One of the most important aspects of a business is its employees. A business grows when the team is healthy, not just physically but also mentally. Nowadays, workplace anxiety has become a cause of concern for both the employees as well as employers. According to the survey conducted in 2021, 55% of working professionals have workplace anxiety.

If you feel that anyone in the team is suffering from workplace anxiety, help them to stay calm. Communication is the key to solving any problem, talk to that person, listen to them without any judgement and try to reach out to either your senior or the concerned authority. Let’s first look at the reasons that cause workplace anxiety:

WHAT CAUSES WORKPLACE ANXIETY?

The root cause of workplace anxiety differs from person to person. However, here are some of the common reasons which make an employee feel anxious at the workplace:

Excess Of Work Pressure

Work pressure causes a great amount of stress among employees. If an employee is feeling constant stress, it might affect their work performance. Work overload can also lead to mistakes from the employee’s end. Employees start to feel overpressured with work and often make decisions based on their anxiety. For example, a stressed employee may turn down a promotion if it involves more managerial tasks, public speaking, or travelling to new locations.

Work Performance

Performance anxiety is something that everyone feels at different points in their career. But, if a person is taking too much pressure on performance review, it impacts the productivity and the efficiency of an employee. The fear of getting fired makes people anxious and gives stress.

Conflict With Coworkers

It is okay to have differences of opinion among employees but it should not cause any sort of conflict among them. Conflicts with coworkers are one of the major reasons behind workplace anxiety. A person constantly feels anxious about what others are thinking of him/her. A business can grow only when all employees are working together as a team.

Less Promotional Opportunities

If an organization doesn’t provide enough opportunities for employees to grow, they won’t put much effort into the work. Promotion serves as a motivational factor and also helps in fulfilling their financial needs better. The financial burden is the major cause of anxiety and stress. If employees are getting an appropriate salary according to their role and qualification, they feel satisfied and put more effort to increase their productivity.

HOW TO MANAGE WORKPLACE ANXIETY?

Treat your team members as your family. Make your employees feel that they are important to the company. The contribution of each individual is equally essential irrespective of the designation. These are the basic things that you should always keep in mind. In addition to this, here are some other strategic approaches that can guide you on how to help your team avoid workplace anxiety. These are:

Set Realistic Deadlines

The deadlines of any project should be realistic knowing the team’s strengths & weaknesses and the difficulty level of the work assigned. Setting realistic deadlines can reduce the stress and give your team time to take breaks and resume work with a fresh mind. A rational deadline not only helps in finishing the project even before the deadline but also boosts the morale of the entire team.

Follow Rule of 3

Introduce your team to the ‘3 Rule of Anxiety’, that is Sight, Sound and Touch. If any employee is facing any sort of anxiety tell them to do these 3 things:

Sight: While feeling anxious, take a pause and look around and focus on the objects that are in your surrounding. Pay attention to any three objects and observe them carefully such as the pattern, colour, and shape of the object.
Sound: The next step is to listen to the sounds around you. Identify the sound and focus on its pitch.
Touch: The last thing of the 3 Rule is to allow your body to move, it can be tapping of fingers, wobbling your toes, or simply just moving your head from left to right slowly.

These activities help in reducing anxiety by engaging the senses in other activities. It shifts your focus for some time. It is a very effective exercise that gives instant relief from anxiety.

Appreciate Your Employees

If you are empathetic and compassionate and treat your team members with empathy, then the team will always stay motivated, thereby creating less scope for workplace anxiety. If employees feel that they are important to the company, it reflects in their work and productivity.

Engage in Fun Team Activities

Fun activities are a great way to reduce the stress and workload of the employees. Team activities like Puzzle Solving, Office Trivia, and Potluck can help co-workers bond with each other. Team activities also give a break from the monotonous routine and help reduce stress and work anxiety.

Create Awareness About Anxiety

Lots of people are still unaware of the anxiety; there are cases when a person is suffering from workplace anxiety and is still unaware of the situation. Educating your employees and creating awareness among them, can help employees suffering from anxiety. You can also conduct mental health screening events, leverage social media and encourage kind language to help raise the collective consciousness about anxiety.

A business grows because of the hard work and dedication of its employees therefore an organization must ensure a healthy and anxiety-free workplace environment for its employees. If employees are stress-free and mentally fit, their productivity increases, resulting in the holistic and rapid growth of the company.