You are not alone if you have ever worked with a knot in your stomach. Feelings you experience at work can be helped by putting names on them. Many of them can be traced back to anxiety. To counteract your work worries, you must first identify their source. Here are three work personality traits that stem from anxiety:
Perfectionism:
Perfection is one of the most common answers candidates give when asked about their biggest weakness in a job interview because having high standards is generally accepted. Perfectionists are anxious. The most common attribute associated with anxiety is this, according to Nikki Lacherza-Drew, a licensed psychologist.
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- Most associate perfectionism with anxiety
- You will be miserable if you expect everyone to meet your impossibly high standards.
- People who are perfectionists can become defensive when someone, even a boss, offers constructive criticism.
- Perfectionists often lack self-esteem or are fearful of failing
- Self-compassion is a good start if you believe you are a perfectionist.
People-Pleasing
Being a team player can make you popular at work, but there comes a point when it can lead to more harm than good. “You’re the dream employee. You say yes to everything. Cover that event? Sure! Do you have time for this project? Absolutely! Do it by tomorrow? That’s fine!” says Shannon Garcia, a psychotherapist at States of Wellness Counseling.
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People pleasers sacrifice too much of their well-being for their jobs if they say yes, even when they’re time and energy-poor. Decide if your desire to help a colleague is genuine or if it results from anxiety when you say yes.
Procrastination
Avoiding difficult conversations and deadlines ends up causing more anxiety. Avoidance is a temporary solution that could worsen your anxiety in the long run. Try breaking down the project into smaller tasks to realize you can do each one of those things.