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Writer's pictureMichael B. Benedict

Six Ways to Address Workplace Anxiety

Updated: Aug 19


Anxiety is prevalent in most organizations. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that 19% of US adults (1 in 5 of your colleagues) had an anxiety disorder in the past year, and 31% (1 in 3 colleagues) have experienced it in their lifetime. How does anxiety hurt your organization’s performance, and what can you do to minimize its impact? 


What is work anxiety? While one can relate to life’s general anxieties, e.g., taking a test, raising a child, or buying a home, work anxiety, on the other hand, can be multifaceted and omnipresent. Here are a few examples:


Performance Anxiety is the fear of failure or making mistakes, which can lead to procrastination, over-preparation, and difficulty concentrating on tasks or making decisions.


Social Anxiety includes fear of speaking in meetings or presenting, avoiding social interactions such as team lunches or networking, and difficulty expressing opinions. Many people avoid networking events because they have no idea why they’re even there and what to do once they get there. This is a skill that can be taught. Something as simple as a dining etiquette seminar can relieve tremendous anxiety for those who are unsure of their manners, while polishing up on business etiquette builds the necessary confidence to overcome anxiety. 


General Anxiety encompasses worrying about job security, deadlines, or performance, feeling overwhelmed by workload or responsibilities, and concern about criticism. It is critical that employees have all the resources required to complete their tasks.


Having 20-30% of your workforce’s performance hampered by anxiety could mean the loss of a major deal (due to anxiety with networking), or enduring an important but poorly delivered client presentation (due to a trembling, shaky-voiced presenter), or missing a major product defect (because someone couldn’t speak up). 


Workplace anxiety also takes a personal toll on the suffering employee, including being perceived as weak, unstable, or incapable and concerned about being a burden. Addressing these feelings of shame and embarrassment is an important part of managing anxiety. Encouraging open conversations about mental health, educating the employees about anxiety, and fostering a supportive environment helps reduce stigma. 


While workplaces can generate anxiety, we also bring personal anxiety we may have at home with us, e.g., relationships, food insecurity, and health issues can be riddled with chronic anxiety. Encouraging employees to schedule some time for self-reflection and to seek professional help to heal their anxiety will likely benefit them and the organization.


What steps can an organization take to address employee anxiety? Seeing someone in distress in a work situation is an opportunity to intervene and help them regain balance. How can you help a co-worker who suffers from anxiety? Respecting boundaries and understanding how to be helpful is essential. Building trust with someone who is suffering can be very challenging. Depending on the organization's size, having in-house professional counseling can make a big difference. 


Promote Open Communication: Encourage employees to share their concerns and feelings without fear of judgment. Remember, anxiety can be a stigma for some. This requires forming trusted relationships between bosses and hires. This is difficult, especially in our society, where power and control play a huge role, and fear often overrides culture.


Provide Access to Mental Health Resources: Offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) that include counseling services. Provide information about mental health resources and hotlines. Encourage this by providing time or resources that can help those suffering from anxiety take the necessary steps to get the help they need. 


Implement a Mental Health Policy: Training employees to recognize signs of anxiety and providing comprehensive mental health support involves a multi-faceted approach. Organizations can ensure that employees feel safe and supported by offering education resources and fostering an open, supportive culture that facilitates well-being and productivity.


A distressed female office worker at her desk.

Offer Stress Management Training: Provide workshops on stress reduction techniques such as mindfulness and meditation. Companies like Google, Salesforce, SAP, and Johnson & Johnson have successfully implemented stress reduction workshops, demonstrating the positive impact on employee well-being, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.


Provide Professional Development Opportunities: Offer training and development programs to help employees grow their capacity and improve their skills, such as negotiating deals and public speaking. 


Foster a Supportive Environment: Recognize and celebrate achievements to boost morale. Consider promoting kindness through signage or other overt or subliminal communications as part of the organization’s culture.


Implementing these six solutions can help organizations create a more supportive and less stressful work environment. This will help employees manage anxiety more effectively and improve overall productivity and well-being. More importantly, though, acknowledging and providing solutions for employees suffering from anxiety elevates an organization’s civility. It demonstrates a deeper level of empathy, understanding, and relevant solutions. 


Fellow civility authors Jay Remer and Michael Benedict are co-writing a new book that addresses personal barriers to achieving a civil life while outlining helpful solutions anyone can implement. This post is the third in a series of weekly, solutions-based articles. 


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Michael Benedict published his first book, The Civil Society Playbook: A Commonsense Plan for a Return to Civility, in 2024. His career spans 25+ years in senior-level marketing positions at Fortune 1000 companies, tech startups, and marketing consultancies. His book covers areas of incivility that are not frequently discussed in the media. It offers solutions - actions - that anyone, regardless of age, can implement to improve civility in all aspects of society. He can be reached at michaelbbenedict@gmail.com. The book is available on Amazon, Apple Books, and Audible.

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