Workplace wellbeing: Recognising anxiety in the workplace

We’re living in times of uncertainty, a known driver of anxiety

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SNOOKER superstar Ronnie O’Sullivan recently made headlines when he pulled out of the Welsh Open, citing anxiety.

O’Sullivan’s life is far from average. His career centres on potting coloured balls in a particular order. Also, he receives huge financial remuneration and public acclaim. But we may have something in common with him when it comes to acute anxiety.

The Laya Healthcare Workplace Wellbeing Index is an annual survey of 1,000 employees and 200 employers in Ireland. In 2023, it found that levels of severe anxiety were on the rise in Irish workplaces, with 38% reporting feeling anxious frequently or all of the time.

“The disruption caused by the pandemic prompted us to carry out our inaugural survey in 2020,” says Sinéad Proos, head of wellness at Laya Healthcare. “We aim to support the health of employees in the workplace and knew we couldn’t do that unless we were aware of the issues that were impacting upon them. Anxiety emerged as an issue in 2020 and our yearly index shows that it has since become the norm. Not just that, but it’s becoming more intense for a certain cohort.”

The index found that the rising cost of living was a significant factor driving anxiety. Some 63% cited it as one of their top five reasons for feeling anxious.

“Another 53% mentioned money worries and 33% were stressed about their household’s financial security,” says Proos. “People don’t have as much money in their pockets as they used to and that’s causing anxiety.”

Money not going as far as it used to isn’t our only cause for concern. The index also found that 39% of people felt uncertain about the future.

John Gallagher is an adjunct professor in occupational medicine at UCC’s College of Medicine and Health. He isn’t at all surprised by these findings.

“Just think of the world we find ourselves in,” he says. “It seems to be one thing after another—stories of wars and conflict and the climate crisis in the news. People are worrying about how they’re going to get by financially. We’re still dealing with the aftereffects of the pandemic, particularly in the workplace, where the workforce is settling into a new way of doing things. There’s talk of ChatGPT and AI and where that might be going. We’re living in times of huge uncertainty, and uncertainty begets anxiety.”

Stress and anxiety

Michael Ledden, a psychotherapist and founder of anxiety.ie, is keen to highlight the difference between stress and anxiety.

“People will be familiar with stress, which is when our fight-or-flight response activates due to the pressure of external demands,” he says. “Anxiety is when that response activates due to internal reasons. These reasons can include worrying about things that might happen in the future, internal pressures that we place on ourselves, or negative thinking patterns.”

Anxiety can manifest itself in mental, physical and emotional ways. “We might have trouble sleeping,” says Ledden. “Or we might be unable to rest or unwind or take pleasure in enjoyable activities. Some people experience reduced libido while others might find that they are less inclined to interact with people or that they are increasingly irritable.”

Laya Healthcare data shows that anxiety can take its toll on our physical health too. “People with anxiety can get uptight and wound up, which leads to muscle tension in their necks and shoulders, as well as headaches, gut inflammation, and heart palpitations,” says Proos.

Our performance at work can also suffer due to anxiety. “It can undermine our confidence, which means we might have problems expressing ourselves in the workplace, dealing with others, or putting ourselves forward for promotion,” says Ledden.

While anxiety drives some people to become unsure of themselves, its effect on others can make them disconnect from their job and their colleagues. They might withdraw into themselves, opt to work remotely or take more absences.

If you believe that you are suffering from anxiety and want to do something about it, Gallagher recommends starting by making sure the problem is one of anxiety and not stress. “Is it coming from within or without?” he asks. “If it’s without, it’s stress, and it may be being caused by the workplace itself. If so, it should be relatively easy to identify the problem and resolve it effectively, usually with the support of your manager or employer.”

If it’s from within, it’s anxiety; improving your general lifestyle habits can help. Gallagher recommends eating well and exercising regularly.

Ledden adds other suggestions. “Things like drinking too much caffeine and not getting enough sleep can aggravate anxiety,” he says. “Then there are strategies such as breathing exercises to manage our fight-or-flight response. There’s a lot we can do to help ourselves.”

Communicating with others is important too. “We ought to be as comfortable talking about our mental health as we are about our physical health,” says Gallagher. “Most of us have no problems telling our colleagues about our bad back or recent operation but we tend to suffer in silence when it comes to mental issues like anxiety.”

Opening up about such problems can be a crucial step towards dealing with our anxiety.“Sharing that information with someone we trust — whether that’s a close friend, a colleague, a GP, or even a therapist through a mental health support programme at work or through a health insurer — helps us to recognise that something is wrong and that we want to do something about it,” says Proos.

Prevent, promote, provide

Employers can play a role in supporting employees to do this. Gallagher recommends that they do so by following the policy of prevent, promote, and provide.

“Take a proactive approach to preventing problems by carrying out regular risk assessments and addressing any issues that are identified,” he says. “This applies just as much to mental health as physical health.”

Then implement policies that promote good mental health in the workplace. “Organise mental health days, schedule mental health talks and train workplace champions,” says Gallagher. “Make it clear that your workplace is a safe space in which employees are encouraged to talk about and seek support with their
mental health.”

Many organisations now have employee-assistance programmes, which can include free counselling sessions, financial advice, and career guidance.

“Make sure your managers are fully up to speed on all of the supports that are available internally and externally so that they can point employees towards the help they need,” says Gallagher.

We should be careful not to allow our anxiety to reach a point at which it prevents us from being able to work.

“If people are so anxious that they can’t get out of bed to go to work in the morning, that’s gone too far,” says Proos.

“By taking steps as
individuals and as organisations, we can address the things that keep people awake at night long before they prevent them from getting out of bed in the morning. Our statistics may show that anxiety is fast becoming the norm across all sectors, but we shouldn’t allow it to be. There’s a lot we can do to address it.”