February 11, 2020
Work anxiety

This year put productive anxiety aside.

Close your eyes and imagine an ice cube on your back. Now imagine an al pastor taco with lemon, or an Iberian ham sandwich. I could almost bet that (if you did) you felt the cold on your back or salivated. This is because the brain works in wonderful ways.It has the incredible ability to make real what is not real.; Just by imagining it we feel it.

When we BELIEVE that we are doing it wrong or we THINK that someone doesn't like us, we REALLY feel anxiety in the body.Dreaming costs nothing, they say, but they are wrong.Neurologically, dreaming about bad things costs us real stress.It costs us headaches, stomachaches, gastritis, colitis, dermatitis, etc. All those “minor” ailments that are increasingly common.

 

It seems to be one of the consequences that capitalism brings with it and from which we will hardly be able to escape. The number one rule of the capitalist system is to do more: be better than the other, compete. The problem is not in trying to be better than ourselves, and it would not even be a problem to try to be better than the other;What is stabbing our spirit is the anxiety of feeling insufficient.We are all in the same loop. Even if you hate reggaeton, you've probably heard that J. Balvin is the #1 global artist on YouTube. Well, he has spoken openly about his anxiety disorder (1) and has even become a spokesperson for mental health - not even the most listened to artist in the world is spared. Chris Evans has social anxiety, Ryan Reynolds has openly talked about the same thing. Suffering from anxiety ishaving intense, excessive, and persistent worries and fears about everyday situations, and those happen to all of us.

 

An iron self-esteem is required to avoid falling into the trap of “everyone is better than me.”Everyone has fun, everyone is productive, everyone enjoys and does not suffer. The problem is that all those thoughts are BELIEFS; it is not true.It's not that others have more fun, or produce more, or have better relationships than yours, or wake up with fewer dark circles than you or exercise more than you.

 

Taking it to the workplace, believing that our coworkers work better than us fills us with anxiety. That they do get along better with the boss, that the other agencies do better; that they make fewer changes, that they put less pressure on them. That we are going to lose the pitch, the account, thefee. All of this creates stress in us that, far from making us competitive, is making us sick.In fact, there are already several very accessible contents, both scientific and “pop” that help us reduce stress through very simple tips: meditation apps to do in the office, imagine scenarios linked to nature in the workplace, install aquariums , decorate with plants, include outdoor activities in your agenda, etc. (2)

 

And the numbers are not the most encouraging:Since 2017, Mexico has been the country with the most stressed working people in the world and Spain is #1 in Europe.In Mexico, 75% suffer from burnout syndrome or fatigue due to work stress. In Spain, 40% of workers and more than half of business owners confess to suffering from stress (3.4). Does the work culture itself favor this stress, thinking that if we demand more from ourselves we will produce more? If you have people in your charge: do you know to what extent your requests stress them? There has been a lot of talk about burnout leading to layoffs, absenteeism, those things that have a real economic cost in the long run. But beyond that: do we want to bear the burden of the affected mental health of our people? With our own?

 

The interesting thing is to understand that this belief-reality relationship also works in the positive pole. If as professionals, we focus on what we consider our strengths, on what others have praised us or the projects that have been successful throughout our career; Surely we will project that security to the rest and in the process we will reduce our impostor syndrome a little - as happens even to Margot Robbie! - (5)

 

Yes, as a company,WE BELIEVE that the competition does it better than us, it is likelythat we ourselves are setting the conditions for this to become a reality. How about instead, we shift perspective a little and focus on what we're doing right. If we punish ourselves less as an area of ​​innovation, planning, and research.How about we stop more to celebrate the achievements. IF WE BELIEVE IT. If we demand less of ourselves. If we value the work of 2019.Start with a meeting to understand how your team feels, how they can go from being more unintentionally productive, to more focused, more compassionate with themselves. Maybe then we will release the business endorphins needed to start the year with an attitude more open to good things. If we worry less and enjoy it more, we will surely end up getting closer to our goals.

 

Continue reading