5 awkward stress-related work moments we can ALL relate to.

By ZOE LAWRENCE

You are going about your work day as per usual when out of the blue, it happens.

One minute, your day is running like clockwork and the next, something happens to send you into total panic mode.

Maybe it’s a deadline so tight it’s almost impossible.

Maybe it’s that moment when you realise the meeting you had in your diary for next week actually started five minutes ago.

Or maybe it’s a run in with THAT colleague who seems to exist purely to make your life hell.

We’ve all been there, and we’ve all experienced the cold sweat, churning stomach and sheer dread that goes with those super-fun scenarios.

Here’s five awkward stress-related work moments we can ALL relate to, ammirite?

Awkward stress-related work moment #1: The dreaded sweaty palms.

Nothing makes you feel more confident and together than cold, clammy, sweaty hands. NOT. And it always seems to happen that your palms get nice and sweaty just before a meeting (and the obligatory handshake) with your boss, a super-important client or someone you really admire. True story: I was once about to interview a very high-profile person who just so happened to be a personal hero of mine. It ALSO just happened to take place on a 40 degree day, in a stuffy cafe, right when my nerves about the interview hit their peak. The result? Me trying to sneakily wipe my gross palms on my clothes just before the handshake. Needless to say, we did not become BFFs…

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by NIVEA Stress Protect Clinical Strength Deodorant. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100 per cent authentic and written in their own words.

Awkward stress-related work moment #2: The coffee spill.

If you are anything like me, stress tends to make you act like a bull at a gate. When I’m worked up about something, I act like a madwoman, rushing everywhere and trying to do a million things at once in a race against the clock. Needless to say, it often results in epic fails. Like that one time at work when I was so overloaded that I tried to chug my coffee before heading to a pretty important meeting while checking my emails, only to spill it all over my white top. Not pretty. Luckily I had a change of clothes in the office so the crisis was averted, but I was also left with some fairly nasty burns as a souvenir.

Awkward stress-related work moment #3: The sweat patches.

This one is my personal favourite. You know the scene – you are so nervous and stressed out about something or other that you develop those lovely armpit sweat patches. You find yourself hoping against hope that you won’t have to raise your arms for any reason and you start cursing yourself for not wearing a black top that day. The sweatier you become the more you start stressing about it along with the original problem and so the nerves continue in a vicious, stress-y cycle.

Awkward stress-related work moment #4: The waterworks.

You are a smart, capable professional. You are a smart, capable professional. That’s the mantra I repeat to myself when I get so overwhelmed at work that I struggle to think straight. It feels like the mantra is working, until – the waterworks start, and I find myself trying to stifle my sobs in the toilets. Nothing makes you feel like an overwhelmed kid more than a good old fashioned, stress-related cry at work.

Awkward stress-related work moment #5: The epic meltdown.

Maybe it’s because I’m a Leo, but another way that I react to stress – and I’m not proud of this, by the way – is by turning into a snappy, grumpy she-devil. When I’m anxious and stressed, heaven help my long-suffering family, but they have to love me, right? What’s more awkward is when I take my stress out on my hapless colleagues. Not cool, Zoe. Not cool at all. I’m getting much better at this, but let’s just say that I’ve made my fair share of sheepish apologies (helped along by a box of chocolates or two) to workmates over the years.

How do you manage stressful situations at work?

But hey, everybody sweats. Even these celebs aren’t immune from the occasional sweat patch …

 

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