stress this year with these expert tips

Negotiating three years of pandemic lockdowns has left 62 per cent of Australian workers reporting feeling the stress and fatigue of burnout.

ACM spoke to ANU senior lecturer Dr David Cheng about strategies for finding enjoyment in work and the knock-on effects of positivity in the workplace.

Projects are easier to manage, and finished to a higher standard, when they're undertaken with an optimistic outlook, Dr Cheng said.

"If you have a positive approach, you're more likely to perform well," he said.

And coworkers are likely to follow suit, with positivity helping to improve performance and output across the team, he said.

"Positivity is contagious and it might come back to you as more energy," the management lecturer said.

"It's not a silver bullet, but it is definitely helpful."

Here are Dr Cheng's tips for finding enjoyment and productivity in work:

While it's easy to fixate on the parts of work you don't enjoy, focussing on the parts you enjoy will make the workload easier to manage, Dr Cheng said.

There is something to enjoy in every job, remind yourself why you chose this role and the benefits you take from it, including social, financial and educational perks.

"Maybe you enjoy the time your colleagues and coworkers, you can look forward to hanging out with them, " he said.

This approach helps to maintain a sense of purpose throughout the work year.

It's more effective to plan the day ahead based on energy management, rather than time management, Dr Cheng said.

Get to know your energy cycles throughout the day and understand when they peak and trough.

Assign the daunting tasks to your most energetic hours and tackle more mindless jobs when you know energy levels will be in a lull, he said.

Be kind to yourself during low energy periods of the day, and feel satisfied with a realistic level of productivity.

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Be conscious of your mental health, prioritise your needs and wellbeing, the ANU lecturer said.

Dr Cheng recommends using humour to spark energy and build momentum at work.

Joking with coworkers, or having a laugh to yourself, creates small bursts of energy and inspiration, he said.

For those without mental and physical constraints, completing a tough task can be a matter of rolling up your sleeves and "getting it done", he said.

"It's like when you're a kid and you eat your Brussels sprouts first so you can have dessert," he said.

The long-term gains of doing boring or difficult tasks often makes the struggle worthwhile in hindsight, Dr Cheng said.

Planning breaks in your days, weeks months and years gives you something to look forward to and can motivate you to be more productive while at work, he said.

A healthy level of stress can be a useful tool, Dr Cheng said.

As a bodily function, stress helps us assess threats and decide "whether we have the resources to meet that threat," he said.

Dr Cheng recommends we harness useful stress but release anxiety connected to situations we are powerless to change.

"Work isn't everything," he said.

"Life will go on even if you don't hit the level of achievement you're after."

More often than not, the stakes are lower than they seem, Dr Cheng said.

Stress often leads us to put our own needs last so work/life boundaries are crucial for maintaining wellbeing throughout the working year, Dr Cheng said.

"Most bosses have some understanding that they need to be more flexible," he said.

Set work boundaries with your boss and demonstrate what you can reasonably achieve within that timeframe, Dr Cheng said.