Peace of mind: The gift that keeps on giving

2023 will be our yea…nope, not going to jinx it. While a new year offers a fresh start, heightened work demands and our current bleak economy can leave our colleagues feeling fearful of what the future holds. Uncertainties can make us feel out of control and lost, even in the most stable times. If thoughts of the future keep your team up at night, they are not alone. There’s even a name for it.

Excessive worry about the future is called?anticipatory anxiety.

What is anticipatory anxiety?

Stress is a response to a threat in a situation and anxiety is a reaction to the stress?according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. If your team experiences anticipatory anxiety, they are stressed for an extended period of time about an imagined future perceived as an unpredictable threat. In the workplace, an anticipatory anxious person tends to spend time catastrophizing work situations that have not yet occurred. They often focus on worst-case scenarios. Their narratives can significantly interfere with their mental wellness and even manifest itself into physical ailments such as panic attacks. Anxiety is a normal human process designed to keep us “safe.” However, it becomes an issue when excessive fears and worries impact a person’s well-being and daily functions.

How can leaders help their teams?

We can’t entirely eliminate anxieties over the future, but we can help teams learn to cope. The first place to start is to ensure that the team has its basic needs covered. Create a work environment that prioritizes wellness and offers space for daily meditation and movement. Offer wellness days that allow teams time to reset. Sleep deprivation exacerbates anxiety tremendously, so encourage team members to properly rest and relax.

Secondly, identify areas where you can reduce stress immediately. For example, if teams are worried about the future of the company or their roles, share with them information that might curb their concerns. Talk through team apprehensions and explore with them how realistic their anxious thoughts are. Reframe the scenarios if you can, but don’t be dismissive. Be present and compassionate to their very real fears.

Lastly, it could be helpful for them to speak to a professional if their feelings become overwhelming. Tools like?BetterHelp?offer affordable access to licensed professionals trained to listen, diagnose, and provide valuable tools to manage anxieties.

As we lead our organizations across the 2022 finish line, leaders can be a pillar for teams to feel confident about the past year and even better about what’s to come. While we can’t control the future, we can control our actions in the present moment. To better understand and support your team's work and wellness, have your colleagues fill out the?Employee User Manual.

Douglas Ferguson | President, Voltage Control

+ Events +

5th Annual Facilitation Summit: Control the Room

We are gathering to build and celebrate a community of practice for facilitators. It is paramount that we create a safe place to learn, grow, and advance as practitioners, and to engage in a dialogue that advances the practice of facilitation. We invite people who seek to lead better meetings and who seek to foster inclusivity across all voices. Our mission is share a global perspective of facilitators from different methodologies, backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, and ages.

Get Tickets

+ Workshops +

Magical Meetings

In this workshop, we will introduce the skills you need to create a magical experience at every meeting. We will review meeting mantras that you can apply to your meeting culture, and we’ll go way beyond the agenda to show you frameworks to use before, during, and after your meetings. Join us to gain the tools and expertise you need to be a meeting magician.

Register Today

+ Articles +

The Blueprint for Sustaining Organizational Change

By embracing change as part of the process, we’re able to better prepare for what comes next. This willingness to accept change is a key component in creating an environment that sustains change. Learning to respond to the challenges that come with change and designing a change management strategy will encourage long-term growth and acceptance of these changes to allow for long-lasting transformation.?

Read More