Dealing with Workplace Anxiety in Your Graduate Job

Everyone gets stressed and anxious from time to time, but if it is starting to have an impact on your health and wellbeing, it’s certainly about time you considered strategies to stay in control of your mental health and enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle. Workplace anxiety is one of the most common types which can affect your professional performance, relationships and of course, your graduate job satisfaction.

With this in mind, it’s important to put tactics in place to help you deal with workplace anxiety to prevent it holding you back from reaching your career goals and of course, impacting your day-to-day lifestyle.

Ask for help with your graduate job responsibilities 

One of the reasons why you may be suffering from workplace anxiety is due to the fact you feel bombarded with a workload beyond your capabilities. It’s easy to just say ‘yes’ to keep everyone happy, however, you’re ultimately neglecting your own needs.

Whenever you’re struggling, don’t be afraid to reach out to a colleague or even your graduate job boss and ask for help. While you may believe doing so shows a sign of weakness, a few moments of discomfort from opening up about how you’re feeling will save you weeks or even months of stress that could be prevented.

Understand when you need a break

It can be easy to get carried away with work or perhaps you simply feel obliged to continue working through your breaks to get everything done in time. Understand when you’re pushing yourself too hard and that there comes a time when enough is enough.

Take allocated breaks so that you’re able to refresh and continue with your tasks with a more relaxed state of mind. While away from your desk, you should aim to get some exercise as this releases endorphins in the brain to put you in a much more positive state of mind while burning off excess energy that’s causing you to feel a greater sense of anxiety.

Focus on the facts

One of the worst aspects of anxiety is that you’re filling your head with untrue thoughts which can lead to rumination. As a result, you’re wasting both your valuable time and energy and lead to you feeling completely out of control.

Focus on the facts of the situation rather than what could happen. Can these issues be resolved? If so, it’s important to determine how you can solve whatever is causing you distress in the workplace – whether it be having a meeting with your boss or even considering whether it is the graduate job itself that isn’t quite right for you.

Consider a new graduate job

If you have tried all different methods to try and reduce your job anxiety, it may be the case that you should be applying for new jobs elsewhere. Not everyone is suitable for every single workplace environment, and it may be down to the fact that you simply need to find something more appropriate for you. Perhaps the role itself doesn’t quite meet your expectations or you’re in the midst of a toxic environment – sometimes biting the bullet and moving on can immediately alleviate job stress.

You can find a vast selection of graduate jobs and internships here.

If you’re dealing with workplace anxiety, it’s important to seek help either from your boss or even a GP. Failing to get the support you need could lead to a rapid decline in mental health and cause more severe anxiety disorders.