If you are someone dealing with social anxiety, you know that it can be difficult to work many traditional jobs due to the difficulty of regular social interactions. According to the American Psychological Association, 77% of American workers reported experiencing work-related stress within the last month. This high level of stress could be further worsened by your social anxiety.
For support, check out our blogs “Best Jobs For People with Social Anxiety Disorder” and “8 Best Jobs For People with Social Anxiety.”
Luckily, there are jobs out there well-suited for someone with social anxiety; however, what does the process look like when it comes to obtaining the desired job? How can you mentally prepare yourself for the hiring process? While some jobs may have limited social interaction with people, how can you learn to alleviate your anxiety symptoms in future social situations? To learn the answers to these questions, continue reading this blog!
Anchor Therapy is a counseling center in Hoboken, NJ with mental health therapists specialized in helping children, teens, adults, couples, and families with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, trauma, life transitions, and more. Anchor Therapy is accepting new clients and is now providing in-person sessions and teletherapy sessions to residents of New Jersey, New York, and Florida.
How does social anxiety limit your ability to work?
Social anxiety can limit your ability to work in several ways, whether you are seeking advice from a company leader or interacting with your coworkers.
For one, if you struggle with social anxiety, it is likely that you struggle with clear communication. You may have a fear of speaking, especially in a meeting or other type of group setting, due to a fear of embarrassing yourself. This may prevent you from sharing your unique ideas or asking those important questions. Even small talk with a coworker can feel overwhelming which may lead to isolation or avoidance of social interactions with colleagues that are important for team building.
For many people with social anxiety, one of their biggest fears is fear of criticism and judgment. The fear of being judged by other people can lead to excessive worry about making mistakes or failing to meet expectations. This anxiety can become paralyzing, leading to avoidant behavior or passing up job promotions that require taking on new responsibilities.
On the other side of the spectrum of performance anxiety, we have overworking. You may take an alternative route, overworking yourself and becoming a perfectionist to avoid criticism. This can very easily lead to burnout and high stress. For more information on this topic, check out our blog “Is Perfectionism A Coping Skill?”.
As previously mentioned, avoidant behavior is common for people with social anxiety. Social anxiety can cause you to shy away from leadership positions or roles where you have to make decisions often. For support, view our blog “How Mental Health Counseling Can Help Your Decision Fatigue.” Even though you are fully qualified, you may fear being scrutinized or speaking in public. Another fear of becoming a leader in your field or company may be that you have a hard time delegating tasks. You may find it hard to assign tasks or manage your team due to a fear of confrontation.
Anxiety can also lead to procrastination. Despite its bad reputation, procrastination is not always bad. For example, some people procrastinate tasks because they believe they are more efficient when working under pressure. However, it is important to assess where your need to procrastinate is coming from. Are you procrastinating due to a fear of failure or social judgment? If so, you may find that you struggle with poor time management which can impact your overall work performance.
The constant worry you may be experiencing that comes along with social anxiety can drain you mentally. It can be hard to concentrate, think clearly, and stay focused on your professional tasks. For help, check out our blog “6 Ways to Handle Intrusive Thoughts.”
Lastly, the stress and discomfort caused by social anxiety in the workplace can cause low job satisfaction since you may feel unfulfilled, underappreciated, or unable to engage fully with your work. Social anxiety can lead to big mental health concerns, such as burnout or depression, which can impair your ability to work effectively. Take our Depression Quiz to find out more.
It is not uncommon for people to feel like their social anxiety is creating a barrier between their personal and professional growth. You may feel like your social anxiety is limiting your potential in the workplace and making it difficult for you to succeed as a professional, especially when working in a setting that highlights communication and collaboration.
For more information take our Anxiety Quiz by reading our blog “Do I Have Anxiety? Take The Quiz and Learn 5 Instant Calming Tips.”
Social anxiety in the workplace can feel like:
Avoiding social situations like meetings, lunch breaks, or other office gatherings
Constant worry about being judged by your supervisors or coworkers
Pressure to be perfect leading to excess stress and burnout
Sense of isolation even when surrounded by your coworkers
Feeling physically anxious, such as sweating, racing heartbeat, shaking, when in social or professional settings (For support, read our blog “3 Ways to Manage Your Physical Anxiety Symptoms”)
Fear of public speaking or presenting your ideas in front of other people on your team
Overanalyzing every social interaction (e.g., replaying conversations in your head, etc.)
Fear of being making mistakes or being criticized for minor mistakes
Social anxiety in the workplace can manifest as:
Hesitating to ask for help even if you are severely struggling with tasks
Overworking yourself to prevent any mistakes or negative feedback
Avoiding meetings or presentations to avoid being the center of attention
Keeping your opinion to yourself when in a group setting or meeting
Hard time building relationships with coworkers or networking professionally
Procrastinating tasks due to fear of criticism or failure
Increased absenteeism to avoid stressful work situations
Declining leadership due to a fear of being judged
How to find a job with crippling anxiety
Having crippling anxiety can make it hard to find a job- it may even seem like a daunting process to you. With that being said, you can find a job that is right for you, but you will have to take a more thoughtful approach. When searching for a job, you must take your mental health into account.
Pinpoint your professional comfort level
First and foremost, you must begin to identify jobs that match your comfort level. Do you prefer remote work? Are you open to a freelance role? Define these characteristics and how much interaction you can handle.
Before jumping into a full-time position, maybe you want to look for something on a part-time basis so you can ease yourself into the workforce. This can allow you to build up your sense of self-confidence without feeling overwhelmed by a full time schedule. For more information, check out our blog “The Ultimate Guide to Building Self Confidence.”
