Create A Friendly Environment
The atmosphere in our work environment can often dictate the mood amongst employees. Toxic work environments can fast become breeding grounds for anxiety disorders or depression and can often stem from an unhealthy workplace culture. This can come from a whole variety of sources such as negative culture, poor relationships or disorganised processes to name a few.Ultimately, an employer must recognise that employee wellbeing is impacted by everything. Businesses must start by adopting a truly supportive stance surrounding mental health and wellbeing, tackling stigma within the business and reviewing the existing culture and workplace practices that might negatively impact the working environment.Never overlook the impact of culture . Employers must focus on creating a warm, friendly environment that creates a sense of belonging and understanding. Lead by being supportive and do everything you can to ensure employees dont feel alone with their challenges, especially around mental health. One of the best ways to demonstrate this support is by having leadership share their own mental health story. When it comes from the top down, it changes everything.
Work With Your Anxiety Not Against It
For many, anxiety is seen as the enemy, holding you back from taking the action you need to get things done at work. What if you used anxiety to your advantage instead of seeing it as a burden?
Anxiety causes a surge in adrenaline in the body, which can help give you the drive you need to tackle your to-do list. Research suggests that moderate levels of anxiety can boost productivity and improve performance.
And while anxiety can feel like a weakness, you might find some ways to see another side of it. If it feels like you spend a lot of time fighting yourself, it could help to take a closer look at what your anxiety brings to the table.
You might be able to use your emotions as a guide to help you make positive change. For example, you may feel worried as you think about an upcoming work presentation. Sit for a moment with your fears, and then create a plan to deal with the sources of your stress. Your anxiety might ease up when you have a plan in place.
What Is Performance Anxiety At Work
Performance anxiety at work involves feelings of worry, uneasiness or distress about a specific or general aspect of your work performance. Often, those experiencing this anxiety recognize that it’s irrational, but they still have trouble calming their nerves and managing their anxious thoughts.
Living with work-related anxiety can be challenging for your mental health and physical well-being and can make it difficult to feel confident, engaged and fulfilled in the workplace, so learning to recognize and overcome these feelings is important. When you learn to identify your anxious thoughts and behaviors, you can implement strategies that help you manage them.
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Causes Of Anxiety In The Workplace
Many situations can contribute to or lead to work anxiety. These can include conflicts with your boss or coworkers, coworker bullying, uncertainty about job stability, unrealistic deadlines, or even absent or ambiguous instructions that make your job more difficult.
I took a class in school that opened my eyes to an interesting concept. We take on the roles that we had growing up in our families in the workplace for our own healing. This helped me tremendously because I began to see my role, and instead of blaming, I started healing.
Many people believe that all anxiety is the same, but the truth is, there are many forms of anxiety. In fact, there are a few different types of anxiety that you may be dealing with. Knowing the differences can help as you try to address the issue and learn better, healthier thought and behavior patterns.
Anxiety Makes You Disengaged
People with anxiety are in a constant state of fight or flight and therefore have a hard time focusing on the day-to-day demands of work, explains Lorna Borenstein, CEO and founder of Grokker. This means you’re either lacing up your gloves to become defensive or you’re withdrawing from your responsibilities and colleagues. “If work is causing or adding to your anxiety, and you feel like your managers or employers don’t care, this makes the situation even worse,” she says.
If you feel left out or as if your voice goes unheard, resulting in more anxiety, don’t be afraid to express your concerns. Make a conscious effort to integrate yourself as part of the culture. “To help manage the anxiety that leads to disengagement, it’s important to connect with others at work and try to develop friendships with colleagues,” Borenstein recommends.
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Depression Is More Serious And Long
- a decrease in productivity or performance
- taking more sick days or being late more than usual
- unprovoked outbursts of anger
- having less energy or getting tired easily
- loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities
- isolating oneself from friends and family members
- feeling worthless or feeling very guilty for no reason
- changes in appetite or weight
- memory difficulties and difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- chronic aches and pains that dont respond to treatment
- frequent crying episodes
- suicidal thoughts or talk of suicide
When Anxiety Is Part Of Company Culture
The second, related set of anxiety-inducing traits within a workplace culture include:
- Promoting an environment where stress and busyness are normalized and valorized, part of a mistaken belief that these are signs of productivity. For example, Its normal for everyone to check email 24/7 and always be available.
- Lack of empathy regarding employee mental health
- Employees constantly feel like there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done
- Employees feeling as if they are always on due to supervisors and/or coworkers not respecting work/life boundaries
- Lack of autonomy
- Failure to recognize performance and hard work
While these conditions can lead to anxiety in any employee, workers who experience marginalization in the wider world face even more of a burden when dealing with workplace anxiety.
