It’s natural to feel anxious about job security, especially in today’s economy. For some, this worry escalates into job loss anxiety —an all-consuming fear even when their position is stable.
As a professional working with anxiety, excessive worry about job security is a frequent concern. Losing a job can be a significant personal and professional upheaval. Yet, many individuals experience intense anxiety about job security even in thriving industries, despite positive performance feedback. This type of distressing anxiety can signal conditions like Generalized Anxiety Disorder or lead to issues such as burnout, substance misuse, or depression.
Fortunately, there are ways to address these disproportionate worries. Here are five underlying scenarios often observed in those struggling with excessive job loss anxiety, along with strategies to manage them:
1. Confusing Feelings with Facts
Sometimes, a sense of insecurity about one’s abilities can be mistaken as concrete evidence of job instability. For instance, an individual might consistently receive positive performance reviews and even promotions, yet frequently feel inadequate or like an impostor. This is an example of emotional reasoning: believing something is true simply because you feel it. Other instances might include feeling guilty and assuming you’ve done something wrong.
To cope with feelings of inadequacy, individuals often overcompensate through excessive preparation or overworking. However, this overcompensation can inadvertently mask their true competence and prevent them from recognizing their capabilities.
What to do: Gradually reduce overcompensation. This isn’t about becoming completely unprepared, but rather scaling back from excessive effort to a more balanced approach. For example, prepare thoroughly for a presentation without pulling an all-nighter, or resist the urge to re-do work that is already satisfactory. By letting go of overcompensation, you can discover that your initial perceptions of inadequacy were unfounded, leading to greater job and self-security.
2. Catastrophizing Potential Outcomes
Some individuals envision worst-case scenarios related to job loss, such as losing family support, being forced back into challenging past situations, or even becoming homeless. While economic uncertainty can make job loss stakes high, these fears can sometimes stem from deeper, existential anxieties. Anxiety’s evolutionary purpose is to prepare us for potential threats, but it can lead us to overestimate dangers, seeing threats everywhere.
What to do: If your fears extend beyond simply finding a new job, meticulously detail every step that would need to occur for your worst-case scenario to materialize. Often, a multitude of unlikely events would have to align. Break down these steps, assign a probability to each, and multiply them to see the true, often much lower, likelihood of your worst fear coming to pass. Understand the difference between possibility and probability; just because something is possible doesn’t make it likely, and your worry should be proportionate to the actual probability.
3. Craving Certainty in an Uncertain World
The reality is that job security is rarely 100% guaranteed, and unexpected changes can occur. For those who are highly detail-oriented or dislike surprises, there can be a low tolerance for risk and a strong need for absolute certainty regarding their position and their manager’s approval. Without this complete assurance, they may feel unsettled. This often comes with an all-or-nothing perspective: if there’s any uncertainty, they automatically feel at risk.
What to do: You can address this by focusing on two approaches: change and acceptance.
For change: Instead of broadly asking if you’re “doing okay,” ask specific, actionable questions that provide clear insights. Examples include: “What are the top priorities for my role next quarter?” “Are there specific skills I should improve?” or “How can I contribute to overcoming current team challenges?”
For acceptance: Allow yourself to tolerate a degree of uncertainty. Determine how much uncertainty you can realistically bear (even a small percentage is a start). Similarly, decide the extent to which you are willing to experience the emotional discomfort (doubt, anxiety, concern) that comes with this uncertainty. Visualize this uncertainty or emotional reaction as a tangible object and metaphorically place it aside, allowing it to exist while you focus your energy on your work. This practice of acceptance, rather than constantly seeking reassurance or overworking for perceived safety, can help you make peace with inevitable uncertainties.
4. Blurring Performance with Self-Worth
Some individuals set exceptionally high standards for themselves, and while this can lead to excellent results, minor setbacks or less-than-spectacular outcomes can trigger a profound sense of failure. This reflects an overevaluation of performance, where one’s work becomes a reflection of their personal character rather than just a task. This is a hallmark of clinical perfectionism. For individuals from underrepresented groups, there can be an added pressure, feeling that their work represents more than just themselves, reinforcing the need to constantly prove their worth.
What to do: While some connection between self and performance is natural, if your self-worth hinges entirely on your successes and failures, try to shift your focus to the work for its own sake. Ask yourself, “What would make this thing better?” This allows you to focus on improvement without it being a judgment on your character. Paradoxically, focusing on the work itself often leads to better outcomes.
Additionally, resist the urge to reassure yourself by pointing to other successes when one task doesn’t go well. Instead, affirm genuine truths about yourself that are unrelated to work, such as “I am a supportive friend” or “I am dedicated to helping others.” The goal isn’t to ignore challenges, but to maintain a consistent belief in your overall adequacy as a person. If you feel the pressure of representing more than your own work, seeking support within community groups or mentorship outside the workplace can be highly beneficial.
5. Equating People-Pleasing with Security
Some individuals constantly seek feedback and approval from colleagues, believing that keeping everyone happy is the key to job security. They may try to incorporate everyone’s advice, turning work into a people-pleasing endeavor.
What to do: Since you cannot control others’ opinions, relying on external judgment for your work quality or job security is risky. Instead, evaluate your work based on internal metrics like, “Did I fulfill my intentions?” or “Did I achieve what I set out to do?” This ensures that your own assessment of your work remains within your control.
What If You Get Fired?
Regardless of which scenario resonates with you, the “what if I get fired?” question often looms large. Instead of treating it as a rhetorical question, try answering it literally. What would you do?
This involves coping in advance: Develop a plan. Who would you turn to for comfort? How would you network? Where would you look for a new job? Most importantly, it’s about reminding yourself of your ability to handle unexpected challenges and trusting that you will navigate that bridge if you ever need to cross it.
These common anxieties can intensify understandable concerns about job security. It’s sensible for our deeper, sometimes existential, worries to attach themselves to a tangible concern like job loss. By recognizing and addressing these tendencies, you can cultivate a more balanced relationship with your work and prevent human worries from dictating your sense of job security.
Reference: When Your Layoff Anxiety Won’t Go Away
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