If you've ever felt anxious on a Sunday evening, thinking about the week's work ahead, or been unable to complete a task because you were afraid of doing it badly, you may havework-related anxiety. And whether you're a company director, human resources manager, manager or employee, you can't escape it: it can affect anyone. The problem is, it can be a bit of a handicap on a day-to-day basis. But don't panic, you can always do something about it!
Suffering from anxiety means having that voice in our head telling us "be careful, it won't go well", or "you're not capable of doing this project". Whether in our personal lives or in the world of work, it always comes with its own set of consequences.
As an employee, anxiety can have a major impact on your work. Whereas a positive voice in your head would encourage you to excel, to show what you're capable of, and to congratulate yourself on your successes, anxiety will instead prevent you from being at the top of your game (even though you're capable of great things!).
If it takes over, it will have an impact not only on the quality of your work, but also on your health, your work/life balance, your career development and your self-esteem. Granted, it doesn't sound appealing. But since we never come up with a problem without a solution, we'll give you our advice right after!
Obviously, when employees suffer from anxiety, there's a good chance that their work will be affected, and consequently your company's performance. But what exactly does work-related anxiety cause?
As we said, this disorder can have a direct impact on your employees' work. Procrastination, lower productivity. An anxious employee will find it harder to perform in his or her job.
And when anxiety goes too far, it can even have an impact on your employees' health. The result: more and more absenteeism, even long sick leave or burn-out.
But does your company have anything to do with all this, and what can you do to avoid being affected?
It's not just a personal matter: sometimes, work can be at the root of this feeling. We're not here to make you feel guilty, but rather to give you some clues to help you understand and take action.
When employees are under pressure to respond to company requests outside their working hours, when their working day is scrutinized, or when achieving results even comes before health, your staff may be feeling a little pressure (really?). If this is the case, we advise you to redefine a good foundation for your employees: it's not just for their sake, but for yours too!
Imagine: you don't have clear instructions on what's expected of you, but you're entitled to scathing remarks when it doesn't correspond to those same expectations (which you couldn't have guessed). That can cause a bit of stress, can't it? Managerial practices have a big part to play in employees' work, and when feedback isn't done properly, and management isn't well-organized and caring, anxiety can come from there!
Not getting on with a colleague has happened to everyone (after all, we're all human!), and it's not up to the company to sort out every little misunderstanding. But when theoverall atmosphere within teams is not at its best, some may feel anxious about coming to work in an unhealthy environment.
If one of the above points has made you think about the situation at your company, at least you know what to do! But you have to build good working conditions for your employees.
Taking care of your company's QWL (Quality of Life and Working Conditions) is the best way to avoid anxiety at work as much as possible. At least, when it's caused by the work environment itself.
QWL is based on 6 dimensions of work: development & equality, managerial practices, working conditions, social relations, work organization and work content. You can therefore act on all these points to prevent any of them from causing anxiety in your teams! At Moha, we'll help you define your company's precise needs, and take action to improve.
For example, you can train your managers in good management practices and constructive feedback, or redefine a good corporate culture with our expert speakers.
Sometimes, as we've just seen, there's the anxiety associated with a poor working environment. But sometimes, even in the best of conditions, our thoughts play tricks on us, and it's hard to regain control.
You can implement a few simple methods to reduce stress and anxiety: breathing exercises, regular physical activity, a balanced diet... In any case, these small, easy-to-implement gestures are good for your health!
As a company, you can offer your employees workshops on how to manage anxiety at work, or learn how to become masters of their emotions.
But when anxiety becomes too much to handle, it's never taboo to get help! At Moha, we offer our customers the opportunity to make "My Mental Health Partner" available to their teams. Free access to an appointment with a psychologist, paid for by the company.
In the end, there's always a way to act, once you've identified the source of the problem. So we must always think on a collective scale, but also on an individual one.
But often, the most difficult thing is to identify the exact cause (especially as there may be multiple causes). That's why we're here: to discuss your situation, identify your areas for improvement, and put in place concrete actions to improve your quality of life and working conditions. Shall we talk?
