Experiencing anxiety at the workplace happens to everyone, and it’s normal. But irrational and persistent stress (anxiety disorder) can affect your performance and strain the relationship with your colleagues and supervisors. Anxiety disorders can influence you to turn down a promotion or any opportunity that involves traveling and public speaking.
According to research, employees with anxiety disorders often have trouble managing staff, setting and meeting deadlines, maintaining relationships, participating in meetings, dealing with different challenges, and making presentations.
The first step to dealing with work anxiety is establishing a personal wellness plan. Getting enough sleep, exercising, eating healthy, and engaging in social activities away from work raises your odds for reduced work anxiety.
Is work anxiety making you count down the hours until five o’clock comes around? Here are some tips to control it:
Know Everyone’s Name
Having a significant relationship with your colleagues makes it easier to address the specific person’s challenges rather than venting and gossiping to others. This starts with knowing your colleague’s names and what they do. If you’re not sure of a colleague’s name, don’t feel embarrassed to ask again.
Seek Help
When tasks in the office are hectic, you can easily say yes, even though you don’t understand how something is done. However, there are days when you feel like you will implode if you don’t express whatever is inside you. The embarrassment of seeking help or clarification is always worth it in the long run. It reduces the overall anxiety about your responsibilities. Asking for help also shows that you’re committed, and you’re genuinely concerned about producing great results.
Pay Attention to Facts
When overwhelmed or misunderstood, your mind and emotions can feel stretched in various directions. The best way to reduce anxiety is to control what’s being communicated and the entire conversation. Try to talk about your stress’s specific cause, ask your workmates to share their views, and be clear on how you would want this particular conflict to be dealt with. While at it, insist on the facts of the issue and stay in the present; probably, this isn’t the best time to raise past grievances, however much relevant they may appear.
You might be tempted to raise your complaints when recharged but reducing your anxiety is not a matter of winning. It is about sorting out the issue. Avoid emotionally triggered exaggerations that utilize words such as ‘never’ and ‘always.’ Start your sentences with ‘I’ because using ‘U’ may sound accusatory. Don’t forget to include a mediator if you’re concerned about a harsh reaction from your coworker. A Human Resource representative can act as a good mediator.
Avoid Triangles
The majority of workplace relationships are built on gossiping and venting about other coworkers. While this might give you short-lived entertainment or relief, it increases tension and anxiety. You can almost smell negativity in the air if your office has it in plenty. Bonding with a workmate by gossiping with another colleague is an unhealthy way of managing anxiety at work.
Before you start venting to your colleague, consider the possibility of the issue leaking to the said person. As much as it may seem challenging, the best thing you can do is approach the person you’re holding grudges with and discuss the situation. Let your colleagues beware you’re open to a lively and honest working environment. If you’re an employer or a supervisor, encourage your employees to solve their conflicts amongst themselves and genuinely reach out to you if the match has something to do with your leadership.
Maintain Contact
It is human instinct to cut off or avoid contacting people who make you uncomfortable, and the office is not an exception. Maybe you avoid emails because you have no idea how to answer them, or you avoid certain places if you’ve disagreed with your colleague. Anxiety disorder can even make you leave work earlier than usual if before your boss reach out to you with a concern. The issue with avoidance is that it is a short-lived solution. The butterflies in your belly and other anxiety symptoms will only worsen with time the more you use distance to deal with disagreements and other challenging emotions.
The more you face your challenges head-on, the less nervous you will be. Staying in contact with colleagues can also boost your confidence in saying no to extra responsibilities that overwhelm you.
Suppose you focus on building strong relationships, improving communication, and asking for help when necessary; the entire workplace benefits. Undoubtedly, anxiety will always be part of your day-to-day life, but it doesn’t have to disrupt you from performing well at work. As much as anxiety is an uncomfortable emotion, it is also an opportunity to develop your career.
You have no reason to run away or complain any time you feel anxious at work.
