How to Turn Workplace Anxiety Into a Productive Force by Managing Negative Emotions

　　In the face of workplace anxiety, we must try to make it a help in the workplace, rather than a stumbling block.
　　Almost everyone can say something about anxiety – students are worried that their academic performance is improving too slowly, graduates are worried about not being able to find a suitable job… Anxiety seems to have become a “standard feature” for everyone in society. There are even more things that can cause us anxiety in the workplace, such as whether the year-end results have been completed? Can I be promoted next year? In addition to these, there is also overwhelming information on the Internet such as “post-90s entrepreneurs earn one million yuan a year” and “what is a monthly salary of 30,000 yuan” and other information. After reading this, people will inevitably have negative emotions, and sensitive people will also start to reflect on themselves: “Why am I doing so poorly at work? There must be something I’m not doing well…”
　　Workplace anxiety is an emotional state in which we feel worried or fearful about the future or uncertainty in the workplace. In 2021, the annual workplace report released by Maimai shows that 89.3% of people in the workplace say they are anxious, and 71.5% of the reasons for anxiety in the workplace stem from work. Although workplace anxiety is common, if we are always in such an emotional state, it will affect our judgment and decision-making, and may lead to some physical and mental problems.
　　Li Fei used to be a sales manager. When he first joined the company, his performance was pretty good because he was led by old employees. Once he was alone, he became nervous, worried that his performance would be questioned, and afraid of making mistakes. But often the more this happens, the easier it is for things to go wrong. “When it’s serious, my mind goes blank and I don’t know where to start talking with the customer.” After a few times, he began to struggle with the thought of going out to meet clients and tried every means to delay it.
　　Although lawyer Ma Xinran appears to outsiders as a calm, confident and capable woman, behind the scenes she often makes herself physically and mentally exhausted by thinking about problems that have never happened. She can’t help but imagine “what if there are any mistakes at work that will lead to serious consequences”, and she often compares herself with her peers, feeling that she is not as good as others. In order to make herself feel better, she checked the manuscripts she had drafted and the emails she had sent over and over again; even when she was on vacation with her family, she would carry the computer on her back for fear of missing work.
　　It is true that this kind of workplace anxiety stems from high demands on ourselves, and it can make us work harder and more attentively at work to a certain extent. However, if it is not controlled, it will grow wildly like weeds and gradually let negative emotions take over. The upper hand turns a good thing into a bad thing. Therefore, in the face of workplace anxiety, we must try to make it a help in the workplace instead of a stumbling block.
　　Reconciling with Anxiety
　　When anxiety occurs, you must first understand how the emotion appears. Is it a specific thing, a possible outcome, or a person who makes you feel anxious? After determining the source of anxiety, try to stop yourself from dwelling on this issue and instead reconcile with it: “Anxiety is not useless, at least it allows me to think about some issues in advance.” At the same time, accept your own problems. Be imperfect and focus more on the work itself rather than the uncertain worries of the unknown.
　　Setting Appropriate Workplace Goals
　　Many people are anxious because of the unknown and uncertainty, so if we identify some issues in the workplace, anxiety will naturally be resolved. We can set goals based on our interests and strengths. Be careful to make sure your goals are appropriate, challenging, and measurable. If you still feel anxious after setting a goal, it is most likely because the goal is not suitable for you, and you need to make some appropriate adjustments. After the goals are set, we need to continuously evaluate and adjust them to ensure the effectiveness of the goals and better support personal career development.
　　Eliminate irrelevant anxiety.
　　As mentioned above, some people will feel anxious when they see some workplace-related information on the Internet, but a lot of information has nothing to do with them. At this time, we need to get rid of those irrelevant anxieties to prevent ourselves from falling into an emotional quagmire. We can list the goals we have set before and the causes of anxiety, and then compare the two to see if they are relevant, and ignore the irrelevant ones.
　　Give up assumptions
　　Many times, our anxiety comes from empty assumptions. For example, when you pass by your boss in the corridor and the other person does not respond to your smile, you may feel that your boss is dissatisfied with you. In fact, your boss may simply be ignoring you because he is thinking about something else. Feelings do not equal facts. We need to give up all kinds of assumptions, relax ourselves appropriately through exercise, travel, or find someone to chat with, so that we can focus on the goal itself, rather than things that may happen (with a high probability of not happening). superior.