By Employees are now more anxious than ever to work in hyper-energy today. It is important to address this problem, as it has a significant impact on the well-being of employees and, ultimately, on the overall productivity of the organization.
Anxiety in the Workplace
It is more than just occasional worry or fear. The abiding condition can affect everyday tasks such as work. Anxiety might make employees difficult to follow through and interact with team members, which builds frustration. To ensure a productive, caring atmosphere within the workplace, it is vital to acknowledge and deal with anxiety.
The Impact of Anxiety on Work
At a global level, depression and anxiety disorders cost an estimated US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity; globally, a total of an estimated 12 billion working days are lost to mental ill health each year. This number alone highlights that it’s time to tackle the stigma around mental health in the workplace. It is a human right to have a safe and healthy working place, and it is crucial to minimize tension and conflicts between employers and employees, improving staff retention, which will relate to the increase in productivity at work.
Risks to Mental Health at Work
Various workplace elements can contribute to anxiety including:
- Excessive Workloads: Overloading workers with work and deadlines can put staff under excessive pressure.
- Job Insecurity: Job security is one thing that can make you lay awake at night, in which case there can be no doubt about the stress this entails.
- Lack of Control: If you have no input in the design of your job or even how much work you have to do; the loss of control can make you feel even more helpless.
- Workplace Culture: This can include activities like bullying or harassment, which can develop into a toxic workplace.
- Poor Physical Conditions: Workspaces that are unsafe, unhygienic, or not fit for purpose can add to anxiety.
- Discrimination and Exclusion: Discriminatory or exclusionary behavior in the workplace can lead to increased stress due to unequal treatment based on race, gender, or other factors.
10 Key Strategies TO Handle an Employee with Anxiety in the Workplace
1. Promote a Supportive Work Culture
Managing workplace anxiety fundamentally stems from a supportive work culture. Develop communication and compassion for employees with management. Build an environment where employees can talk openly about their mental health without facing judgment or being penalized.
Research indicates that laying the groundwork for work cultures to be supportive can lead to much less stress and much better mental health, followed by increased job satisfaction and productivity.
2. Provide Mental Health Training for Managers
Managers need to be trained to spot signs of distress, and the skills to help people who are struggling are crucial assets. This includes being able to politely listen, giving support, and knowing when to refer someone to a professional for help.
By 2023, research shows that businesses with managers who were trained were reporting a 30% drop in anxiety symptoms and increased productivity within the workplace.
3. Implement Flexible Working Arrangements
Flexible work schedules have the potential to control employees’ anxiety. This has involved a range of solutions like flexible hours, remote working, and varied workloads. This type of flexibility helps to enable employees to fit their work more harmoniously into their lives, resulting in less overall stress.
A 2024 study reported a 25 percent decrease in anxiety-related absences among those with flexible working policies.
4. Foster a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Promoting a proper work-life balance can help prevent and treat anxiety. Advocate work rest breaks, dissuade extended hours, and gear employees for full-break days. This can help prevent burnout and reduce anxiety!
A WHO report from 2019 mentioned that the most common contributing factors to workplace anxiety were excessive workloads and low control over the job. By tackling these concerns, a healthier, more thriving workforce will follow.
5. Create a Safe and Inclusive Workplace
Well-being and mental health start with a safe and harmonious workspace. Act swiftly and competently on bullying, harassment, and other behavior issues. Make reporting and addressing these types of issues a clear policy and process.
When we feel safe and included at work, our sense of security and belonging improves, lowering our levels of anxiety as a result.
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6. Offer Access to Professional Support
Access to professional mental health support, like counseling services or Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), is critical. To prevent this, these services can provide confidential help and advice to staff members who are battling anxiety.
This would mean that companies that provide an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will improve the mental health of their employees; even research from 2023 shows that this significantly reduces problems associated with anxiety at work.
7. Encourage Physical Activity and Well-being
Encouraging movement and health can be a great way to reduce anxiety. Encourage regular fitness amongst employees, offer chances for physical activity during the workday, and promote a healthy lifestyle.
The benefits of physical activity on symptoms of anxiety and improved mental health have been thoroughly documented in the research literature.
8. Provide Clear Job Roles and Expectations
Blurry job descriptions and impossible performance targets can cause workplace anxiety. Employees have defined job descriptions, know what tasks are specifically their responsibilities, and have realistic, attainable goals. Feedback and reviews can allow employees to feel secure and less anxious about work.
Structured work environment and expectations can substantially alleviate your stress and anxiety.
9. Implement Reasonable Accommodations
Reasonable adjustments for employees with anxiety can aid their ability to do their job. This could involve changes such as other work schedules, lesson plans, or a separate desk. Thus, the provision of anxiety-related accommodations specific to one’s needs can substantially help an individual’s ability to respond to anxiety.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities includes the right to reasonable accommodations at work, to have an inclusive environment, and to lessen the stress associated with this fundamental right.
10. Promote Mental Health Awareness
This is why we should all care about reducing stigma and raising awareness of Mental Health Plan workshops, seminars, and training events to introduce employees to the subject of mental health, its relationship with work, and the means they can use to manage the stress involved. Often raising awareness by making it good practice to ensure employees get help early, data suggest this can reduce the number of incidents of anxiety generally.
In recent years, a WHO report in 2024 says that raising mental health awareness supports a working environment that is beneficial and yields productivity.
Conclusion
Handling an employee with anxiety requires a comprehensive and empathetic approach. Supporting mental health at work is not only good for employees; it is good for business. By taking the right steps, businesses can ensure that their workplace is a place where everyone can feel good and work at their best.
