Anxiety doesn’t just deal with large crowds and public places. Anxiety has so many impacts on peoples lives. Many companies suffer great losses due to anxiety of their employees. Anxiety comes in many different forms, from general anxiety disorder to social anxiety, PTSD to OCD. It is not some that shows up packaged for people to understand and see. It is silent and many employers aren’t aware that many of their employees suffer from this silent disorder. We want to educate you more on anxiety itself and give some pointers on how to minimize it’s impact on your daily activities so that it doesn’t continue to inhibit you from pursuing your daily goals and forming relationships personally or in business.
Anxiety can disturb an individuals ability to perform accordingly in school, hence, causing issues with educational success. With this being the case, most people suffer from anxiety in silence unless they have chosen to share with close family and friends the challenges they are going through. However, most friends and family members of those suffering aren’t aware of the silent battles that are going on with an individual that they are close too. For years professionals have been attempting to dispel the common belief that social anxiety is simply shyness. Most people take on average 10 years or more to speak with a professional regarding their internal struggles. The overall goal should be to break through the barrier that many believe is there that doesn’t allow them to speak on this silent battle.
In the workplace anxiety can stagnate productivity because of its paralyzing effects on the mind. A few things that can help to get beyond that anxiety or minimize it are friends, specific foods and breathing techniques. It’s important to understand the importance of creating a very supportive environment at your place of employment by finding trusted coworkers to speak with about your anxiety issues. Being able to be open with your manager or team lead is a key to helping you cope with anxiety and workplace stress. Maybe you and your trusted coworkers can take walks during your breaks or lunch together. Meet for a cup of tea or a smoothie before you begin your shift and create a routine that will help with minimizing levels of anxiety while being part of a reciprocal support system.
Its very important that eating habits are watch, not only at home but also while at work. There is a sense of ease in eating “feel good foods” which can contribute to a very quick crash and alter your moods and mindset when attempting to be productive in our workday. We should always be conscious about the foods and liquids that we consume because they become the fuel for our body and brain. Many foods that are heavy in sugar or sodium content can hinder our thought process and our physical ability, therefore possibly slowing our productivity. We want to be sure to continue to fuel our bodies and brains with the right foods so that we can be as productive in our whole day as possible.
Many businesses want to know that their employees are able to be as productive as possible in their day to day responsibilities on the job. When an individual take different steps to help reduce their anxiety, it allows you to be productive more consistently, which in turn helps to increase the bottom line in revenue that the business could generate. Therefore, leadership in companies should work to provide more than just the standard employee assistance program (EAP) as a resource to their employees. Allowing the opportunity for your staff to sit in on a presentation or seminar speaking toward workplace productivity, workplace stress and anxiety, can be a great asset. Providing activities throughout the workplace which may be deemed as stress relievers can be another form of employee assistance and anxiety reduction. Also being conscious of the items that companies have in the break rooms and food options in the cafeteria and vending machines are a way to provide natural ways to help reduce the anxiety and stress, while enhancing the productivity. Remember, just as employees are responsible for showing up to their job on time and being productive, employers have a greater responsibility to provide an effectively supportive workplace to assist the employees in making that possible.