Managing anxiety at work before it takes its toll

Anxiety at work is an increasingly common preoccupation in our professional lives. If you've ever felt a surge of anxiety on a Sunday evening as you think about the week ahead, or if you often feel paralyzed by the fear of not being up to the job, you're not alone. Whether you're an executive, HR manager, manager or employee, anxiety can affect anyone. Don't worry: there are effective solutions to deal with it!

Anxiety at work: real effects on health

The impact of anxiety on mental health at work

Anxiety at work can have serious repercussions on your mental health. This feeling often manifests itself as a small inner voice telling you: "You can't do it" or "It's bound to go wrong". In the professional world, this performance anxiety can undermine the efficiency and quality of your work.

An anxious employee may find it difficult to concentrate, which impacts on performance quality and personal satisfaction. In the long term, this mental burden can lead to work-life balance problems, hinder career development and profoundly affect self-esteem. Fortunately, prevention strategies exist to overcome these challenges (and we'll tell you all about them below!).

The consequences for the company: performance and social climate at stake

For a company, employee anxiety can mean lower productivity, more errors and a deteriorating working atmosphere. Psychosocial risks are not to be taken lightly, as they can lead to frequent work stoppages and even burn-outs. The consequences are far-reaching, both for the employee and the company.

Identifying the causes of anxiety

A corporate culture that generates stress and anxiety

A poorly adapted corporate culture can actually increase employee anxiety. For example, demanding availability outside working hours, closely monitoring performance or exerting intense pressure on results can create an anxiety-inducing climate. It's important to foster a positive corporate culture, where employees' health and well-being are genuinely valued.

Managerial practices and anxiety: the importance of benevolence

Managerial practices play a key role in managing anxiety at work. A lack of clear communication, unconstructive negative feedback or insufficient support can easily generate stress and anxiety. It is therefore essential for companies to train their managers in order to limit these risks, and even to identify and prevent psychosocial risks through awareness of signals and heightened vigilance.

Colleague relations and social climate

A tense social climate can also be a source of anxiety. Unresolved conflicts, a poor general atmosphere, or a lack of support among colleagues can make the workplace a heavy place to work, and trigger the notorious ball in the stomach. To avoid this, it's important to foster an inclusive and friendly working environment, where everyone feels listened to and supported. And, above all, teach everyone how to handle conflict at work, to prevent situations from escalating.

Preventing and managing anxiety at work

Implementing an effective QWL policy

Quality of Life and Working Conditions (QLWC) is essential to creating a healthy working environment. It includes dimensions such as career development, managerial practices, working conditions, social relations, work organization and content. Since it acts directly on the work environment, a good QWL policy can prevent anxiety and promote employee well-being: a 100% winning approach!

Strategies for improving employee well-being

Companies can implement a variety of initiatives to improve well-being at work. For example, offering anxiety management training, encouraging regular breaks, organizing team-building activities or setting up psychological support programs.

At Moha, for example, we offer the "My Mental Health Partner" service, which enables employees to consult a psychologist free of charge, whatever their problem. A good solution to help prevent burn-outs and support employees' mental health.

Overcome anxiety at work with Moha

Often, the most difficult thing is to identify the exact cause of all this stress (especially as there can be so many of them). That's why we're here: to discuss your situation, identify your areas for improvement, and put in place concrete actions to improve quality of life and working conditions. Shall we talk?