How to Overcome Workplace Anxiety and Stress

How to Overcome Workplace Anxiety and Stress

https://www.restoredminds.com/5-Rules-For-Recovery

https://www.restoredminds.com/anxiety-assessments

In this episode, I am going to talk about stress and anxiety in the workplace. In order to overcome stress and anxiety in the workplace, it is SO important to accurately identify the specific stressor within work, as opposed to assuming that work itself is the problem. Sometimes simple shifts make huge differences in a person’s psychological and emotional well being. So in this episode, I will be discussing THREE areas to consider if you are feeling a lot of stress and anxiety related to your work.

Number 1 -  Your Work Environment or Team

Number 2 - Your Individual Responsibilities 

Number 3 - Your Personal Growth

Exploring these three areas will help you develop better self-awareness of your current situation, and ultimately take better corrective actions in your life. So if you are struggling with stress and anxiety related to work this episode will be a great starting point to begin taking back some control. Enjoy!  

TRANSCRIPT

(00:08):

All right. Hello, and welcome to another episode of the restored mind show. My name is Matt Codde and thank you so much for tuning in and on this episode, we're going to be talking about anxiety and job dissatisfaction and why those two go so hand in hand. Um, and this is a question that I get pretty often, you know, when it comes to, um, you know, different clients and groups and you know, all the different things that I do. I mean, you know, it's, it's a question I hear a lot, you know, and, and I guess it comes in different formats, you know, like, um, being, being dissatisfied with, with the job and that causing anxiety. But then in this episode, what I want to talk about are kind of three main things that I see people run into that causes dissatisfaction and talk about why that produces anxiety from that perspective, right?

(00:56):

Because let's be real, all jobs are different. Right. And what causes people to get anxious isn't necessarily the same for everyone. Right. So I want to talk about kind of three main things that I see that really causes a lot of dissatisfaction in, in jobs and as a result anxiety. Right. So first off, let's kind of talk about that. Anxiety is usually usually a secondary response to the initial dissatisfaction. And the first, the first thing I want to talk about when it comes to jobs is just the environment of the job you're working in and why that can produce anxiety. So, you know, there's a, um, period where I worked for child protective services, um, and you know, it's a very high stress job and, you know, large case loads and, um, and, and, you know, to be transparent, the environment in the office was just the, like the morale of just the work setting that I was in was really low.

(01:59):

Right. And this is the thing that, yes, you, you probably can't quantify it, meaning like there's probably not dislike this number right there, or like this actual, tangible thing you can say, but when there's low morale on a team, everyone knows it right. Or most people anyway. And when there's a low morale for a long period of time and it's left unaddressed, you know, that can have certain psychological effects on, on people in that team environment. And, and this goes for obviously any kind of team, but when we're talking about kind of the workplace and anxiety, you know, what can happen is, is like when you, when the environment that you're in is stressful. Now that could be because it's a stressful job. Or like I said, it could be, um, you know, just because the overall, like, just atmosphere that you work in, you know, you, you might just work in something that just, no, one's happy to go to.

(02:55):

Right. And, you know, you just keep showing up day after day and, and nothing's really changing. And I think that what CA and then what can happen is you can actually get like, anxious about going to work. Right. You know, I think, and so when anxiety comes from environment, I feel like that's usually what I hear people saying. And then I know I experienced myself too, is like, I, I like didn't want to go. Right. It was like, when it was the week of the weekend, it was like, yes. And then even in the back of my head, sometimes I remember on like Friday, I was like, dang dude, Monday's coming way too quick. You know? And, um, you know, I was just like, I would dread Monday. And obviously that's when I realized I needed to make change. Cause I was like, this is not how I need to be spending my time on this planet.

(03:40):

You know, when it comes to just like, not just always like presenting and not liking where I was going, you know, for, for a good portion of my life. Right. And that's, um, so when it comes to an environmental issue, you know, a lot of that is, is beyond your control and the best things you can do to combat that are, you know, one obviously change the environment or to change your perspective. Right. But the worst thing you can do is just to keep going and to keep letting that each you up, because then it leads to feelings of resentment, you know, and then that can really go down a bad path if you let it. Um, and so, you know, that environment right, obviously, um, is an important factor when it comes to feeling anxious and having anxiety associated with work, the second would be duties.

(04:30):

Right. Um, so, and, and I'm going to just say responsibilities or duties or whatever. Um, but this idea of, you know, the actual day to day tasks that you do cause you anxiety and in this situation, I mean, you know, there's, there's many, many positions in jobs that, you know, you're, you, sometimes you have to make choices that can imp that had, can have a trickle effect of many things. Right. You know, like I remember one person that I, um, from a team that I was like, you know, kind of involved with more on a, I guess I kind of an outside consultant role, but you know, this person was having to lay people off. Right. Cause the company was, um, the company just wasn't doing well. And so they were making complete structural changes and, and this person was having to coffee on their office, you know, on almost a, not a daily, but I'd say several people per week, it seemed like, and having to, to fire them right into essentially give them the worst news.

