A recent Mayo Clinic article examining how a Major League Baseball first-base coach greatly improved his job performance will likely be a fascinating read for those struggling with work stress. In it, the author describes how the first base coach began intently studying game film of other teams’ pitchers in action. Over time, he was able to tell when the pitchers were about to throw out pitches that their catchers would not be able to grasp easily. Consequently, he was able to signal one of his team’s baserunners when they should attempt to steal a base. After taking this data driven approach, the first-base coach was able to raise his team’s second base stealing success rate up considerably.

The moral of this particular story is that by developing your skill set and finding innovative ways to increase productivity at work, you’ll experience a greater level of professional success and you’ll become more valuable to your employer. In addition to giving a greater level of job security, you’ll likely find that your level of work stress will decrease dramatically when your supervisors make a point of recognizing the extra effort you’ve been putting in. And, while the Mayo Clinic story involves sports the idea of relieving work stress through dedicated self-improvement can apply to workers in any industry.

Read the full article here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/distinguish-yourself-at-work/expert-blog/bgp-20199044