4 Tips for Managing Workplace Anxiety

American workers are an anxious lot. According to surveys, more than 80 percent of workers experience work-related stress at any given time. Some common causes of workplace anxiety include deadlines, performance reviews, and relationships with co-workers and superiors.

If going to work makes you anxious, you need to act; otherwise, your health and well-being will decline, your performance will follow suit, and you may lose your job. It’s not uncommon for employers to fire employees who continually fail to meet performance expectations.

Workplace anxiety is not a permanent sentence, so you shouldn’t let it make your life at work more difficult. This article dives into some strategies for managing job stress effectively.

1. Identify the Source of Your Work-Related Anxiety

Anxiety doesn’t just happen. It’s caused or triggered by something. The cause can be in or out of your control.

This is why the first step to combating workplace anxiety is to identify what’s causing it.

Are you suffering from anxiety because it’s a new workplace and you’re not good at interacting with strangers? Perhaps a performance review is scheduled for next week, and you’re afraid nothing positive is going to come out of the review. Or maybe you’ve been at loggerheads with your boss one too many times, and you’re worried about getting fired.

Depending on the cause, some instances of anxiety can be easy to manage. For instance, anxiety induced by being a new employee will simply wear off with time as you get familiar with your coworkers.

However, if your anxiety is caused by something that’s out of your control, such as a toxic workplace, you’ll need to be more proactive.

2. Consider Working from Home

Working from home isn’t necessarily less stressful than working on-site, but it can bring you some relief. If your job is making you anxious because you don’t get along with some of your coworkers, for example, working from home removes you from an environment that causes your anxiety.

Remember that remote work has its fair share of pitfalls. Burnout among remote workers is at record highs, so you must ensure that your new environment doesn’t become a stressor.

3. Avoid Workplace Shenanigans

Put a handful of people together, and soon enough, there will be gossip, drama, backbiting, and whatnot. The workplace is no different.

Although office gossip has a strong allure, getting sucked into it can increase your risk for workplace anxiety. It ruins the relationships you’ve built with your coworkers, bad blood can develop, and in some cases, will get to management. This is hardly an ideal environment for optimum employee health and wellness.

Avoid office politics as much as you can. Keep in mind that at the end of the day, you’re there to do your job and earn a living.

4. Get Professional Help

Anxiety is a mental disorder that can morph into clinical depression if left untreated. If you’ve implemented measures for managing anxiety but you’re not seeing any tangible results, it’s time to get professional help.

A mental health counselor that offers anxiety therapy, such as Modern Era Counseling, will assess your symptoms and recommend the best treatment.

You Can Beat Workplace Anxiety

You’ll spend most of your adult life at work, so it’s important to put your mental health and wellness first. Don’t let workplace anxiety make your days unbearable. You can manage or even get the better of it.

Stay tuned to our blog for more career and lifestyle advice.