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Practice Anxiety Management Strategies
After identifying your feelings and noting the sources of your anxiety, research some anxiety management techniques and integrate them into your workday. Since everyone experiences their anxiety differently, it’s important to find techniques that work for you.
Knowing what specific sources cause your anxiety and how your anxiety affects your feelings and actions can help you choose strategies that directly address your concerns. For example, if you know you’re prone to headaches and muscle soreness in the days leading up to a big meeting, try to incorporate gentle stretching, yoga or muscle relaxation techniques into your routine.
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Can I Call In Sick With Anxiety
It is generally not a good idea to take a mental health day spontaneously. That is, if you wake up in the morning and dread going to work, dont use that feeling as a reason to call in sick. Stress and anxiety are emotional experiences you have when there is something in your world you are trying to avoid.
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Avoid Or Reduce Conflict With Colleagues
Interpersonal conflict takes a toll on your physical and emotional health. Conflict among co-workers can be difficult to escape, so its a good idea to avoid conflict at work as much as you can.
Dont gossip, dont share too many of your personal opinions about religion and politics, and steer clear of “colorful” office humor.
When possible, try to avoid people who dont work well with others. If conflict finds you anyway, make sure you know how to handle it appropriately.
Exercise Before Or After Work
This isnt something youll do while youre at work, but its certainly a helpful tool for managing anxiety in general, and the effects can trickle down to work.
According to several studies, regular exercise can be helpful to reduce the symptoms of both depression and anxiety, and the effects can be long-lasting. Just one intense exercise session can help reduce your anxiety symptoms for hours, and a regular workout schedule may help reduce them over time.
In the past, I always exercised after work to relieve all the stress and anxiety I built up throughout the day. Lately, Ive switched to morning workouts, and its really helped me remain focused, centered, and calm throughout the day.
Thats not to say I dont experience anxiety during the workday because I certainly do. But exercising in the morning helps get me in the right mindset and relieves a lot of the anxious feelings I usually have before work.
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Figure Out Your Priorities
When it comes down to it, everyone has the same amount of time in a day. You cant do everything, so you must learn how to prioritize your tasks and choose where you spend your energy.
For this strategy to work, you must be honest about whats most essential and least important. It might not be easy at first, but trust me: if something isnt getting done because its not important enough for you at that moment or if someone else is doing it better than you would it doesnt belong on your plate!
Talk With Someone About Your Problems
Talking with someone about your problems is a great way to get a fresh perspective on things and make yourself feel better. You can speak to a friend or family member, but it may be best to talk with your supervisor or Human Resources department if you have work issues. If the issue persists after talking with others, consider speaking with a therapist or counselor who can help guide you through it.
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Talk To Your Managers
Awareness of the importance of mental health is on the rise, and the corporate world is responding accordingly with new support schemes and workplace initiatives designed to help monitor and alleviate stress and anxiety levels among staff.
At Lanes Careers, we use a purpose-designed wellbeing app to check in on the happiness levels of our workers at the start of every shift, and offer regular consultations with an in-house wellbeing practitioner to help struggling employees to talk through and manage any problems they might be having, whether in or outside of work.
Many other companies will offer similar mental health support schemes, so if youre having prolonged issues with anxiety, its always a good idea to reach out to your managers for support. Theres no one-size-fits-all quick fix for dealing with anxiety, but sometimes, simply knowing that youre not facing the problem alone can make a huge difference.
You can read on for more information on the benefits Lanes Groups wellbeing programme has delivered for our staff if youd like to find out more about working with Lanes Group, .
For more information on this topic, on the current state of mental wellbeing in UK workplaces.
Start With A Good Morning Routine
It’s all in the preparation. Before you head off to work, let yourself have a relaxing morning. Eat a good breakfast, listen to your favorite music, or play with your pets. Let your mornings feel calming rather than rushed so you don’t walk into work feeling overwhelmed.
Practice the commute before your first day so you know where to go, and time how long your morning routine takes you so that you’re more organized and ready to start your day on the right foot.
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Be Intentional With How You Get Your News
Gathering too much information about the coronavirus, or getting it from the wrong place, can make you more anxious. Benton and Tarry agree that it’s best to be intentional with how much time you spend reading the news and where you get it from. For example, you may stick with listening to a news radio show for 30 minutes on your morning and evening commutes, but then avoid scrolling through Twitter during your free time.
