Relaxation Techniques You Can Practise at Work

Work is where most daily tension builds, and it is the place where the usual relaxation advice fits worst. You cannot lie on the floor of an open-plan office, and a twenty-minute guided meditation is not happening between calls. What you can do is take very short, regular breaks that nobody will notice. This guide sets out options for one, three and five minutes, and starts with what the official guidance actually says about breaks. For stretches, see our companion piece on desk stretches and micro-breaks.

What the guidance says about breaks

For people who work at screens, the Health and Safety Executive says the law requires employers to plan work so that there are breaks or changes of activity. It adds that there is no legal guidance on how long or how often those breaks should be, because it depends on the kind of work. Its practical advice is to take short breaks often, giving the example that five to ten minutes every hour is better than twenty minutes every two hours. Ideally, it says, people should be able to choose when to take them, and breaks should allow you to get up and move around, or at least stretch and change posture.

Two things follow. Short and frequent beats long and rare. And a break can be a change of task, such as making a phone call standing up, not only a rest.

One-minute options

• Release three areas. Drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw, open your hands. Take three slow breaths in that position.
• Look into the distance. Find the furthest point you can see and rest your eyes on it for several breaths.
• Feet and seat. Feel both feet flat on the floor and the chair supporting your back. It is a small thing, and it brings your attention out of your head.

Three-minute options

• Slow breathing at your desk. The NHS breathing exercise can be done sitting in a chair that supports your back, with your arms on the chair arms and both feet flat on the ground, roughly hip-width apart. Let your breath flow as deep into your belly as is comfortable without forcing it. Counting steadily to five on the way in and out is optional. Done quietly, it looks like someone thinking. Our guide to comfortable diaphragmatic breathing has more detail.
• The five-senses check. Note five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste. The University of Rochester Medical Center describes it as a way to ground yourself when your mind is bouncing between anxious thoughts. See the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique.
• Press and release. Press your palms together under the desk for five seconds, release, and repeat with your feet against the floor.

Five-minute options

• Walk without your phone. To the kitchen, up a flight of stairs, or outside if you can. This meets the HSE point about getting up and moving.
• A proper tea break. Away from your desk, without a screen. The break only works if your attention leaves the work.
• Reset your list. Write down what is outstanding, choose the next single action, and decide what can wait until tomorrow.

Before a difficult meeting or call

Arrive two minutes early, or take two minutes before dialling. Sit with both feet on the floor, drop your shoulders, and take several slow breaths with a relaxed, slightly longer out-breath. Decide on the one point you most need to make. Walking in with a slower breathing rate and a single clear aim is more useful than rehearsing the whole conversation.

Making breaks happen

• Tie them to events, not the clock. After every call, when you send a long email, or each time you refill your water.
• Use natural changes of task. The HSE notes that in most jobs it is possible to stop screen work to do something else, such as a meeting or a phone call.
• Stand for something. Pick one regular task, such as phone calls, and do it standing.
• Protect lunch. Even fifteen minutes away from the screen counts.

When the problem is the work, not the technique

Breathing exercises can take the edge off a tense day. They cannot fix an unmanageable workload, and it would be wrong to suggest they can. If stress at work is persistent, raise it with your manager or your employer’s occupational health or HR contact. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you are struggling to cope with stress or the things you are trying yourself are not helping, and notes that NHS talking therapies may be able to help with stress.

If an exercise makes you feel worse, stop. Relaxation exercises are not right for everyone and do not replace mental-health care. If focusing on your breath or body leaves you more anxious or unsettled, switch to something outward-facing, such as noticing objects around you or taking a gentle walk, or simply stop. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you are struggling to cope with stress or the things you are trying yourself are not helping, and calling NHS 111 or asking for an urgent GP appointment if you need help urgently.

Relaxation techniques are generally considered safe for healthy people, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, though occasionally people report increased anxiety or intrusive thoughts.

The bottom line

At work, small and often wins. Take a short break roughly every hour, make sure some of those breaks involve getting up and moving, and keep one discreet technique ready for the moments you cannot leave your desk. If the stress keeps coming back whatever you do, treat that as a sign to talk to someone, not to try harder at relaxing.

Sources

• Health and Safety Executive, “Working safely with display screen equipment: Work routine and breaks”
• NHS, “Breathing exercises for stress”
• University of Rochester Medical Center, “5-4-3-2-1 Coping Technique for Anxiety”
• NHS, “Get help with stress”
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know”

Last reviewed: 19 September 2026. This article is general information about everyday relaxation and is not medical advice.