Work Anxiety and “Changing Hats”
Have you ever found yourself worrying over or planning for your job outside of your work hours? Maybe even to the point of having bad dreams of missing your alarm clock or having an irate customer? Work anxiety can be a very intense issue and lead to dreading the workday and even burnout, but with some tips and tricks, you can better control or manage your work anxiety.
Countries around the world, including the United States, encourage the “always on” work culture. This is evidenced by overtime being encouraged with the promise of a slightly larger paycheck and some employees feeling guilty when putting in paid time off. Some ways to fight this “always on” feeling is to have systems in place to turn the work part of your brain “off”. One example is by “changing hats”, which is just one of many methods used to help yourself transition from work mode to home mode and vice versa in just a matter of seconds. “Changing hats” does not always include the physical and symbolic “changing” of your “home hat” to your “work hat” but it sure helps to pretend to actually switch them out in your car right before you go inside. While doing this, you can take a deep breath, tell yourself that you have made it through alright before and will do it again (and if any issues do come up, you have the ability to problem solve it!). Positive self-talk can do wonders with self-confidence and self-worth, even if it does feel a bit cheesy at times. The anxious part of your brain will want to counter your positive self-talk but do not let it win, simply fight back until your anxiety backs down! You can master control over your thoughts. Some additional forms of transition include: taking some time to listen to music before you go inside, running a quick errand, getting gas…
Other mental coping strategies with metaphorically separating your work brain from your home brain is to turn off the worry by making a plan! Plan a designated worry time, hangout with friends or family, start a new hobby, coach a soccer team, join a book club, anything to get you going (in the right/healthy direction). Put your work phone and laptop away, turn them off, and don’t look at them until it’s time to work again in order to help you disconnect! Things that are readily available are more likely to be looked at (like those candy bowls near the cash register). However, if this cognitive strategy does not work, let us dive into a more complex strategy.
If the idea of everything potentially going wrong at work because you didn’t check your email or work phone messages causes you a lot of anxiety, exposure may be what you need! You can start small by just not checking messages after work on a Friday, to adding on a Saturday without checking, and followed by not checking for a whole weekend. Once your brain realizes that work will be there waiting for you and everything won’t go downhill just because you aren’t looking then the anxiety should start to lessen.
Lastly, if you really cannot stop thinking and worrying about work, use that paid time off and take a day to decompress! Replenish, connect with yourself and others, and take a breather to move mindfully and intentionally. If you just feel like your anxiety in general is severe and difficult to control, don’t hesitate to reach out to a therapist for mental health support!
- Ciera Canaday, LCSW
Clinical Director and Psychotherapist