Managing Workplace Anxiety in the Face of Change
Darryl Russell, Senior Trainer and Facilitator, Seraphim Consulting and Training
With the major change Workday is bringing, it’s natural for folks to feel anxious. Too much anxiety, however, can not only affect people’s sense of well-being, it can impede how they receive and process information. That could be problematic given that every one of your team members will need to perform some basic tasks in Workday and those involved with payroll and related functions will have a variety of processes and systems to learn.
The good news is that people respond to stress and anxiety in fairly predictable ways, and there are usually clear warning signs when someone is truly struggling or unable to cope. Let’s look at some common stress reactions along with straightforward techniques for managing anxiety and building stress resistance.
Causes and Reactions
One of the biggest sources of anxiety is uncertainty or the fear of the unknown. Not knowing how a situation will turn out can make people shut down or try to avoid the situation altogether. You can help by acknowledging the unknowns and reminding your team that you’re all facing this change and will learn the new system together.
It’s common for people to suppress their feelings when they are anxious. The unfortunate byproduct of this tendency is that our feelings cause more anxiety when we keep them bottled up; we have to work harder to try to maintain control over them and not dwell on the negative. You can help by letting people know it’s okay to express their fears and anxieties, that you’re available to answer questions, and that there will be myriad resources available to help with the transition to Workday.
Some people are natural perfectionists. They may worry excessively about not being prepared or feel unduly stressed when they make even a minor mistake. Perfectionists often feel that everyone is watching—and passing judgement—on them, which leads to more anxiety. You may need to remind your team that mistakes will be made along the way, and that’s okay. Imperfection is how we learn and adapt.
When Stress Takes Over
It’s common, for instance, to experience a sleepless night, indulge in a chocolate bar, or have trouble concentrating in response to feeling stressed. However, stress should never be so severe that it gets in the way of performing normal activities or threatens our physical or mental well-being.
Below are some warning signs and symptoms. Keep in mind that just about everyone will experience some of these; however, when the stress takes over and this kind of behavior becomes the norm for you or someone else, it is a serious problem.
SIX RED FLAGS TO RECOGNIZE STRESS
- Physical. Fatigue, headaches, back pain, insomnia, nausea, indigestion, cramps, fainting, constipation or diarrhea, sweatiness, sleeping too much.
- Mental. Forgetfulness, poor concentration, boredom, paranoia, poor teamwork, perfectionism.
- Emotional. Irritability, depression, anxiety, anger, fear, mood swings, apathy, increased sensitivity to criticism.
- Relational. Loneliness, withdrawal, intolerance, relationship problems.
- Behavioral. Substance abuse, eating problems, risk-taking, hyperactivity, overwork, procrastination, missed deadlines, anti-social behavior.
- Spiritual. Emptiness, loss of beliefs, apathy, cynicism, compassion fatigue.
We can often manage stress through self-care, such as exercising regularly, practicing physical relaxation techniques like stretching and deep breathing, using aromatherapy, listening to calming music, and trying to get ample, restful sleep. At times, however, we may need to seek help outside of ourselves.
Fortunately, the UW provides excellent resources for its employees. If you sense that members of your team are overwhelmed, give a kind reminder about CareLink, which offers free, confidential access to counseling and other services for UW employees. You may also want to direct people to The Whole U, a program focused on creating connections and promoting holistic wellness through a variety of events and resources.
Alter and Accept
When I facilitate training about managing anxiety and stress, I offer the Triple A approach, which is that you can choose to alter a situation or your approach to it, avoid a situation, or accept a situation. With Workday, the situation can’t be readily altered and it certainly shouldn’t be avoided. What that leaves us with is altering your approach and accepting the situation.
One way to alter your approach is to alter yourself by learning new skills to accommodate a change. Most of your team members have had little or no exposure to Workday, which means they’re starting at zero and need to develop a general knowledge of the system and the ability to perform basic tasks. I understand that the University is communicating frequently about this change and is pointing people to the appropriate resources and training for their role. You may need to act as a cheering squad, encouraging your team to access the support being provided and providing moral support if anyone is having trouble altering their skills to adjust to the new system.
Another way to alter our approach is to alter our mindset or outlook, and this dovetails with the final piece of Triple A—acceptance. The truth is that sometimes we must learn to cope with things that we didn’t decide and that cannot be changed. Both altering and acceptance hinge on attitude, on choosing to respond in a positive fashion.
For your team, this could mean shifting from thinking of Workday as something being done to them to taking control of the situation and acting proactively. You can help by reminding them of the efficiencies and benefits of this change, ensuring they’re acquiring the skills and accessing the resources they need to be successful, and by continuing to act as a cheering squad.
Model Positivity and Resilience
Just as kids often inherit their parents’ negative self-talk, how you talk about challenges and obstacles amongst your team members may be echoed by them. You can help make the transition to Workday better for everyone by modeling positivity and resilience.
We tend to think of stress as something that’s out there. According to Paul Rosch, MD, Chairman of the Board of the American Institute of Stress, it’s not about what’s out there, it’s about what’s inside—how we perceive it. Along with the self-care mentioned above, we can work to build up our stress resistance by improving our outlook.
People who handle stress well tend to employ what stress experts call an "optimistic explanatory style." They don't beat themselves up when things don't work out in their favor. Instead of using statements that catastrophize an incident, like "I'm a complete failure," they might say to themselves, "I need to work on my backhand." Or they'll transfer blame to an external source. Rather than saying, "I really blew that presentation," they’ll consider, "That was a tough group to engage."
According to stress researchers Dr. Suzanne Kobasa and Dr. Salvatore Maddi, a key to coping with stress is building personal hardiness. According to Maddi, “Hardiness is an outlook out of which you can transform something that could be very unpleasant and even crippling into something that works for you.”
One technique Kobasa and Maddi recommend to build hardiness is situational reconstruction. After a stressful situation, think of how it could have been worse, then how you could have approached it differently. If it could have been worse, you won’t feel that you screwed it up so badly, and if it could have been better, you now have options available for next time.
I’d like to close with a reminder that although it may be helpful to tell your team why you’re not worried or why you feel confident about a particular change, take care not to be dismissive of their fears. As philosopher Paul Tillich said, “One cannot remove anxiety by arguing it away.” Instead, remember that change is scary for many people, show compassion toward your team, and, as needed, guide people to external support and resources.
