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First of all, I’ve been an anxious employee from time to time—who hasn’t? Anxiety is so common and can easily interfere with work or become exacerbated by managers who don’t know how to supervise someone with anxiety. Therefore, I’m sharing 2 tips that I’ve discovered both as a manager of employees with anxiety, and as an anxious employee myself.
If you are asking your employee to do something new for the first time, do it with them. Don’t resist providing extra care or fear that this will set up a dynamic where you will always have to be providing this level of support. Anxiety at work often minimizes as a person becomes more comfortable with her team and her tasks. If you are asking your employee to attend an off-site meeting on her own—something that is part of her role—offer to go with her for the first time. She’ll get the lay of the land with you which will help her feel more confident when she goes to the meeting on her own the next time. If you’re not sure if your employee would appreciate the extra support, ask her. If she says yes, join her supportively. If she says she’s got it—believe her.
Ask your anxious employees what you can do that would put their minds at ease. Different employees need different things. Anxiety manifests differently for everyone. Perhaps one employee is seeking some extra support on new assignments, while another would benefit from some flexibility around her work hours, or request frequent feedback about her work to prevent her from getting in her head about it. You don’t need to say yes to everything, and some accommodations may need to go through HR. However, you may find that just by opening the door and being willing to listen to a request, your employee is put at ease. So much of an employee’s work experience is about her relationship with her boss. If she knows she can go to you to help make her work-life better, her anxiety may reduce.
What do you do to support employees who are anxious?