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Anxiety affects about 14 per cent of Australians aged 16-85. That’s a lot of people, and if you’re one of them, you might be all too familiar with the symptoms: being nervous, worried or on edge and experiencing physiological responses like a pounding heart, dizziness, trembling, shortness of breath and ‘butterflies in your stomach’.
Since work is often a stress-inducing activity, you might think the best way to deal with the condition is to avoid employment. But in many cases, a job actually benefits people with anxiety.
What are some of the benefits?
1. Expanding Your Social Network
Spending time with supportive people is good for mental health, and a job can be an excellent way to expand your social network. While you probably won’t be close friends with everyone in your workplace, spending time with other people can alleviate stress, help you to control your emotions and boost your mood. If you work from home, schedule times when you can video chat with your coworkers instead of always using text and email.
2. Improving Your Financial Situation
Working can help you to improve your financial situation both short- and long-term. For the present, you can pay down any debts and take care of current needs. When you save part of your earnings each month, you can build savings in preparation for future goals or a rainy day.
As your financial circumstances improve, you will feel more confident and experience less stress. Ultimately, employment may lead to less anxiety about money.
3. Becoming an Asset
We often talk about buying or selling assets, but what about becoming an asset yourself?
Everyone needs help from time to time, but as you gain confidence in your employment, you expand your ability to care for yourself and help other people. As you grow in knowledge and skill, people will learn to trust you as a beneficial resource. Seeing yourself as a person with increased value can help boost your self-esteem.
4. Adding to Your CV
With each job you take and skill you learn, you can add specific items to your CV, giving you a more extensive toolbox for future projects and employment. Many jobs offer multiple ways to improve your skills. You may be able to take training courses and classes, attend conferences and earn certifications. With each new talent or accomplishment, watch your CV expand.
5. Trying New Activities
Trying something new can feel risky for people with anxiety. But in an employment situation, you have plenty of guidance and assistance as you learn.
Instead of learning the new skill or task on your own, you will have the training to smooth the way. Workers who have already mastered the skill can teach you tips and tricks, providing a safety net as you learn.
6. Gaining Access to a Community
Everyone likes to feel a sense of belonging. When you take a job with a company, you become a valued member of a team. You work with other people to accomplish common goals, and the unity you feel may help lessen your anxiety.
As you get to know each coworker, you will grow your professional network and build connections that can benefit you in the future. Besides serving as an exceptional networking platform, your workplace can give you the opportunity to practice your social, communication, and people skills.
7. Helping You Understand Yourself Better
When you work for a company and get assigned to different projects and roles, you will learn more about yourself. For example, your supervisor might give you a task that makes you feel uneasy because you’ve never tried it before. If you weren’t forced out of your comfort zone by the assignment, you might never realise that you actually like the task. On the other hand, you might learn about your weaknesses and how to manage them, so they don’t hinder your forward progress.
8. Learning More About the World
In your new employment, you might start spending time with people you would never have encountered before your employment. You’ll be exposed to different views, ways of thinking and even behavioural approaches. This more in-depth understanding of other people can help you in other aspects outside of your professional life.
9. Balancing the Different Parts of Your Life
For people with anxiety, stresses from all parts of life can converge and wreak havoc. One of the benefits of employment is creating a dividing line between different aspects of your life.
A job typically provides structure to your day, whether you have to show up at a workplace at a specific time or accomplish a certain amount of work online. While you’re focused on your tasks, you can let other stresses (in your personal life, for example) disappear until it’s time to deal with them again.
10. Taking Pride in Your 9-to-5
Beyond money, skills and a broader perspective, it’s important to emphasise the satisfaction resulting from putting in a solid day’s work. A job well done will enhance your life satisfaction and overall well-being.
If these benefits sound appealing to you (and this is just a small list!), get in touch with us at Asuria. Whether you’ve been dealing with anxiety for a few months or decades, we can help you find employment that will help you accomplish your goals.
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