Most people at some time in their career experience stress in the workplace. This could be for a number of reasons including pressure of meeting deadlines, learning new tasks, fear of speaking up in meetings or worrying that their work won’t be good enough. A little bit of stress in the workplace isn’t always bad as it can help keep you on your toes, stay focused and energetic and drive you to meet new challenges in the workplace.
However, workplace anxiety differs in that it goes beyond the body’s natural response to fear and can severely affect a person’s productivity and performance, workplace relationships, physical and emotional health, and can even mean the difference between success and failure in the job.
In this article we have provided some strategies to help solve anxiety in the workplace.
Create Balance Between Work and Personal Life
There is nothing wrong with being ambitious and wanting to build a successful career. However, it is important to remember that one of the reasons we aim for success at work is so we can live an enjoyable life outside of work.
Focusing all your time and energy on work can lead to burnout and heighten your anxiety. It is important to take time out on a regular basis where you can forget about work and enjoy time with friends and family to socialise and have fun. Spending some alone time in nature or a special place is also important to unwind and rejuvenate and will help to ease workplace anxiety.
Break Up Your Workload and Prioritise
If you’re working on a project that seems too overwhelming and the thought of it is adding to your anxiety, write out a plan of how you will work through it. Break it up into smaller jobs and create a step by step action guide to tick off as you go along. Only focus on the smaller tasks set for each day and before you know it that big scary job will be complete.
If you have taken on more than you can handle and have over committed then find ways to delegate and hand over tasks that you don’t need to do yourself. Learn to say no and realise that you can’t do everything yourself and that it’s okay to ask for help if you’re struggling with your workload.
Stay Healthy
When you’re overly focused on work it can be easy to neglect your physical health. Regular exercise is extremely important to help lift your mood, increase energy and sharpen your focus. When things are getting too stressful at work, take a break and go outside for walk, this alone is especially soothing for the nervous system.
Food choices have a huge impact on how you feel throughout the day. Try eating small, healthy meals frequently throughout the day to keep your energy up and to avoid mood swings. It’s very tempting to give into sugary cravings when anxiety levels are high but these foods will only lead to a crash in energy and mood, and make your anxiety symptoms worse.
Talk To Your Boss
If you’re not coping at work for any reason, whether it be an over demanding workload or a conflict with a colleague it’s important not to keep it bottled up inside. Go to your supervisor or boss and let them know how you’re feeling and how it is affecting you. Happy and healthy employees are more productive, so work together with your boss to make improvements at work that will help ease your anxiety.
These strategies are great ways to help deal with anxiety that is being caused by or heighten because of situations at work. Anxiety is a serious mental health condition and not something to be tackled alone. On top of the strategies outlined above, be sure to see a professional therapist to help you work through your anxiety disorder.