About Anxiety

Trepidation. Worry. Uneasiness. Fear.

Nowadays, it feels as though we are all experiencing some form of anxiety. Today, I am exploring why those feelings exist, where they originate, and what leaders can do to help lessen the negative impacts of anixety in their organizations.

People worry.

They worry about their professional status, the health of their company, the relationship with their supervisor. Furthermore, people carry anxiety about situations that exist outside of their work: their children, their health, their extended family members, their relationship with their signifcant other. Beyond that, today’s society as a whole is highly anxious: people worry about being the victim of a shooting, changes in the environment, the economy, and a multitude of other problems presented to us daily in a barage of media feeds.

Much of the psychological component of anxiety is “anticipating something that might happen, that one will not be able to manage.” We may worry about things that we have some control over, but become anxious over the things of which we have little control. For example, reports have indicated that people are shying away from busy public places for fear of a mass shooting occurring. Some now prefer to shop online, instead of going to a mall.

Anxiety’s origin.
The anxiety that we learn as youngsters carries forth throughout our lives. Many times, the first place we learn about the effects of anxiety is from family. Within their emotional system all families carry some degree of anxiety. When I think about my own family upbringing, I remember how my mother was always nervous about her health. My grandfather was anxious about his gambling debts. My father worried about his job so much that he was afraid to go on vacation, lest that he would be replaced by someone else while he was away. Even though my circumstances are much improved from what my family lived with in the 50s and 60s, I still carry a considerable amount of anxiety.Lessening the impact.

As leaders, we have to recognize that all of us have some form of worry and anxiety. Because we cannot completely rid our organizations of these emotions, we need to find ways to manage these feelings in our organization.

Steps to Managing Anxiety in the Workplace

At a personal level, recognize what type of anxiety YOU carry, and create a plan for managing it. If you can’t think of anything that you are anxious about, THINK AGAIN! After all, you are leading an organization in highly unpredictable times.
Get to know your co-workers as well as possible, and create enough trust with them so you can learn about what they’re worried and anxious about.
From a systems perspective, learn what people are worried about in regard to your organization.
- Do they feel they have job security?
- Are they aware that there is enough money for the company to run a for substantial amount of time?
- Do they know what risks the company faces and the plans for managing those risks?
- Do they know the long-term success plan for the company?
- Are they able to make a connection between their work and the success of the company?
Recognize that no matter how you lead, some people are just anxious by nature and will remain so, no matter what you do.
- Understand those people and respect that they may worry more than most.
- Be careful not to put them into positions where risk-taking is required.
- Utilize their anxiety as a strength, and employ those people in jobs where being cautious and careful is an attribute.