Stress is a huge part of everyday life but doesn’t need to be! While stress can be healthy in small amounts, if you can’t balance it with life it becomes a hindrance rather than a motivator. So I’m here to try to help and share some ways that I like to balance stress while working and taking classes:

Meditation

Meditation is an extremely useful tool in a college students’ stress relief arsenal. Meditation is scientifically proven to lower stress levels. There isn’t a wrong way to meditate, you can listen to a guided meditation in the park or chant a mantra at home on the floor. You can take five or twenty minutes to mediate, whatever time allows. Mediation can even help by making you more mindful in all aspects of your life.

Co-operative board games

Try playing a co-operative game rather than a competitive one. While putting a hotel on Park Place can be fun, maybe try to escape a flooding island like in the co-op game the Forbidden Island. There are countless board games out there that allow you to play with your friends rather than playing against the game. While this co-operative activity helps lower your stress, it also helps lower your friends stress and hopefully improves your relationships!  Being able to play games with friends rather than against them and having a shared experience together really helps you relax after a long day at work!

Creating!

While this category seems broad, it should be! Everyone is different and what you like to create is different from others. For me, I find woodworking to be a relaxing. There is just something about having a vision in your head and turning it into a real life object that you can hold. Sometimes creating things can be a good way to make friends! Go find groups and clubs that relate to your interest. Grow, learn and make friends at the same time.

Exercise

Exercise is one of the best ways to relieve stress! You can work out alone but having a workout buddy can make exercising fun. Find exercise that you like and you’ll do it more often. Run, lift or just go out and play sports with your friends. Personally, I recommend going outside to exercise so you can enjoy the weather at the same time.

When thinking about the workplace environment, Gen Z has very similar interests just like their millennial coworkers, yet there are still some big differences. For example, millennials are used to digital communication for their day to day jobs. Gen Z, on the other hand, prefers feedback and face-to-face communication so they can ensure clarity on projects.

Gen Z’ers continually look for ways to move forward. This generation is highly driven and they don’t want to spend their time doing work that won’t challenge them. Boring paperwork and sending out emails isn’t going to cut it like it did for millennials. In fact, 60 percent of Gen Z mentioned that they want to make a difference in the world. That means that this younger generation is determined to change company culture into something relevant enough for others who strive for more opportunity.

This generation wants to feel appreciated in the workplace. This does not necessarily mean that they want a pizza party after every finished project (although, they might not be opposed). What they are asking for is acknowledgement from their higher-ups. It is actually proven that for those in higher position to validate their new younger employees/interns because it increases their productivity, creative development and helps reach company goals.

Of course, Generation Z is known for their knowledge of what’s new and trending. About a decade ago, companies appreciated the “fresh ideas” that millennials brought to the table. Well, Gen Z not only knows what can improve a company’s mission but also brings in new technology ideas into the workspace. They will not settle in a low productivity work environment, so it is important to know how to liven up the job itself.

Going forward, Generation Z will transform future working environments through their driven work ethic and bright ideas.