New supervisors often find their jobs lonely and isolating. They may spend their days managing crises and solving problems on their own-with little opportunity for building camaraderie with peers.
The stress that accompanies such isolation may not manifest itself as the more common type of frantic intensity, but rather a low-level sense of unease and agitation. But it's still stress-and it can still eat away at you.
Share to get relief. Relief comes from finding safe outlets to share experience, discuss challenges and develop professional skills and knowledge. The stress of feeling isolated evaporates if you can meet regularly with other supervisors in a supportive setting.- "The answer is in the group." Peer groups are an excellent resource. Contact professional associations, trade groups or consulting firms that specialize in serving your industry. They may offer roundtable programs-often called peer networks-in which supervisors build trusting relationships with their peers in non-competing companies.
In most of these discussion groups, you meet monthly with about 10 other supervisors to exchange ideas and reflect on your experiences. Everyone agrees to honor confidentiality so that people can speak freely about their challenges. Participants almost always say, “I'm glad to know I'm not the only one going through this.
It's True! Even if your job involves constant interpersonal communication, you can still feel deeply isolated. In fact, supervisors whose work requires lots of one-on-one contact with others (whether employees, colleagues or customers) can exhibit higher pulse readings and blood pressure than those who spend more time alone. This is especially true if you're more of an introvert than an extrovert. In any case, don't assume that a workday consisting of frequent encounters with others will prevent you from feeling lonely and stressed.
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Tip Keep a journal. The act of writing down your feelings may not make you feel better right away, but it will help you detach yourself from your day-to-day isolation and gain a fresh perspective on it.
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