I found a great article here that discusses how anxiety impacts your career. The article in of itself is a great read it covers a pretty broad swath of issues. First let’s get to an excerpt from the article:
How anxiety impacts you at work
As well as affecting your physical and mental health, anxiety can also result in a decline in your work performance. According to Street, the most common signs that you may be struggling to manage your anxiety in the workplace include the following:
🔹 Difficulty making decisions.
🔹 Poorer relationships at work due to mood changes (eg irritability, tearfulness, agitation) and behavior changes.
🔹 Procrastination and inefficiency when completing tasks.
🔹 Increased absenteeism due to recurring physical symptoms (for example, upset stomach, headaches).
🔹 Ongoing feelings of dread about deadlines or specific work tasks and worrying about these in your free time, when away from the workplace.
I have been both an employee and an employer/manager in my career. I can tell you that absenteeism was one of the worst issues I faced as a manager. There are laws that govern what you can and cannot say to an employee who has excessive absenteeism. The biggest issue for me was, the work still had to get done whether that person showed up or not. We got through it, but it always put a strain on the department.
That person ended up being resented by other staff who had to pick up their work. An unintended consequence of anxiety sadly. For me as a manager I had to get production out of my people, I always tried to temper that with as much understanding as I could muster. Often though, corporate demanded results, I had to push, it sucked. I’m not in management anymore, I miss the money but am much happier.
If anxiety is affecting your work place performance the best thing you can do is talk to your boss. It may be a challenging conversation but once you have it you relieve yourself of a tremendous burden. You see, what happens is, your boss and co workers have to speculate as to why you are out so often. 9 times out of 10, unless we know you well, we are way off. By letting you boss know you have an issue, you empower them, you relieve yourself, but you also invoke whatever coverage you have under your company’s personnel policy.
Mental illness/anxiety isn’t often specifically covered by policies, but chances are there is something in there. When you let your boss know, you provide them and yourself coverage. Otherwise, as in my example, I had to get the work out of other people. Had I had a clear picture what was going on, I would have a reason for department performance (not an EXCUSE a REASON). Your employer isn’t your enemy, they need you for whatever it is you are producing for them. If you can do it, make sure they know what is going on, it will help your career in the long run.
