GR Diary

3 Tips How Work Stress Can Be Managed

Published

7 years ago

October 2, 2018

grassroots

By Nmerichukwu Igweamaka

You may be the most enthusiastic person on Earth. Maybe you’re one of those bubbly personalities who make people laugh. Maybe you’re one of those people who are always ready to work and invest their full energy, no matter how great the challenge is.

You’ll still get tired, stressed, and burned out.
You have a family. You have a job. That’s enough to stress you out.

When you’re expected to deliver best results under any circumstances, the stress levels grow. Your boss is usually happy with your performance. They acknowledge your efforts and might even through a bonus here and there. But when you get too stressed out, they are not particularly prone to understanding.

According to APA’s Work and Well-Being Survey from 2016, more than half of employees believe that their organizations do not support employee wellness even though they offer workplace wellness programs.

Let’s get real: your boss can understand you’re having a bad day. However, they don’t want to and will not tolerate an employee who’s unable to manage work stress. A hectic day is a natural occurrence and you need to know how to handle it.

We’ll give you three important tips on how to manage stress and achieve high performance regardless of the pressure at work.

1. Recognize the Stress Triggers

What situations trigger stress? Sometimes you’re stressed out with no obvious reason, so you figure you’re just having a bad day. That’s not necessarily true. Stress is always caused by something, and you have to identify that trigger, so you can do something about it.

These are the most common causes of work-related stress:

Excessive workload.
If you’re really getting more work than you can handle, you must push yourself through it. Maybe it’s just a temporary situation because you’re dealing with a huge problem or there’s lack of employees. Your employer will probably provide bonuses for the extra efforts. But if the situation lasts for too long and you’re not seeing your employer planning changes, it’s time to talk about it. Explain that you’re getting more work than you can handle during the working hours.

Low salaries.
This is a serious problem. No matter how much you love your job, a low salary makes you feel miserable and unmotivated. Don’t hold back to ask for a raise if you feel like you really deserve it.

No prospects of career progress. If you reached a point that doesn’t paint a progressive future on that job, then you’re not motivated. You see no point in trying harder, since you already got where you planned to be. If this is the case, it’s time to invest in your professional skills. Take online courses that boost your qualifications and aim for higher goals!

Conflicting demands.
If you have multiple superiors, they all practice their authority on you. Sometimes their requirements are in conflict with one another, and you simply don’t know what to do. In such situation, it’s important to address the problem to a higher management level.

Journaling may help you identify your stressors. Write about your thoughts and feelings after a hard day at work. You’ll soon realize what exactly stresses you out.

2. Work on Your Response

So you identified the stressors. Surprise, surprise: you’re not the only one dealing with such issues at work. You may be different by the way you react to those triggers. It’s your response that makes you a failure or a success when you face such pressure.

So what should your response be?

Take a deep breath. If you admire someone, ask yourself: what would they do in a situation like this? What would the perfect person do? Ultimately, it comes down to the realization that this is just work. You have other aspects of your life, and you cannot allow your work to affect them all.

We’re not saying you should become a cold person. We’re not saying you shouldn’t try to solve things. We’re only saying that you should not allow a single moment to ruin your entire day. Be a true professional about it!

3. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is not just a buzzword. Yes; people use it even when they don’t know what it means. Yes; the concept is getting popular and diluted. But it’s still important, and it still helps you develop immunity against work-related stress.

In its simplest definition, mindfulness means awareness. When you’re aware of the present moment, you also become aware of your response to it.

If, for example, you’re working on a report and the deadline is impossible to meet, the average worker would get hectic. They would constantly complain, they would get a headache, and it would be impossible for them to complete the work by the given date.

A mindful employee, on the other hand, would be aware of the seriousness of the situation, but their approach would be different. They would think: “Okay… this is serious. I have to write the report and I have no other option. What can I do about it? I can ask a colleague to help or I can hire an essay writing service.”

You get the difference, right? Without mindfulness, all you can see is stress. With mindfulness, you still see the gravity of the situation, but you can stay calm because you’re focused on finding solutions.

Stress is just part of life. It’s a usual thing and most people learn how to get through it. When it gets too tough, however, it tests your limits. It’s a chance for you to show how strong you are and how strong you can get!

Events

NOTAP Announces Plan for 2025 Technology and Innovation Summit

….Harnessing R&D and Innovation Potentials of Nigeria’s STI Ecosystem

Published

4 days ago

October 11, 2025

Ani Sandra

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has announced the forthcoming NOTAP Technology and Innovation Summit (NTIS 2025), scheduled to hold on Thursday, 6th and Friday, 7th November 2025 at THE HALL, 16 Musa Yar’Adua Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, commencing daily at 9:00 AM.

Themed “Harnessing R&D and Innovation Potentials of Nigeria’s STI Ecosystem,” the two-day summit will convene key leaders from government, private sector, academia, development partners, and the startup ecosystem to explore strategies for strengthening Nigeria’s innovation landscape and positioning the nation as a hub for technology-driven economic growth.

Speaking on the upcoming summit, Dr. Lady Obiageli Amadiobi, the director-general of NOTAP, emphasized that the forum will serve as a strategic platform to foster dialogue and action around innovation policy, technology transfer, intellectual property, and commercialization.

“Our goal is to accelerate the transformation of research and creativity into commercially viable enterprises that drive national development,” she noted.

