Research shows that 60 percent of employees experience anxiety, says Caroline Evans.
In fact, stress, anxiety and depression account for more than half of all work-related sickness absences. Not only is this impacting employee wellbeing, but for one in five employees, it’s having a knock-on effect on workplace productivity, and therefore business performance.
No one should feel anxious at work. Yes, there will be pressure, deadlines or high expectations, but this should not lead to anxiety.
Spotting the signs of an anxious employee
Anxiety can manifest in different ways for different people. Employers should look out for: disengagement with work, increased irritability, restlessness, obvious fatigue or a drop in energy levels or performance, for example.
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However, some signs can be less obvious – and many employees may not feel comfortable in proactively sharing how they feel. As a result, leaders need to be able to identify the changes in behaviour that can point towards anxiety and be able to communicate openly to help employees manage this.
Building a psychologically safe space
When supporting an anxious employee, creating a space that’s judgement-free and psychologically safe is crucial. That means there’s no fear attached to mistakes or lapses in performance, sickness or family emergencies are understood, and people feel confident to ask for help when they need it.
When this space is in action, leaders will find it much easier to recognise the signs of anxiety and ensure employees feel supported. When the signs arise, that’s when empathetic communication is vital.
The power of empathetic communication
Empathy is being able to read people and understand their feelings, by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. This helps us to consider other people’s points of view, before putting forward our own.
Like many skills, empathy doesn’t come naturally to everyone – but it can be learned. And whether you’re naturally empathetic, or find communicating in this way more challenging, we can all improve to become better at understanding other people to reduce their anxieties.
All too often, leaders see their role as delivering blanket instructions and expect every employee to respond in the same way. This is not only disempowering, but it negates employees’ individual ways of working and emotional responses.
Instead, leading with empathy shows your people how you care for them. It helps you to understand what really matters to them, and how you can motivate and inspire them, as individuals.
How can leaders build empathy?
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Practise active and deep listening
Active listening is essential to create meaningful connections. To achieve this, leaders should focus on keeping body language open, eyes on the other person and a warmth to facial expressions. Leaders can demonstrate interest by leaning towards the other person and maintaining direct eye contact, with open and bright eyes. It may also be useful to use occasional prompts and repeat or reflect on what has been said. When you show interest in the person in front of you, you’ll begin to demonstrate empathy; that you care about them.
Alongside active listening, leaders also need to focus on ‘deep listening’; tuning into what a person’s body language is telling you. Someone might say they’re feeling great, but their micro-expressions, energy or tone might tell a different story. Taking the time to read what’s going on for a person beyond their words can help leaders pick up issues before they create bigger problems.
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Focus on open questions
Open questions encourage people to share more about what’s on their mind. For example, instead of asking, “are you alright?”, consider switching to an open question such as, “What’s going on for you today?”.
These questions dig deeper, encouraging people to open up and share more about their experiences. Asking them demonstrates that you care about the other person’s thoughts and feelings, helping you to build empathy for them, as you will understand more about their emotional state and how you can best support them.
At London Speech Workshop, we use the Serlin principle of ‘let the answer be the mother of the next question’; be responsive to what the other person is telling you and adjust your questions to uncover what it really is they’re telling you.
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Consider values
Building empathy for people who are different to us can be challenging – and this can be common in the workplace, especially if leaders don’t know their teams that well. One way to overcome this is to learn what your employees value and what makes them tick. People have different motivators, and someone who enjoys supporting people will respond differently to someone who enjoys achieving goals, for example. By tuning into employees’ individual values, leaders can begin to understand how to best engage them. This, in turn, will make teams feel more motivated and inspired, instead of daunted or anxious.
A combination of psychological safety and empathy is crucial to achieving open, honest and effective communication. Equally, open, honest and effective communication is crucial to achieving psychological safety and empathy in the workplace. When leaders apply this, they can create a space where employees feel less anxious and comfortable to be honest and open about any worries they have. As a result, they’ll be happier, more motivated and more productive – and you’ll have a healthy workplace, where your people can thrive.
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Caroline Evans is Managing Director at London Speech Workshop.
