Many professionals, managers and executives with social anxiety hesitate to use the term “social anxiety” because they are high achievers and there is shame associated with lacking confidence at work. Many times, they come in using the words “stress and anxiety” generically. However, when I probe on why they are anxious, it often comes back to worrying about what others think of them.
Social anxiety disorder’s central worry is about being judged. This leads to a belief that people are watching, judging and evaluating you and you must be in performance mode all the time. Imposter syndrome can develop if your inner self does not match your external face to the world. When the fear of judgment becomes too extreme, it may impact how you perceive yourself at work.
Below are common types of social anxiety at work that can impair your belief in yourself and even affect your performance if it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
- Perfectionism related to saying the right thing, worrying about what others think of you and impressing others in your workplace.
- Imposter syndrome because, for example, you can interact with people all day but you ruminate excessively and you may think you do not really deserve your job.
- Performance anxiety due to excessive fear of judgment which can often create a self fulfilling prophecy.
- Lack of confidence or self doubt especially when you are expected to be totally confident in your role.
- Public speaking and making presentations at work, then mind reading that others think you do not really know what you are talking about.
- More traditional social anxiety at work meetings, networking events, work parties, corporate retreats, business lunches and other situations.
- Interacting with authority figures because they have an evaluative role and can affect your job security at your company.
- Managing staff and cross-functional teams because you may think they do not see you as a leader and may be talking about you behind your back.