What is anxiety at work?
We can define it as the state of mind and the physiological alarm response of a worker when fighting a situation that causes us anguish and mental and emotional blockage.
Concrete examples of job anxiety
- Nervousness to fulfill tasks or expectations of the job
- When no matter how hard we try to relate to colleagues, we do not avoid a bad environment in the office
- By not seeing results when we perform at our best so that they recognize our performance
- The discomfort of verifying that work does not motivate us
Causes of anxiety at work
Although a certain level of stress can represent a motivating element in the workplace, exceeding it could damage both the worker’s health and work performance.
To avoid problems, it is essential to learn to recognize the main causes of work anxiety according to its origin:
Internal causes of job anxiety
Internal causes are those that depend on the emotional well-being of the worker himself:
- Low self-esteem.
- Personal / family problems.
- Physical or mental illnesses.
- Self-demand and perfectionism.
- Insufficient training.
External causes of job anxiety
Instead, this time they depend on the work context:
- Job instability.
- Authoritarian and/or incompetent leadership.
- Work overload.
- Conflicts between colleagues.
- Expectations of layoffs.
- Fear of the future of the company.
9 symptoms of anxiety at work
Are you afraid that your employees suffer from anxiety at work? Watch out for these 9 symptoms:
Absenteeism
The worker gets up without wanting to go to work and looks for ways not to go to his job. This situation can lead to a loss due to anxiety at work and has very negative consequences for companies.
Obsession for work
The worker continually thinks about work, even in his spare time. Your thoughts are negative and catastrophic.
Extreme perfectionism
The worker is too demanding of himself and is never satisfied with the result of his work.
Eating problems
The worker develops restrictive or unbalanced eating behaviors as a result of his desire to control anxiety at work.
Tense muscles and other psychosomatic illnesses
If the worker lives in a constant state of tension, he is likely to clench his muscles unconsciously. Read more and get to know about 2 Ton AC.
Over time, this often leads to migraines and pain in the neck, back, and stomach of the affected person.
Social phobia
The worker who suffers from job anxiety fears being observed and judged by others. This fear can affect both your performance and your relationships with other colleagues.
Irritability
The worker has become irritable or impatient with his co-workers, bosses, or clients.
Apathy
The worker has lost interest in his job and spends the day on personal calls or surfing the internet.
Compulsive behaviors in the workplace
In extreme cases, job anxiety can lead to obsessive-compulsive behaviors (washing hands or checking something over and over, putting things in a specific order, etc.).
These compulsions become a problem when they interfere with the productivity and well-being of workers.