Anxiety and stress at workplace; how to overcome it?

An increased workload or a heavier workload coupled with the increased amount of time spent on completing it, puts one into a state of unease. The adverse impact on mental health stemming from workplace is something everyone experiences at some point in their career.

Ultimately, this impacts all aspects of their lives and everything becomes disheveled.

Different people face different obstructions at their workplace. It is of utmost crucial to know how to fare these rough ties and reach safety.

Why is mental well-being impacted?

Mental well-being is peace and happiness. A work shift usually spans between eight to nine hours, or sometimes, is even longer. While a work shift accounts for a significant part of the day of a working person, peace and happiness within the work environment is imperative to their mental wellbeing, and the work they do.

Without peace and happiness within the work environment, workers fall into despair. They lose interest in their work which subsequently, decreases the quality of the work they carry out.

The mental well-being of a worker is impacted in various ways. Sometimes, it is due to mental illness that they have, such as anxiety or depression.

Sometimes it is due to things they experience at the workplace. For example, a declining economic state forces individuals to take on more work. This comes with added pressure and when combined with increased workload, leaves them struggling to complete their tasks which would adversely impact their mental wellbeing.

In another example, Therapy Center’s Chief Psychologist Aaiz Ahmed Rasheed underscored that some companies lay off employees due to declining financial state which leaves the remaining employees to shoulder the burden of the responsibilities of the laid-off staff. This also negatively impacts the mental well-being of workers, he said.

“The mental well-being of an individual is also impacted by how an employer responds to, or undertakes efforts to resolve issues impacting the relationship between employees or conflicts arising between them,” he stressed.

What happens when mental well-being is adversely impacted?

It is common for a person to not know the next course of action when their mental well-being is strained. This strain begins to seep its way into other aspects of life.

To put it simply, if one dedicates their entire time to work, without spending time with family and friends or taking time for one’s self, they are throwing themselves into a state of unease. Lack of sleep and headaches start to become a common occurrence. Sometimes, it escalates to far more serious levels such as panic attacks.

According to Azim, one can identify whether they are facing a mental health issue if they experiencing difficulties or changes they have never experienced before.

“For example, others might notice that a very cheerful person is now easily irritable. Or do not want to talk so much now. Or the quality of their work is getting impacted,” he detailed.

“When such things happen in the work environment, we usually react wrongly. But that is the moment where empathy and consideration are the most important for the person,” he added.

How to identify and overcome?

While there is a great number of people who experience mental health issues, a lot of them are unaware of how to identify and overcome such diseases.

Experts cite the most important thing as taking time for one’s self. On that day, to question yourself, “What am I doing right?”, and to also evaluate the opposite. If there have been changes to yourself, you will then be able to identify it, yourself. A professional’s help can be sought early on, if desired or needed.

A person’s brain needs rest. A breath of fresh air from the hardships of labor. For this, one needs to allocate time for their own happiness. To spend time with family and friends.

“The days available for annual leave should be used. They should never be wasted,” Aaiz stressed.

He detailed that the individuals who shaped the concept of annual leave had done so with this in mind.

“When working a whole year, one needs approximately 30 days to rest,” he added.

Employers need to be mindful of such things too. The mental well-being of an employee should be a priority for employers as it is a factor that can affect their performance which would ultimately reflect on the company.

The mental well-being of a person is imperative for their overall well-being. We must care for our brain just as we would care for any other physical wounds.