The success of your company rests upon the shoulders of your employees. You can expect better business outcomes, increased revenue, and high productivity levels when they’re healthy and motivated. The standard advice for improving their well-being covers being flexible, providing growth opportunities, and encouraging physical activities.
But, rarely do we consider the role of mental health in employees’ well-being. More than one in five US adults live with a mental illness, while about 12.1% of U.S. adults experience a social anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Let us first understand what social anxiety disorder entails and the steps you can take to help your employees overcome it.
Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is more than just shyness. It is an intense, chronic, and persistent fear of being judged by others. It disrupts your daily life and can affect your school, work, and relationships.
This fear can be limited to a particular situation, such as giving a public speech, or affect you in numerous social situations. People may have trouble talking to strangers, eating in front of others, attending parties, or starting conversations. It can lead to loneliness at work. Here are signs and symptoms your employees may exhibit if they have a social anxiety disorder:
- They may constantly avoid attending social events, presentations, team meetings, and informal work events.
- They may feel self-conscious and fear being judged negatively by their coworkers, making them tremble, blush, or freeze up in social situations.
- They may isolate themselves, such as by not engaging in team-building activities or other workplace conversations.
- They may speak with an overly soft tone, constantly avoid eye contact, or have a rigid body posture.
- They are overachieving or overworking
- They may experience panic attacks or anxiety attacks at work.
- Physical symptoms they may experience include dizziness, sweating, gastrointestinal problems, “out-of-body” sensations, feeling their “mind going blank,” rapid heartbeat, and more.
Helping Your Employees Overcome Social Anxiety Disorder
1. Encourage Conversations
Whether you’re a leader, team, or HR manager, if you notice their social anxiety is getting in the way of their work or negatively affecting them, engage with them. You can’t force them to talk, but let them know they can talk to you any time, an “open door policy.”
Instead of offering immediate solutions, listen to them with empathy and compassion. Ask about their specific needs. They may hesitate to speak up, so you can create surveys to discover their troubles.
2. Mental Health Wellness Benefits
Assess the situation to see what your employee can benefit from; paid mental health leaves, educational resources to manage workplace anxiety, providing quiet zones for recharging, or opting for counseling services. Manhattan Mental Health Counseling offers accessible psychotherapy, and skilled counselors and accepts most health insurance plans.
3. Set Clear Roles and Expectations
Uncertainty can be the root cause of social anxiety. To counter it, set clear roles and expectations to support them; if they’re hesitant about attending a conference, you can give them instructions, such as the number of competitors to speak to or using a notes app to keep track of information.
As perfectionist tendencies accompany social anxiety, give them guidelines, establish benchmarks, and set time limits to prevent overworking and burnout. Give them positive feedback and praise their efforts to help them break out of their shell.
Endnote
Anxiety manifests itself in different ways, and the signs and symptoms vary from individual to individual. Regardless, it is crucial that we encourage everyone and provide them with adequate support to help them overcome the effects of social anxiety. It never hurts to go the extra mile to ensure your employees are well off and feel cared for and valued in their workplace.
