Suffering from seasonal salon stress? How to survive this busy period

Working in a salon or spa can be a wonderfully rewarding experience, but at times it might become challenging or stressful, especially at times when your workplace is even busier than usual, like at Christmas. 

If you love your salon job but are ‘rushed off your feet' feeling overwhelmed or stressed, these feelings are not uncommon.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work found that 22% of Irish employees experience work-related stress “always” or “most of the time”. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) defines stress as “as the negative reaction people have to aspects of their environment as they perceive it”.

If you feel you're not coping with work demands and the consistent demands of customers, you're not alone. You might need to talk to your boss about your work and hours and also ask for help and training. 

Stress can affect people differently but there are six main areas relating to salon/spa work stress:

 

Signs of stress might be: 

This is in addition to wanting to leave your job, arguing with colleagues or senior staff, staying off sick or having duvet days. 

The holiday season brings further demands and needs to be planned for; ask your boss what plans they have in place over Christmas and New year to ensure the salon runs smoothly and customers feel pampered and satisfied.

Make sure you get enough rest and breaks for lunch, water and tea throughout the day so you're able to cope with more demands and get some exercise even if it's just a walk. 

Reframing techniques and training might be worth considering. I believe that a proactive stress strategy is essential to any business. This involves giving people techniques that they can use to de-stress (often mindfulness-based), creating an ‘anchor' to help them when stressed and also powerful re-framing ideas that can turn around the way they deal with their everyday problems.