Guide to Managing Workplace Anxiety

If your anxiety revolves around work, you might be experiencing workplace anxiety, also known as work stress.  

There are a few key signs of workplace anxiety: 

• On your days off, you feel pretty good and your anxiety lowers. Also, you feel better at night but worse in the morning.
• If you work Monday through Friday, feelings of anxiety and dread overshadow your weekend, especially when you think about work. And you notice your motivation shrinking.
• You have a tough time talking with colleagues due to a competitive work culture, but you have no problem chatting with people outside of work.

Workplace anxiety can involve physical symptoms, too. These might include: 

• head and neck pain
• tension in your body
• sweating palms
• consistent stomach pain or nausea 

Work stress may stem from: 

• needing to complete an urgent project or present at a meeting
• imposter syndrome, or a tendency to doubt yourself and feel deeply unqualified
• not having strong connections with colleagues or the company lacking enough staff
• dealing with a difficult boss
• lacking a sense of purpose around your work
• having a toxic or highly competitive workplace culture

But with a few small steps, you can successfully overcome or manage your work stress: 

Pinpoint your triggers

Identifying specific situations that increase your stress levels can help you figure out the best strategy to handle them going forward. 

Zero in on your core fear

Try asking yourself questions about those “what-ifs” until you have uncovered your core fear. From there, you can gently challenge the fear by asking yourself such as 

• What is actually most likely to happen?
• If the worst-case scenario happens, how would I cope?

Take micro-breaks

You can recalibrate your emotions by taking small, short breaks throughout the day,

When anxiety pulls your mind elsewhere, you can also try the 54321 technique to ground yourself in the present moment. The technique is to name:

• 5 things you see
• 4 things you hear
• 3 things you feel
• 2 things you smell
• 1 thing you taste

Get moving

During and after exercise, the body releases calming neurotransmitters that create an overall feeling of well-being. 

Get organized

When big projects and presentations produce anxiety, getting organized can help reduce feelings of overwhelm. For example, 

• breaking down large tasks into smaller steps
• assigning each step a completion date and time

In other words, try to use your anxiety to propel you to accomplish tasks instead of putting them off. 

Set boundaries such as setting a specific time to start and end your workday

Engaging in one or two activities each week that honor your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Laugh it up

Finding something to laugh about can release tension, shift your perspective and stimulate positive neurotransmitters. Humor can even help you take yourself, not to mention your workplace, less seriously. 

Create a safe, soothing space

If you have a workspace, you can create a mini sanctuary or retreat that offers solace during stressful or anxiety-provoking situations. 

Boost your time away from work

Strive to create a life filled with relationships, events and activities outside of work that bring you joy, peace and happiness,

And lastly, seeking professional support/advice can be helpful.