So, it is the day after the Memorial Day weekend, and it is back to the office and the proverbial grind. If you are a busy insurance adjuster like me, you have already been thinking about the open files you must address, the emails you have turned in, and some phone calls you need to make.
Prioritizing all of this can be challenging, even for seasoned insurance adjusters. We get better at shouldering the burden with experience; however, there comes a point when your workload is beyond your control. It is easy to become stressed during these times. Here are some tips for managing stress at work when your claims caseload is overwhelming.
Practice Self-Care
So, what does self-care mean? It means different things for different people, but for me, it means setting time to do nothing or to do activities that relax your mind and body. This means taking a walk; sometimes, it means reading a book; sometimes, it means sacking out on the couch and playing fruit madness on your phone.
We all need to recharge our batteries and remove ourselves from the stressful work environment for at least a brief period so that you can regroup and start fresh again. Sometimes this must be a long weekend like the one we just had. Other times it can be just a 15 or 20-minute break while at work. Take a quick walk around the building or hop in the car and spin around the block while you listen to some cool tunes. Whatever you choose, make sure it is an activity that will result in recharging your batteries so that stressful situations can be met with a clear head.
Time Management and Prioritization
One of the fastest ways to ensure that you will be stressed out is to have a disorganized and cluttered work calendar. If there is no Harmony in the way your workday is scheduled, you will constantly be putting out fires. If you have a day when one emergency is popping up after another that is beyond your ability to control your schedule, prioritization is still an important skill. As these emergencies pop up, be decisive in determining which ones take the highest priority. Sometimes you might get this judgment wrong and prioritize something less important than something else, which means it was the most important thing for you to do then.
To-do lists can be extremely satisfying. As you check items off that list, you will feel the stress leaving your body. If you are feeling extra stressed, assign a schedule to the tasks on your list and see if you can beat the time you predicted. Satisfaction will build wins throughout your day so that by the end of the day, you will feel accomplished and satisfied that you put in a solid day’s work. A to-do list with many check marks can be your trophy at the end of the day.
Effective Communication
The people involved in claims you must deal with daily often seek answers. When they reach out to you to get those answers and cannot get a hold of you, their stress level increases. When their stress level increases, rest assured that your stress level will also increase. A surefire technique for managing stress at work is communicating well with your policyholders, claimants, and clients if you are an independent insurance adjuster.
Nobody likes to be kept in the dark, so be open and honest. If you are getting peppered with questions on a daily or hourly basis from a persistent caller or emailer, do your best to answer their questions as soon as possible, even if you do not have any added information.
Often we delay our response because we’re waiting for that one new piece of information to come in before we talk again; however, sometimes it’s better to whip up a quick email just reminding the other person that you are still waiting and you’ll let them know as soon as the additional information comes in. This will often result in a request or even a demand to know how long this process will take. Respond with a best guess as to the time, or if you cannot make a guess, tell them there is no way to know exactly how long it will take as it is out of your control.
Avoiding phone communications or emails because you lack information is a surefire way to increase the stress level of the people you work with and your stress level.
Set Boundaries
Work is work, and life is life. Remember that throughout your career, there will be times when you will be asked to work after hours or make late phone calls. This does not have to mean that you sacrifice your time. It just means that you might have to reschedule your time. Remember that as much as you schedule your work, you must also schedule your time where work does not interfere. If you fail to schedule one or the other, one will take over the other, which could be bad for both work and personal life issues.
Use a calendar to draw boundaries around your personal life to ensure that you have a personal life!
Seek Support
We are all in this together! Contact your supervisor or coworkers to explain the situation if you feel stressed at work. Chances are they will have experienced the same thing and may have suggestions as to how to reduce the stress level that you are experiencing.
Sometimes the help is outside your workspace and can be obtained through social media resources. There are a lot of helpful tips and articles online, and there are a lot of insurance claims forums filled with claims insurance adjusters who have similar problems to you. Chances are, if you are active in these forums posting and asking questions that you will find answers to any difficult questions that you have that are making your job more difficult, and who knows, maybe you will be able to contribute to help someone else who needs support in their role as a stressed out claims insurance adjuster.
Being a claims insurance adjuster can be stressful for anyone. Many people are successful in this profession and love the job even with all the stresses that can occur. But claims adjusting is not special when it comes to stress levels. There are lots of jobs and careers that have even more different stress elements. Practice these five tips when things are getting crazy at your desk, and do not forget that Auten claims Management is always here with ears to listen.
Discover the ultimate stress-reducing solution when confronted with claimants’ attorneys. Take advantage of our latest whitepaper “Defense Secrets: Insights on Injury Attorneys“. For any queries, reach out to us directly at 585-454-8094 or email us at wauten@auten.claims. We’re here to empower you with the knowledge you need to succeed.
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