How To Manage Anxiety About Going to Work Every Day

Most people assume that anxiety about going to work is actually just stress—but if that were true the stress would resolve itself as soon as you met your deadline or wrapped up that client project. Here’s what you actually need to know about the anxiety you feel before going to work if you want to have a calmer workday.

But first, what even is work anxiety?

I think about it as worry that centers around your workplace, work related tasks, and career decisions. Clients I see in my practice tend to have some of the following symptoms:

• Crying (or crying more than usual)

• Constant worry

• Feeling the need to perform perfectly

• Changes in your sleep (especially not sleeping enough)

• Difficulty with concentration

• Changes in appetite

• Feeling irritated, tense, or like you could snap at any moment

Isn’t that just work stress?

Work anxiety is different from work stress. While both can be uncomfortable, work stress tends to pass after the stressful event (like an interview, or presentation) is over. Work anxiety, on the other hand, continues on even when no other stressor is present.

What Causes Work Anxiety?

Job Insecurity

For those experiencing job insecurity, work anxiety naturally revolves around access to finances, gaining employment, and retaining a job. You might also be experiencing work anxiety related to why job insecurity is happening in the first place.

Heavy (and Unmanageable) Workload

If you’re someone who’s doing work that would be better off shared between a team of people, work anxiety is nearly unavoidable. While some workplaces may cite being short staffed as the reason for why the workload is heavy, poor management practices can also be at play.

You might also experience this if you’re self-employed. Playing multiple roles in your own business without additional support can sometimes lead to juggling an unmanageable amount of work.

Exploitative Workplaces

Receiving low pay while being expected to work long hours can fuel work anxiety too. The same can be said for workplaces that do not fairly credit people for the work they have performed.

Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace

Many of my own clients have experienced racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, etc in the workplace. When you anticipate being discriminated against, or harassed, at work, it’s only natural to feel anxious about showing up each day.

Toxic Customers or Clients

It’s also worth noting that sometimes it is the customer or client base that engages in toxic behavior that can spark work anxiety. For those working in the service industry, they are often expected to have a high tolerance for verbal, and sometimes even physical or sexual assault, depending on how both clients and society perceive their role.

Strategies for Managing Anxiety About Going to Work

Below you’ll find a range of coping strategies. Some are meant to tend to physical symptoms of anxiety, while others are meant to address the secondary emotions that can come up when work anxiety is present.

Somatic Practices

Because work anxiety can bring on so many different physical sensations, it’s important to have tools for working with your own body.

Before you log in for a Zoom call, or get out of your car to walk to your workplace, take a moment to try one of the following:

• Straw breath: Inhale through your nose. Exhale through pursed lips (as if you were breathing out through a straw). Repeat three times.

• Place one hand over your heart, and the other over your stomach. Feel the rise and fall of your chest while you breath. Think (or say aloud): “I am breathing. I am here. I will be okay.”

Time Strategies

Typical time management strategies don’t always take into account the different jobs people have. Some of you may have more control over your time, while some of you may have less control over your time. Still, there are strategies that you can experiment with, whether you’re working for yourself, or in a traditional 9-5.

• Triage your work tasks: Take a look at your calendar for the day. What absolutely has to get done? What would be nice to get done? What would be okay to get to another day? So often, people become overwhelmed in their work lives when they try to do multiple tasks at once. This strategy of zooming in on your current workday can provide some clarity about what to focus your attention on.

Create Transitions Into and Out Of Your Workday

Many people rush into their workday only to rush right back out of it at the end of the day. Creating an intentional transitions around your work day can help reduce overwhelm and anxiety.

• Start of workday transition: Pick one activity that will serve as your transition marker into your workday. Maybe it’s listening to a specific podcast on your way into the office, or playing a specific song before logging in for your first Zoom meeting of the day. It doesn’t have to be something long and drawn out, but it does have to be something you can do consistently to se you can see how it works for you.

• End of workday transition: Just like starting off your workday, ending your workday with an intentional transition can give your mind some ease. Which task would you like to have serve as your transition into your life outside of work? Maybe it’s the final email check of the day before logging out, or taking 5 minutes to write down a handful of things that went well during your workday. Pick something you can do consistently for a little while so you can observe how it works for you.

How To Tell if You Need More Support for Work Anxiety

Like I mentioned earlier, work stress is typically short term and resolves after the stressor (like a project deadline) ends. Work anxiety, on the other hand, can last long after the initial stressor begins.

Here are some signs to look out for that could signal it’s time to reach out to a therapist for additional support:

• Sleep disturbances (sleeping too much or too little) that last longer than two to three weeks

• Withdrawing from family and friends

• Changes in appetite (eating more than usual or less than usual) that last longer than three weeks

• Feeling overwhelmed and like you can’t shut your worries off

• Experiencing intense irritation or even rage

• Receiving feedback from other people in your life that your anxiety is affecting them

• Avoiding certain activities due to fear that they will increase your anxiety

TL;DR

Your reasons for feeling anxious about going to work every day are beyond understandable. It might be worth trying some coping strategies to see if they’re useful to you.

If you want customized support, and you live in either Colorado or Oregon, take a look at my service offerings to see how we can work together.

When you’re ready, you can reach out to book your free consultation call. I’ll answer any questions you might have and we’ll work out the logistics for getting your first appointment on the calendar.

Together, we’ll get back to a place where you’re able to sleep through the night and show up for work the next day feeling calm, cool, and collected.

I’m Halle! An anxiety therapist in Colorado and Oregon.

I work with adults who are ready for anxiety to stop running (and ruining!) their lives. You can work with me in either 1:1 weekly therapy, or in a therapy intensive.

If you live in either Colorado or Oregon, I’d love to work with you. Book your free intro call to get started!