Defer to official sources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, for general updates on the state of the pandemic and how to keep yourself safe. Then, look to what your local health authorities are saying for day-to-day news.
“Knowing your local information is the most important for making your own decisions,” Benton says.
Think About Your Past Jobs To Help You Plan For The Future
Take some time to identify what caused you to feel anxious during previous jobs and, if you are currently employed, what makes you feel too anxious to work in the job you have now. Is there anything you could do to manage these symptoms in any future work you do?
For example, you may have found that your anxiety spikes when you have to interact with certain people, or when you become overloaded with tasks, responsibilities or deadlines.
Think about what you would want to be different in a future workplace. Would you prefer to work with a smaller group of people or to be employed in a less deadline-driven, high-pressure environment? The right job for you will be one that doesnt cause your anxiety to rise to an unmanageable level.
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How To Manage Stress And Depression In Your Workplace
Overwhelmed and stressed by your ever-growing to-do list at work? Youre not the only one. Most of us find our jobs stressful at times. We may feel we have too much to do without enough support or resources. We may have too little job satisfaction or problems with managers or co-workers. Or we may worry about outsourcing or economic downturns.
Stress can be defined as the degree to which you feel overwhelmed or unable to cope as a result of pressures that are unmanageable.
Mental Health Foundation, 2018
If you have missed time at work due to job-related stress, or if its led to physical illness, family issues, and other concerns, you may have noticed that often these feelings go away after the crisis has passed. However, sometimes feelings of stress remain and can affect your work, your relationships, or your overall well-being. Dont ignore stress as it can also be a sign of depression or other physical or mental health concerns.
Signs Of Stress At Work
Many of your employees are likely already struggling with these issues. You need to know how to spot issues before you can begin to reduce stress at work.
The most common symptoms of workplace stress are:
- Becoming more irritable or aggressive towards others.
- Withdrawing from social interaction, or being uncharacteristically timid.
- Being distracted or making more mistakes than usual.
- Constantly worrying about things or doubting their work.
Workplace stress affects more than just a persons mental health. It can also come with physical symptoms.
The physical symptoms of stress can include:
- Headaches and migraines.
The HSE breaks this down into six main areas that can become causes of stress at work if not properly managed.
Those six main areas are:
- Demands – Being unable to cope with the demands of the job.
- Control – Being unable to decide how they complete a task.
- Support – Feeling they dont receive enough information or support.
- Relationships – Having trouble with relationships with others at work.
- Role – Not fully understanding their role or responsibilities.
- Changes – Not feeling engaged when the business is going through changes.
You wont know how employees are coping with stress at work without having a conversation with them. Stress affects people differently and so you may not know when an individual is struggling with something that others arent.
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Anxiety Can Fuel An Intense Fear Of Failure
Since anxiety is often born out of an underlying sense of dread, it can make you doubt yourself and your capabilities. After all, if something in your head is always preaching scary things, it’s normal to be afraid. Sadly, Augustine says the fear of failure can be so overwhelming that it can cause paralysis. “Those who suffer from this may find it hard to begin a project because they’re so worried about failing,” she continues.
Whether it manifests itself as writer’s block or severe procrastination, Augustine says the best way to overcome this situation is to take a small step in the right direction. You can do this by channeling your nervous energy for good. This includes acknowledging your feelings rather than suppressing them and then finding the silver lining. “Remember, when you’re feeling anxious about something, it’s because you actually care about that project, meeting, or presentation,” she says. “Instead of stressing about your anxiety and wasting energy trying to manage it, look for ways to use this nervous energy to help accomplish your goal.”
Anxiety Disorders That Someone With Work Anxiety Might Have Include:
- Generalized anxiety disorder. A person with this disorder has chronic anxiety that often comes with exaggerated worry and tension even when there isnt anything to physically cause it.
- Obsessive compulsive disorder . A person with OCD has unwanted thoughts or repetitive compulsions. This could include performing certain rituals, such as mental checking, counting, or washing your hands. These tasks can provide temporary relief, but the anxiety always comes back in full force.
- Social anxiety disorder.Social Anxiety Disorder is an anxiety disorder where a person feels overwhelming anxiety in everyday social situations. It can be limited to just one type of situation, such as public speaking, or it may be so broad that a person can experience symptoms any time they are around people.
- Panic disorder. Folks with a panic disorder experience repeated episodes of intense fear, often accompanied by physical symptoms such as chest pains, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and dizziness. This is often called a panic attack.
There are many methods to help you deal with anxiety that you can practice on your own. But, when your work anxiety is stemming from the workplace, heres what might help.
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