How to deal with anxiety at work

Irrespective of your age, skills and experience, professionals are bound to have some kind of insecurities and fears while working in an organisation. Workplace fears are common and they can be caused due to various reasons.

As and when we grow, we experience more anxiety and stress at work which can lead to underperformance and affect your relationship among co-workers and managers. These fears can make one feel terrified and uncomfortable leading to loss of confidence and ability to deliver results. Overcoming your fears and anxiety is very critical for creating a growth-centric environment where communication, trust and strength can thrive. Fears can be good, even essential for survival, as they alert us to when things are not right.

Here are some tips to help you overcome your fears:

Manifest positivity

It is human tendency to create negative scenarios about the future and be riddled with aggression. However, in reality, positive conflict is essential for learning, upgrading and adapting. Your anxiety and consequential fears will lead you to view the world in a very different way, because of which you will not be able to bring an impactful change in your environment. Hence, you must learn and ask questions to yourself as to how you can deal with past negative conflicts, what motivates you to work better, how to seek solutions and derive the right out-come. Having trust in your abilities is the key to bring about positivity in your work environment today.

Be consistent and committed to your goal

Channelise your goal even before you opt for a job. Be sure of what you are accepting and have all your concerns in place. Be consistent and committed towards your goal since that will give you a sense of purpose and accomplishment and will even keep your morale up among your colleagues. When the management knows how dedicated you are, they will have your back in times of uncertainty and chaos. A shift in your goals will impact every aspect of your working and will lead to a constant fear of failure. Know that your lack of efforts can affect your company and others in a negative way may even cost you your job.

Acknowledge the change

Be mindful about the changes that take place and make a note of the fears that come along. Once you recognise them, you will know how to manage them in a fruitful way. Create a strategy and have a backup plan ready in case of unforeseen circumstances, this will not only help you fight back your fears but also will get you ready for all the challenges that life has to offer.

Promote a holistic approach

Promoting a holistic approach will make everyone feel welcome in the organisation. No employee would then fear of being left alone. Such an approach will help create transparency both among the employees and top management. This nature and nurture approach will help everyone learn better.

Focus on your strengths

Performance reviews are feared by all for obvious reasons. No employee would want their bosses to remind them of their biggest failures and weaknesses. If you are worried about critical feedback, start focusing more on your strengths, get the best outcomes from it and remind yourself of how deserving you can be. Focusing on your strengths does not mean you ignore your weaknesses. While you nurture and upgrade your strengths, also try and improve your weak areas.

Networking

Networking is important not only among your work colleagues but also among the people outside your work. When like-minded people get together from different domains and cultures, they tend to help you cope with your insecurities and give the best solutions personally as well as professionally. Whether or not you are being recognised the same within your own organisation, people outside of work will make you realise your value. Building a strong network of individuals outside your workplace is one of the best ways to become more valuable.

Seek support when required

When you are having problems in your workplace, it is natural to feel uncomfortable. You may be experiencing a variety of fears related to a new project, your routine, your pay scale or something even more. In such situations co-workers will appreciate that you are reaching out and would be happy to offer support and encouragement. If you have mentors, they can be a good source for advice. If they have been in your situation before, they can give you tons of solutions to make your way out of the uncomfortable situation.

Communicate

When changes take place, intentional and concerted efforts by all leaders are required in order to focus on great communication. If employees share their fears among themselves, a wide range of solutions can be talked upon to address and calm those concerns. This will help the entire organisation in building a great rapport which will lead to the success of the organisation as a whole. Nobody will be able to help you better than your fellow colleagues, since they are more aware of the organisation's functioning than anybody else.

Don't oversell

One should never oversell and brag about things you are good at, because this can then backfire in a very bleak way. It may even lead you to lose your job and question yourself. Since you know your abilities the best, be sure of portraying your talent via your work rather than your words. The top management and your fellow colleagues will be highly impressed by this quality. Your work reflects how dedicated you are. Your honesty and hard work can help you upgrade your skills and knowledge and chart your own growth.

Compartmentalise

Make a list of all your work expectations for the day. Prioritise your most important work first. This will help in reducing your stress. Once your priorities are clear, you will get clarity as to how to deal with each given task one at a time with full thought and concentration. During a crisis, the way you handle your priorities will be an inspiration to others and the fear of not being able to do things will gradually fade away. This will help in rebuilding your confidence with even better results than before.

You may be experiencing fear related to a new project, your routine, your pay scale or something even more. In such situations, co-workers will appreciate that you are reaching out and would be happy to offer support and encouragement