This year is officially my worst year in terms of stress, anxiety & just one curve-ball after the other. Starting this year off with a passing of a dear friend to covid, then navigating a work culture that is resistant to change, financial pressures, some family drama and a car accident on top of it all. But despite all of that I have found joy, purpose and what matters most to me.

One of the biggest factors for me is my faith. I cling onto the hope of Jesus that through my struggles and chaos He is there for me. He might not make it better in the way that I would hope and, in fact, some times He says no, but my relationship with Him has given me a sense of purpose and hope to get through the bad times.

I have realized that when work is very challenging (and we all have seasons of this, be it restructuring, meeting deadlines or targets, or financial pressures at work) it doesn't just stay at work. We carry these anxieties with us back home and into our relationships, which leaves us snappy, resentful and introverted. This doesn't make us pleasant people to be around and then what inevitably happens is that we start feeling guilt and shame around not being a good enough wife, friend and mom.

We all feel anxiety, particularly if you working in a toxic work environment (I have experienced this before where you counting down the minutes till 4:30pm). Anxiety can affect performance at work, the quality of the work, relationships with colleagues, and relationships with supervisors. And if you have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, then these challenges may prove even more difficult. The worst part of anxiety is when there is conflict amongst your colleagues or with a manager. Some people love the drama and some people want to hide under their desks until everything passes - and working from home where you don't see your colleagues' face-to-face means texts, emails and zoom meetings, which does not help the anxiety either. And let's not mention Covid-19 & protocols in the workplace and so much more.

So how exactly does one thrive then when you have anxiety? Well, here are 10 tips on how to you can cope with anxiety at work and thrive:

  1. First, build a personal wellness plan that works for you. Here you focus on sleep, exercise, eating healthily, engaging in social activities that brings you energy and can help reduce anxiety and stress. For me, I love being around my closest friends where we don't talk about work.
  2. Ask for help at work or delegate. This is a big one. Remember you can't do everything particularly if deadlines are tight. Who can you bring onboard, who you trust to help get the job done?
  3. Avoid getting involved with conflict. It is so easy for us to get sucked into the office gossip, or take sides without knowing the full picture. Gossiping may seem like you are just venting or offloading but this can easily cause more tension between colleagues and stress. Though this is tempting, try to either stay out of it or sort out the conflict as soon as you can. If you need to get a manager involved, follow HR protocols.
  4. Try and set realistic deadlines and/or targets. Now I know not every deadline is negotiable but for those projects that are, be realistic and stick to those timelines. This can greatly reduce anxiety. A tool I have used to keep me on track is Trello. It is a great way to assign tasks to individuals and the best part is seeing how far you are on a particular project.
  5. Find colleagues in your workplace that you trust and can support you. This will help you feel less alone. I know in particular that my work besties have helped me get through the toughest times at work and made the challenging days much more bearable and keep me accountable when I need it.
  6. Remember your boundaries. We spoke a lot about this last month but it is so important that when you are feeling overwhelmed and anxiety is increasing you need to say no to a few things. Be honest with your manager and colleagues of where you are at. Do you have to go to every meeting? Can things be postponed? It's very easy to think that everything is priority or urgent but you need to be able to streamline what you can achieve for that day, week or month.
  7. Remember your worth! This is a toughie particularly for us women, but is some of our anxiety asking for a higher salary because we are either struggling financially or feeling undervalued for our skills in the workplace? I have learnt over the years and more so recently that though we can love our job, we also need to be compensated for our time and skills that we bring to the table. Go to your manager and speak about a salary increase or if there are any opportunities to grow within the company ask and go for it.
  8. Use your leave! Now those who know me will say, "yes, Dani, use your leave" but I have learnt particularly this year that your leave is there for you to take care of you and spend time with your family. When you use it wisely you can come out of it well rested rather than burning out by the end of the year.
  9. Schedule breaks into your daily routine. Sitting at your computer all day means it is very easy to start procrastinating but rather get up from your desk, make yourself a cup of tea and then go back to your task. If you are working from home, change your working environment, go work at a coffee shop or work at a friends place. This will decrease the feelings of loneliness and your anxiety.
  10. If your anxiety is not decreasing after trying all the above, go access the resources available in your workplace. Going to see a mental health professional can be just what you need to get things off your heart in a safe place with no judgement. I know both Robyn and I, as mental health professionals ourselves, always walk away from a therapy session feeling so much better. It is also a chance to see if there are underlying conditions as well.

Anxiety will always be present to some degree in your daily life, but it doesn't have to interfere with your work performance and enjoying your profession. Though anxiety is an unpleasant emotion, it's also an opportunity for you to grow in your career. If you implement some of these tips above it may help you to cope in those challenging seasons, grow you and allow you to find purpose in your career.

Written by Dani Moosajie