(05:29):

And that obviously ties into the video. We just, uh, or I'm sorry, the episode we just did with, um, you know, unemployment and anxiety. Right. But I mean, you, for the most part, when I've talked to people who have to, you know, are in Aaron positions where they have to fire people or let people go, it's very rare that someone likes doing that. Right. I mean, that's a, that's a hard thing to do. You know, a lot of times, you know, the anxiety that, that person's experiencing, knowing that they're gonna, you know, turn your life upside down is, is really, really stressful. And this particular person that I was talking to, you know, that was where they were at that time. They were just having to do all these cuts and it was really eating them up inside. And so this, this duty of having to fire people again and again and again and again, and have these really hard conversations and watch these emotional breakdowns was just too much for this person on, on a consistent basis.

(06:22):

And so the, the duty of having to do that was, was what the was causing them to be anxious, right. That the company, the environment, you know, obviously that wasn't really the stressor. It was the, the act of what they had to do each day. And in that situation, if it is, and I mean, obviously there's high stress jobs like air traffic controllers, you know, police officers, firemen, right. You know, where you're getting thrown into stressful situations. And really if the duties that you're going to do on a day to day basis, cause you a bunch of anxiety and cause you a bunch of stress and that role isn't going to change well then, you know, full transparency, it might be a good idea to consider a shift into something else because your ability to manage, you know, your emotional state on a day to day basis is going to be really important to your not only your, your longterm health, but also your teammates and everyone else that relies on you.

(07:15):

So, um, so that is just another thing that I think it causes a lot of people, anxiety, a lot of people anxiety when it comes to their, um, their task at work. And then the third thing I want to talk about is, you know, personal growth. And I think a lot a thing that really makes a lot of people anxious is this idea of, you know, good old father time, right. That we have this finite amount of time on this earth. Right. And none of us knows how long that really is. And when you're working a position that, you know, isn't challenging you, or isn't helping you grow, isn't helping you become the kind of person that you really know you can become. That can cause anxiety, you know? And, and actually, and it does cause a lot of anxiety for people because they're like, well, you know, what am I doing?

(08:11):

You know, like, like what am I doing with myself? What am I doing with, uh, you know, all this stuff all this time that I have, right? Cause like we know that this time is our, is our most valuable resource. Right? And if you feel like you're doing something that's not challenging, you not helping your grow, your plat telling, right. And even if it's not in the forefront of your mind, like deep down, you know that, and what can happen is that you can start to get anxious because the longer you allow yourself to plateau, the harder it is to get on that, get back on that upward trajectory. Right. And people can kind of can become complacent. And so I think one thing that really does cause a lot of people, anxiety is this idea of if they realize that they're not growing and then not doing anything about that, right.

(08:53):

Not learning new skill sets to try to advance themselves or take a different position in may and be because a lot of people that fear of change just really holds them back, have that anxiety about, you know, I have, I have this right now and I'm okay here, even though I know I'm not really, I don't really like this or this and that, but I'm okay. Right. And they kind of settle for, okay. And that can produce a lot of anxiety because ultimately we know that that ends coming for all of us. And I think that when you, when you lay it out and timewise for yourself, that that can, um, that can really produce a lot of anxiety. And then that situation, if you know, you're not growing and not pushing yourself, the thing I would tell you is it's like to just start making incremental changes when it comes to your, your growth trajectory and that can even just be learning a new skill right.

(09:43):

And where you can add more value to the company, or if it is something where you're like, Hey, this I'm working in a field that I don't want to be working in it then sometimes it is about making those big changes in life. And, and oftentimes, you know, the change that you really want to make, and it's just about you taking the steps to actually do it. So that kind of ties up again, those three levels of, you know, environmental anxiety duties or responsibilities, anxiety, and then grow things. It is an individual and, and really, um, those are just some practical ideas on maybe how to start addressing, um, anxiety, if that is what you're dealing with in the workplace. So thank you so much for tuning into this episode. And again, we have some free resources in the links down below, and we also have free resources on our [email protected], uh, along with, uh, you know, our programs as well, if you are dealing with OCD and anxiety, um, especially, um, so thank you so much again for tuning in and, um, you know, we'll continue this series next week as we keep going.

(10:44):

And so if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below because we're going to continue on this series on workplace environment and anxiety. So thank you. And I hope you guys have a great week and I will see you soon.