Techniques to Manage Performance Anxiety at Work
Publié le 23 November 2021
Anxiety can cause personal and professional problems. Learning effective techniques to manage performance anxiety at work will help employees put their best effort forward and feel comfortable on the job.
It’s important to recognize the signs of performance anxiety alongside monitoring overall employee well-being. In this article, we will explain what exactly is performance anxiety, how it can manifest in different team members and some key ways that both employees and employers can manage performance anxiety at work.
After over a year and a half of uncertainty, job losses and adjusting to working from home, it’s no surprise that work-related anxiety is incredibly high. Job security is at the forefront of the workforce’s mind, and the pressure to prove their abilities and make themselves irreplaceable has led to a great increase in performance anxiety in the workplace.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Society of America, 56% of anxiety sufferers deal specifically with performance anxiety and fear while at work.
Any work-induced anxiety can be detrimental to overall mental health and could lead to burnout or severe anxiety disorders which can be very detrimental to mental, emotional and physical well-being. If left untreated, anxiety disorders have been known to contribute to addiction and substance abuse issues.
What Is Performance Anxiety At Work?
Performance anxiety can be experienced in many ways. From nervousness about doing small tasks, to feeling pressure to deliver tasks to a very high standard in a tight time frame, performance anxiety can affect any employee, from assistants to executives and CEOs.
Sometimes performance anxiety manifests as hesitation when performing basic, everyday tasks. For others, it could be related to specific actions, like being nervous when asked to do a presentation which involves speaking in front of others. Even something such as earning a promotion, normally an important part of rewarding employee performance, can cause performance anxiety in new managers due to the increased responsibility.
It is important to recognize that performance anxiety does not mean that an employee is not capable of doing these tasks or excelling in their job roles. It is usually an internal fear that is not reflective of actual ability, although it can, in turn, affect a person’s ability to put their skills into practice when anxiety levels peak.
How Performance Anxiety Can Impact Employees
Performance anxiety can affect not only the individual but could have a larger effect on entire teams. If someone is suffering from anxiety regarding their work, it may lead to them being distracted and having difficulty communicating with other team members.
Workloads and team goals can also be impacted. For some employees, the need to overachieve may mean they take on too many tasks and then struggle to reach deadlines while producing high-quality work on multiple projects as a result. Alternatively, it could mean they turn down assignments for fear of underperforming, creating conflict within teams as tasks get redelegated.
Recognizing signs that someone might suffer from performance anxiety is a big factor in improving overall employee well-being and maintaining a commitment to staff physical and mental health.
3 Ways To Manage Performance Anxiety
It is important for companies to consider how they could impact employees who are experiencing performance anxiety as well as how they can provide individuals with the tools and support they need to manage it themselves. Part of the fear that comes with seeking anxiety treatment is the fear of the unknown: What’s actually going to happen when I get help for my anxiety? And that fear only makes your anxiety worse! One of the most impactful effects of getting help for anxiety is learning techniques for managing your anxiety that you can rely on and use for the rest of your life.
While the fears that lead to anxiety can sometimes be irrational, it is very important for company leaders to realize that the processes and policies they put in place can impact feelings of stress, fear and anxiety felt by employees.
There are 3 techniques to manage performance anxiety at work, which employees and employers can use to alleviate and manage potentially triggering experiences.
1. Constructive Feedback
It could be that performance anxiety is related to feelings of imposter syndrome or more deeply to the fear of judgement. This could be reflective of former, or current, feedback style.
Everyone delivers and receives feedback differently. Opening up a dialogue about how individuals best react to feedback and providing training to managers so they can adjust feedback style could help address this anxiety.
When providing an employee with feedback, it is important to remember to focus on their strengths in addition to areas with room for improvement. The time of day and the part of the week when you provide feedback can also impact how it is received. For example, providing negative feedback just before the weekend, or at the end of the day could ruin the employee’s time off and cause heightened anxiety for the next working day.
Educate the whole company about different feedback styles and then ask employees to which people respond best. Implementing this practice across the company could improve employee relations and be conducive to more productive conversations without the drawback of performance anxiety.
2. Managing Expectations
Having a clear understanding of workload, deadlines, expectations and responsibilities will help to identify any issues ahead of time. This goes both ways, for employers and employees. Excessive workloads, long working hours and unrealistic deadlines often contribute to feeling overwhelmed, having a lack of control and performance anxiety. Take a minute to evaluate the true state of your workload, this will prevent further anxiety from building up and you’ll be in a better position to take the practical steps needed to address your workload and how to better manage it.
Before delegating or accepting tasks, employees and employers must take into consideration existing workload and priorities. Regular check-ins about the progression of a project and any areas where an employee may be experiencing difficulty will lessen anxiety and help to set realistic goals.
3. Provide Mental Health Resources and Training
Identifying signs that indicate an employee may be experiencing issues with their mental health, including performance anxiety, and knowing how to manage them is key to improving and maintaining employee well-being. By providing the resources needed to manage stress and encouraging key members of each team to attend mental health and well=-being training everyone can work in tandem to create a healthy and happy workspace.
Mental Health at work is an ongoing and evolving subject. Regular well-being workshops and periodic training sessions for all staff can ensure that people feel comfortable seeking help, know where they can find help and that the company will support them as best they can. Companies need to make sure that employees know they have resources to help their mental and emotional well-being, and know that they have the support of managers and colleagues to actually use them.
Building and strengthening a workplace environment based on honesty, support and respect can combat fears of failure and help to pave a path away from performance anxiety. This type of workplace will allow employees to take ownership of their achievements and celebrate their skills and abilities.
Final Thoughts
Performance anxiety, alongside other work-related anxiety, can impact job satisfaction, overall team attitudes and productivity. Although often a very personal and private struggle, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are steps that employers can take to avoid placing unneeded and harmful stress and anxiety onto their employees.
These 3 techniques to manage performance anxiety are just a start. Providing employees at all levels with the training, support and encouragement they need to address issues related to stress and performance anxiety is an ongoing and necessary process. Doing so will help to build an open company culture that reduces the chances of performance anxiety becoming a major problem.