You may also seek out a job that does not require constant teamwork or collaboration. A position that involves more independent work (e.g., research, writing, etc.) may be of interest to you.
2. Leverage your strengths
As someone with social anxiety, it may be incredibly easy for you to pick out all of the “bad” things about yourself, but what about your positive attributes? Do not be afraid to focus on the skills that allow you to excel in your resume and interview(s). This may look like discussing your attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and ability to manage time effectively. Even if social skills are not your strength, emphasize how your unique strengths fit the job you are seeking.
When it comes to preparing for the interview, do so in a calm environment. You can do online research to find out common interview questions. Preparing in advance can lessen some anxiety you may have regarding the unknowns of the hiring process. You can even practice answering these questions with a friend to get that real life experience!
3. Use healthy coping skills in the workplace
The social aspect of work likely feels overwhelming at times, and that is okay. Try to normalize this feeling for yourself. You can think of it as everyone has different levels of social comfort, and this is yours. Worrying about your level of social comfort will not change it.
It is okay to set boundaries with people, such as your coworkers, around when and how you prefer to communicate. For example, maybe you are in a position where you can only schedule meetings in the morning so you can get it over with first thing in the day. For more information, check out our blog “6 Ways to Set Boundaries and Enforce Them.”
If you are working and feel overwhelmed, take a break. Step away to take a short walk or do a breathing exercise to get yourself back on track. Read our blog “5 Breathwork Techniques to Decrease Anxiety.”
4. Use gradual exposure
As mentioned previously, if seeking full-time employment feels daunting to you, consider starting small by volunteering or doing an internship. You can use small work assignments to build up your confidence and gradually expose yourself to social situations.
If you feel like you need time to build up your confidence and qualifications at your own pace, you could try to take online courses. This can give you the space to improve job-related skills while restricting your social interaction until you feel more prepared.
5. Celebrate small wins
Celebrate each step of your job search! From submitting a job application to getting a job interview, there are many things to be grateful for. Recognize your efforts, even if it is something small like adding an accomplishment to your resume. Celebrating your wins can reduce the overwhelming nature of the process.
For anyone, the job search process takes time and this can be anxiety-inducing. Be patient and show yourself some kindness. Do not rush into a role out of fear that you will not find something else. Focus on finding and obtaining a job that aligns with your well-being.
Manage your anxiety with the help of an anxiety therapist
By far, one of the best ways to learn how to manage your anxiety is working with an anxiety counselor near you, especially if the coping skills you are trying to learn and utilize are not working.
Anxiety counseling is one of the most effective tools to manage social anxiety, especially when it comes to navigating a job search, workplace interactions, and career growth as a whole.
How do you fix crippling social anxiety?
There are several types of anxiety therapy that can help you overcome your social anxiety, boost your confidence, and develop coping strategies for work-related concerns.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a common treatment for social anxiety. It focuses on pinpointing and challenging negative thought patterns that fuel your anxiety to replace them with more balanced, realistic thoughts.
With the help of CBT at Anchor Therapy, you will be able to address your not so helpful thoughts like “I’m going to embarrass myself at this meeting.” Instead you can learn to think “I’m capable of contributing to this team.”
A central part of CBT is exposing yourself to situations that trigger anxiety, such as speaking publicly. This type of exposure can lessen your fear and help you realize that you may be projecting negativity into the future. By working on your social skills in this manner, your confidence will be boosted when talking with your boss and coworkers.
Mindfulness-based therapy
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) can teach you how to stay present and nonjudgmental in the moment which is helpful with someone like yourself with social anxiety where you may tend to overthink or anticipate negative outcomes in social situations.
By training your mind to stay grounded in the present moment, you can stay more engaged and productive at work since you are less likely to get distracted by your anxious thoughts. Struggling with social anxiety also means that you may replay or anticipate interactions in your mind, leading to more stress. By staying focused on the task at hand, you can reduce the impact of your anxious thoughts.
Anxiety can be accompanied by physical symptoms as well.
Some physical anxiety symptoms include:
Fatigue
Restlessness
Numbness or tingling
Dry mouth
Headaches
Hot flashes or chills
Racing heart or palpitations
Shortness of breath
Sweating
Trembling or shaking
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Nausea or upset stomach
Muscle tension
Mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing and grounding exercises, can help you manage your physical anxiety symptoms. During stressful job situations, such as presenting or doing a job interview, physical symptoms may flare up. For support, read our blog “3 Ways to Manage Your Physical Anxiety Symptoms.”
Exposure therapy
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Therapy is often used in combination with CBT to treat social anxiety. You will learn to gradually face your anxiety-provoking situations in a controlled way to lessen your fear.
You will always start small, and an exposure therapist is there to guide you each and every step along the way. You may start off by starting a conversation with a coworker to working your way up to doing a small presentation at work. Over time, by repeatedly exposing yourself to situations, you can feel desensitized to situations that may trigger your anxiety.
If job interviews, meetings, or performance reviews cause a lot of anxiety, exposure therapy can help you practice these situations in a low-stake setting. This reduces your fear response when faced with real-life situations.
Navigating the workplace with social anxiety can be challenging, but remember that you are not alone and there are ways you can manage it effectively.
Victoria Scala
is the Social Media Manager, Intake Coordinator, and Community Engagement Director at Anchor Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is a graduate of the Honors College of Rutgers University-Newark and is currently studying Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the graduate level. In her roles, Victoria is committed to managing the office’s social media/community presence and prioritizing clients' needs.
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