Anxiety in the work place
In today’s work environment with its constant demand’s to do more with less, frequent reorganisations and regular rounds of redundancies it is easy to feel very unsettled, uninspired, anxious and fearful.
Anxiety in the work place can leave some people with racing thoughts and struggling to switch off. I recommend anything that you can focus on to distract your mind, whether it’s a puzzle, movie or exercise. For some people the racing thoughts, start off mild and get more extreme the more you focus on the worst possible outcome. What is important to remember when if you find yourself in this situation, is ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there reason to believe this will happen?
- What evidence is there to support this assumption?
- Is there any chance I am blowing this out of proportion?
If we take the example of fearing being made redundant. It is important to distinguish between the wild rumours that go around office and the times when organisations are genuinely being restructured. If you decide that it is simply a rumour then fine, remind yourself of that on a regular basis. It is always worth remembering that organisations always value effective people especially when everyone is stretched and there is a huge business costs associated with replacing valuable staff.
At some point in your career you are going to be in the situation where you are part of a re-organisation and may face the genuine threat of redundancy. One way to tackle the anxiety this type of situation creates, is to focus on a plan B, what you can do if the worse happens. It is natural when facing a threat of redundancy to want to play it safe and stick with what you know. While I was never made redundant, I did go through several re-organisations where colleagues where made redundant. I found having a plan B comforting. When writing my plan B, I always remembered that it was natural to feel uncomfortable with something that is new and unfamiliar, so don’t let the fear stop you. To put my fear of failing into perspective, I always imagined myself in an old peoples home at the end of my life and wondered if I would regret not taking the risk of trying to something new. So if you decide to write a plan B don’t just stick to the tried and tested.
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