What is work anxiety and how to deal with it

Job anxiety is a negative emotional response that arises in the face of difficulties at work. Some of the ways to control this condition include therapy, meditation, physical exercise, and effective management of time and work responsibilities. Currently, many people around the world suffer from job anxiety. In these cases, many times there is the idea that they do not respond adequately to work demands and this gives rise to work anxiety. This usually leads to worry, uncertainty, and nervousness about their future at the company. On the other hand, the social relationships that are created in the workplace can also be a great source of anxiety due to the constant evaluation of the performance carried out in different activities.

In this Psychology-Online article, we will explain what work anxiety is and how to manage it.

Index

1. What is work anxiety
2. Symptoms of work anxiety
3. Causes of work anxiety
4. How to manage job anxiety

Job anxiety is a physical, emotional and behavioral response related to the workplace ygenerated by future ideas about work. This ttype of anxiety It is usually associated with presentiments, fears, and uncertainties about job performance in the present that have repercussions in the future. Due to its characteristics, work anxiety can be included within the group of anxiety disorders proposed by the DSM-V.^[1].

The diagnostic criteria of job anxiety include:

• Anxiety and/or excessive worries.
• Concern.
• Irritation.
• Muscle tension.
• Deterioration of work, social and family relationships.
• Duration of six months or more.
• The alterations cannot be explained by the ingestion of a medication and/or a toxic substance.
• The difficulties cannot be contemplated by the presence of another mental disorder.

However, it is important to emphasize that the diagnosis must be made by a mental health professional.

Work anxiety has a series of physical, emotional and cognitive manifestations. Here we show you what its most common symptoms are:

• Excessive fears.
• Fear of dismissal.
• Low self-esteem.
• Distress.
• Catastrophic thoughts.
• Difficulty getting to sleep.
• Fatigue.
• Fatigue.
• Stress.
• Eating disorders (lack of appetite or excessive hunger).
• involuntary electrical movements.

In this article you will find information about How to manage work stress.

This problem can have different origins, from environmental factors to genetic issues. In the following items, we will display the causes of work anxiety:

Environmental factors

First, environmental factors encompass the contextual variables under which a person works. This consists of the relationship with bosses and colleagues to unpleasant moments in the family environment. Regarding work relationships, one of the causes that triggers work anxiety is believing that the expectations that others place on the person are not met.

On the other hand, the family problemsand personal They can also influence the appearance of job anxiety. For example, if the person is going through a love separation, fights with loved ones or some important loss, among other circumstances.

Genetic factors

Second, people with job anxiety may have a genetic predisposition Let it be the basis of your reactions in your workplace. In fact, from a scientific study it has been possible to detect that genetic inheritance responds to work performance and causes anxiety in this area.

These difficulties can be resolved through specific techniques that reduce levels of work anxiety. In this section we explain how to manage work anxiety:

1. Perform psychological therapy: Going to a mental health professional provides the person with tools to reduce stress levels at work.
2. write your worries: writing down the reasons that cause work anxiety will allow you to distance yourself from it. Try writing everything that causes concern on paper or in a digital document. In this article you will find some therapeutic writing exercises.
3. Establish an order of priorities: Knowing what your priorities are and what is really important is essential to organize work activities and lower anxiety.
4. exercise: Physical activity decreases muscle tension levels and produces both physical and mental relaxation.
5. Communicate with people at work: It is crucial that bosses and co-workers understand what the limits are when carrying out an activity. In this way, misunderstandings are avoided.
6. find a hobby: doing some activity outside of work to disconnect the mind will generate serotonin, the hormone linked to happiness.
7. Set achievable goals: The objective should not be to fulfill tasks with an impossible difficulty to face. In these cases, the best option is to develop a schedule with achievable goals serves as a help.
8. drink infusions: There are certain drinks that relax the central nervous system and reduce work anxiety. The most prominent are valerian, chamomile, linden, lavender, passion flower, etc.
9. Take magnesium citrate: This supplement can be consumed if the dose is gradually increased until the maximum tolerance of the organism is known. To take it correctly, place the powdered magnesium citrate and ingest it. This preparation improves the functioning of the person in work environments.
10. Understand personal virtues: Another tip in cases of work anxiety is to reflect on our positive qualities can improve our mood.

This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is work anxiety and how to deal with it, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

1. American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition). Arlington: Panamerican Medical Editorial.

• Cabrera Armijos, R. A., Garcia Junia, H. D., Tapia Viteri, M. G., Lopez Acurio, O. R. (2022). Mental health and anxiety in the workplace. Mitigation strategies. Science Domain Scientific Journal, 8 (3), 621-639.