Summit Highlights

The NOTAP Technology and Innovation Summit 2025 will feature:

Ministerial Address and Keynote Sessions by renowned leaders in innovation, policy, and technology.
High-Level Panel Discussions on key themes such as technology transfer, intellectual property sovereignty, and building an AI-ready human resources.
Launching of Project NOVA (Nigeria’s Outsourcing Value Acceleration) and promotion of the NOTAP Local Vendor Policy (LVP) across all sectors of the economy.
Workshops and Breakout Sessions on IP management, funding access, and talent development.
Exhibitions and Innovation Showcases, featuring startups, research institutions, and technology companies.
Hackathon and Pitch Showcase, for emerging innovators and young entrepreneurs.
Networking and Partnership Sessions to foster collaboration across sectors.

The Summit will also host a Special Exhibition Pavilion to highlight Nigeria’s emerging technologies, research outputs, and development partnerships, reflecting NOTAP’s commitment to bridging the gap between invention and commercialization.

Partnership and Collaborations

The event is organized by the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) in partnership with Crestsage Limited and collaboration with stakeholders, to ensure a world-class experience that aligns with NOTAP’s mission of accelerating technology, promoting innovation and sustainable development across Nigeria.

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) is a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, mandated to regulate the acquisition of foreign technology, promote local research, and encourage the development and commercialization of indigenous technologies. Through strategic partnerships, policy advocacy, and capacity development, NOTAP continues to play pivotal roles in advancing Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.

Events

Ortom, NOA DG, others to feature as Panelists at GOCOP 2025 Conference

Published

3 weeks ago

September 26, 2025

Ani Sandra

Panelists at GOCOP conference

The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) has announced that Chief Samuel Ortom, former Governor of Benue State, will serve as one of the panelists at the upcoming GOCOP 2025 Conference.

The conference theme is “Reconciling Campaign Promises with Governance Realities: Challenges and Prospects.”

A press statement by GOCOP publicity secretary, Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke, disclosed that the panel discussion will feature esteemed panelists, including Prof. Abiodun Adeniyi, Registrar, Base University, Abuja; Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika,2025 Director, Institute of Continuing Education (UNILAG); and Alhaji Lanre Issa-Orilu, Director-General, National Orientation Agency.

The conference, he said, will take place on October 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

He recalled that GOCOP had earlier announced that the keynote speaker will be Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and immediate past Governor of Katsina State.

Events

Takang, Ladid Lead Africa’s Digital Sovereignty Debate At DACE 2025

Published

4 weeks ago

September 17, 2025

grassroots

L-R: Prof. Latif Ladid and Dr. Armstrong Takang

How can Africa remain safe and powerful in a world being rapidly redefined by Artificial Intelligence?

That pressing question will take centre stage at the 13th Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition (DACE), scheduled for October 28–29, 2025, in Abuja.

The two-day gathering will be anchored by two powerhouse keynote speakers: Dr. Armstrong Takang on Day 1 and Prof. Latif Ladid on Day 2, each bringing unique expertise to Africa’s digital sovereignty conversation.

Dr. Armstrong Takang, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), will open the conference with a keynote that situates Africa’s digital sovereignty within the broader context of economic reform, institutional innovation, and strategic governance.

A consummate professional and visionary thinker, Dr. Takang has spent decades bridging the gap between public reform and private investment across Africa and the United States. Before his current role at MOFI, he served as Special Adviser to the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, where he led the MOFI Transformation Team.

His career includes leading Growth Alliance Partners (GAP), a pan-African firm that helped turn around several businesses to create shareholder value, and working at KPMG in New York.

He has been instrumental in designing and implementing key national initiatives such as the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), and the ICT components of EFCC/NFIU systems.

Dr. Takang has also chaired national ICT committees and contributed to landmark policies, including Nigeria’s Content Development in ICT and the country’s 50-year Development Plan. His keynote will highlight how digital and financial sovereignty intersect to secure Africa’s long-term competitiveness.

On the other hand, Prof. Latif Ladid, Founder & President of the IPv6 Forum and Chair of the AI & Blockchain Global Forum, brings decades of global leadership in internet architecture, digital policy, and emerging technologies.

His expertise spans across pivotal roles from IEEE Future Networks to the Internet Society, 3GPP, and EU research on next-generation networks.

Organizers say his keynote will set the tone for the conference, unpacking how Africa can assert digital sovereignty, safeguard its data, and lead in shaping the ethics and standards of AI on the global stage.

“This year’s theme, ‘Sovereign Intelligence: Africa’s Voice in the Global Digital Order,’ isn’t just a concept, it’s a necessity,” said Dr. Evans Woherem, Chairman of Digital Africa Consult. “Prof. Ladid’s keynote will highlight what it takes for Africa to remain safe, independent, and powerful in the new AI era.”

At a time when global powers are racing to define AI norms and secure digital dominance, Africa risks being left behind if it fails to act. Much of its technology remains imported, its data stored abroad, and its languages invisible in mainstream AI systems.

DACE 2025 is designed to change this narrative, by equipping Africa with the tools, strategies, and partnerships to become a proactive co-author of the digital future.

The conference will feature high-level dialogues on digital sovereignty, policy innovation, and cross-border cooperation, alongside exhibitions of homegrown startups, developer workshops, and showcases of African-built AI tools for health, agriculture, finance, and education.

Beyond the panels and showcases, DACE 2025 is expected to produce a concrete roadmap for Africa’s digital sovereignty.

“This isn’t just about technology,” noted Woherem. “It’s about agency, safety, and independence. With Prof. Ladid setting the stage, we hope to leave Abuja with a united vision of Africa’s place in the global AI order.”

With delegates expected from across Africa and the world, the two-day gathering promises to be a defining moment in the continent’s digital journey.