Strategies for dealing with workplace anxiety

Do you feel work life is resulting in anxiety, leaving you feeling stressed and drained at the end of the day? It’s reported that deadlines and dealing with difficult people and conflict within the workplace are the biggest causes of work-related stress. Anxiety in the workplace can result in people missing work, deadlines not reached and quality of work decreasing.

Although anxiety triggers are not always avoidable there are ways to best deal with workplace anxiety.  Below are steps we recommend.

 

Stay in contact

You may find during times of anxiety you handle the stress by avoiding contact with people in the workplace. This can come down to not replying to emails you don’t know the answer to or even not having lunch in the staff room. The problem with avoidance is that it only offers a very temporary solution.

Communication is key, the more often you approach your problems head on, the less anxious and difficult it will be over time. Learning to be confident in communication will allow you to say no to additional workload, talk to your colleagues if your feeling stressed and be able to ask for help.

 

Office Drama

Although office drama may seem entertaining it can however make the office environment stressful. If drama arises try changing the subject or remove yourself from the situation. Don’t allow yourself to be in a situation where others may be dragged down.

 

Ask for Help

We have all been there when our workload is mounting, and we still say yes to additional work when we don’t understand what we actually need to do.  You may feel by asking for help your being a burden to your over worked colleagues. The most important thing to remember is everyone is always learning and asking for help will allow you to complete the work correctly. It also shows you genuinely care about doing a good job.

 

Set manageable deadlines

It’s all too easy to agree to deadlines that you know you cannot meet. But it’s better to be honest at the beginning and explain why it may take longer than to run late and not meet the deadline. A manageable deadline will allow you the time to complete a piece of work to the best of your ability. It will also reduce hours of anxiety and overworking.

 

Get away from your computer

Our workday often consists of spending hours sat in front of our computer. It is important to remember to have breaks away from the screen, go for a quick walk around the block, make a cup of tea and make sure you have a proper lunch break – that is not in front of your computer screen.

 

Stretching

Simple stretching can help ease anxiety at work. Although getting away from your computer is a great way to stretch your legs, we do understand some days this is not always possible. You may have back-to-back meetings or a deadline approaching. This is the time that gentle stretching at your desk can help manage anxiety at work.

A simple stretch is looking at the top left corner of your computer screen, then the right then the bottom left to right. Let your neck and head move slowly as your do this. A simple stretch that can relieve tension scowl you can get from staring at the screen for too long.

 

Access Resources

Many workplaces now offer employee assistance programs (EAPs) if they are able, they will be able to connect you to the best mental health resources available in the community. Although you may feel intimidated talking about your anxiety is a big step in learning to manage it. Through talking you will be able to identify the triggers of anxiety and learn different techniques in managing it, these techniques can then be applied to the workplace.

 

As well as following the above, another important way to manage work anxiety is looking at your overall life schedule – Ask yourself are you sleeping enough, eating healthy, engaging in activities outside of work hour?

Anxiety may be present throughout your life but learning to manage it will allow you not to let it interfere with your work life allowing you to enjoy your professional career.

The more you face your anxiety the more confident you will feel at handling situations. You may also be able to help others struggling with work anxiety.

Remember you got this!

Please email enquiries@cic-eap.co.uk for more information about how we can support you with this. We can also talk to you about training or EAP awareness sessions.