Dealing With Workplace Anxiety

Everybody, no matter how confident they appear, has a fear of the unknown. Each person has his or her own share of anxieties. A place that creates great anxiety in people's minds is the place from where they get their incomes and build their careers — the workplace. One's work and workplace are the main sources of anxiety and stress in today's world. Strict bosses, fear of demotion, maintaining deadlines and the fear of losing one's job can make anyone anxious. Every workplace has a culture that one has to adhere to whether one likes it or not. This conflict of interest also creates anxiety. Dealing with co-workers or customers is equally stressful.

People have their own ways of dealing with these anxieties — either by quitting the job or by adapting. The first step to deal with anxiety is to acknowledge that one is going through this anxious phase. Whatever the society feels, one should seek professional help to find out a way to deal with this stress. Physical exercises can also be a good stress buster. Yoga and meditation are equally effective in relaxing the mind. Breathing exercises also help to lessen one's stress and relax the body.

Some simple steps can go a long way in handling anxiety. One needs to write down one's weaknesses and strengths. After setting the goals one should try and find out how it can be achieved. Interacting with people and pouring one's heart out to close friends help to cope with anxiety. A solution may not evolve from all these discussions but the anxiety and stress building up inside can be let out. This in itself would help to relax the mind.

A right amount of anxiety, in fact, can help in one's work performance. But if anxiety levels become too much, it can interfere with one's ability to work. Anxiety overcomes the mind when one feels he or she is becoming a victim of certain situations which are out of control. Company mergers, reorganizations and change initiatives are quite common nowadays. Naturally, no job comes with a life-term guarantee and layoffs can happen anytime. Many companies tend to have a small workforce thus burdening the employees with too much workload.

A person who is feeling anxious may not appear to be agitated and tense. Anxiety can be cognitive, physiological or emotional. Sweaty hands, a pounding heart, headaches, indigestion, muscle stiffness and excess blood sugar are the physiological effects of anxiety. Cognitive effects hamper the ability to focus and make one forgetful. When people are anxious they react emotionally by losing their temper or becoming impatient with co-workers.

To control workplace anxiety, one should start by changing one's mindset. It is helpful to learn that there are other people who are also suffering from equal amounts of anxiety. One should try and pin point the areas that are leading to anxiety. Then, a logical plan can be worked out to deal with troublesome situations. An important way to deal with anxiety is to talk with the boss. Taking a break is equally essential to fight anxiety. It helps to relax the mind and recharge the soul.

• Matt Thompson
• 25/05/2009, 6:59 AM
• 0 Comments