Contd from Monday
What are the signs?
Workplace anxiety can involve a wide range of symptoms.
According to Palacios, you might:
Feel better at night but worse in the morning
Feel physically ill when thinking about work or receiving work emails or calls
Have a hard time focusing on work-specific tasks
Notice your motivation shrinking
Often procrastinate on work-related tasks
Avoid meetings, new projects, or work events
You might also experience a sense of dread when you think about going to work and feel overwhelmed once you get there, says Boone Christianson, a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and author of the book “101 Therapy Talks.”
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
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What causes workplace anxiety?
A number of factors can contribute to workplace anxiety, and these can vary from person to person.
For example, says Palacios, 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
Dealing with a difficult boss
Lacking a sense of purpose around your work
According to Kimberly Wilson, PhD, LMFT, an organizational psychologist and therapist, you could also develop workplace anxiety if your job:
Has a toxic workplace culture
Comes with unrealistic expectations
Lacks enough staff
Is highly competitive
Didn’t provide proper training
Doesn’t compensate you for overtime
Doesn’t prioritize your health, wellness, or safety
In some cases, your work stress can also have a deeper, more subtle underlying cause or contributing factor.
For example, says Christianson, maybe you’ve had negative experiences in the past with making phone calls, or your boss reminds you of your dad. Maybe your college professor’s harsh criticism sharpened your sensitivity to any kind of feedback on writing-related tasks.
As Palacios also points out, “being an anxious person or having a pre-existing anxiety disorder can make us more likely to experience workplace-specific anxiety.”
For example, she notes, if you already live with anxiety you might go straight to the worst-case scenario. Consequently, your workplace might become a significant source of stress if you (mistakenly) assume:
You’ll miss key deadlines
Your supervisor thinks you’re doing a terrible job
You’ll always fall short of expectations
To be contd
Source: Healthline
