Anxiety disorder, one of the most common mental health issues affecting the American population, often goes unnoticed at the workplace.
Though largely ignored, workplace anxiety is quite common and has now started taking a toll on people’s lives.
The condition not only severely affects employees’ emotional and physical health but also impacts their career by interfering with their productivity and performance.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), employees have admitted that stress and anxiety most often impact their workplace performance (56 percent), relationship with coworkers and peers (51 percent), quality of work (50 percent) and relationships with superiors (43 percent).
A certain level of anxiety in the workplace, preferably within a comfort zone, is not always bad as it helps a worker stay focused and improves performance. But stress is triggered due to the pressure of meeting deadlines, interpersonal relationships and other concerns begins to interfere with one’s personal life, it’s time to seek help.
There are some simple techniques to adopt to overcome on-the-job anxiety. A few of them are mentioned below:
- Keep busy: It is believed that after office hours should be used to rest. But, it is also important to make sure your brain is not left idle and is engaged in some activity that keeps work-related thoughts at bay.
Spending time with friends and family, creating new memories or engaging in a hobby are a few of the simple ways to make sure that work does not bother one at home. At the same time, it is important to ensure that work-related thoughts or problems at work do not make you sulk at home.
- Exercise: Exercising before and after work hours can help you feel better and improve your mood. This can help in relaxing both the mind and body. Exercise releases endorphins, natural painkillers in the body, which help to improve mood and reduce discomfort. By burning the stress hormone cortisol, it helps to relieve symptoms of anxiety. Exercising before work is supposed to be particularly beneficial in alleviating stress throughout the day.
- Be creative: One of the best ways to turn mundane office tasks into something more interesting is by being creative. You can try setting new challenges for yourself, such as completing work in less time and making your work more exciting, engaging and fun.
- Get enough sleep: Stress and anxiety can cause insomnia that can further disrupt emotional balance, which is essential for coping with any kind of stress. The inability to get proper rest also triggers anxiety. So focus on having proper rest and avoid any kind of stressful activities closer to bedtime. Stay away from technology (like social media) at least 45 minutes before bedtime can also help improve the quality of sleep.
- Set realistic goals: Sometimes managers in the workplace overload a person with work. A dedicated employee might try to complete all the assigned tasks in one go and be a perfectionist. This is quite an unrealistic goal. Try to set realistic goals and work with managers so they understand the importance of realistic, achievable goals.
Boost performance by curbing anxiety
Your job should not be a burden that increases anxiety levels. It’s important for every individual to enjoy their workplace. If that is not possible, then look for natural ways to cut down and treat your anxiety. You can do that with the Sept’19 issue of the Herbal Collective.
