At times, work is so hectic that you don’t even have time to feel stressed. Then, on your journey back home, stress hits like bricks. Unintentionally, you have brought back lots of work for home too and now it sits there, staring at you. This might feel the end of the world to you. Let’s explore more about this after-work anxiety.
People who have higher stress levels have poor mental health. Just 4 years of chronically high stress levels can lead to seven percent overall reduction in mental health when compared to people who had no stress at all. Stress also makes people sicker and angrier and they are more likely to be in unhappy marriages. Read-on to know what can make it worse and what to do in such case.
Three Things That Could Worsen Your After-Work Anxiety
Undoubtedly, after-work anxiety is very common and is almost inevitable. But here are the things can make it even worse.
1. You Have an Unhealthy Work-Life Balance: There is a general misconception and misunderstanding about work-life balance. Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the time spent in both life aspects unless you just work, get home, sleep, and return to work. Many people out there are actually spending much time at work and are happy about that too. If you are getting both your emotional and mental resources exhausted at work, chances are that you will always feel exhausted, anxious, and tired while at home. For maintaining a work-life balance, you have to be both emotionally and mentally available to savour the time you have. While if you don’t have control over the number of hours you have to work, you can indulge in certain light exercises like deep breathing and mindfulness, according to a research. [1] These would surely help you in alleviating stress and induce peacefulness.
2. You Have Career Misgivings: Your daily career misgivings might be adding to your after-work stress. Do you constantly think over that are you in right career, doing fine, making most of your capabilities, etc. If yes, you are adding to your anxiety whenever you have even a little time to ruminate. You need to realize what is exactly causing anxiety. It could be your boss who doesn’t get along well with you or your job profile which you, unfortunately, don’t like. Anxiety is there, in the first place to help us in taking right decisions. While if you experience after-work anxiety for more than six months, you need to look for other opportunities within your organization or elsewhere. Another research also indicates that job mobility also helps in improving mental health. If you can recognize the root cause of your career-related anxiety, you can be benefited by cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It has also shown to reduce absenteeism [2] in anxious workers and has also helped them in making important decisions.
3. You Don’t Have Enough Out-of-Work Outlets: It is a bad sign if you just can’t figure out the cause of your anxiety, feel like not doing anything and end up watching television. Binge eating, watching lots of TV, holing up only exacerbate after-work anxiety. For many people, work is adequately intellectual, creative and a social outlet while most others need outside sources to supplement their mental and emotional needs. If you love your job and still return anxious or stress, it might be either social interactions or community, you feel lacking. It might also be creativity or physical exertion. It either might be a romantic relationship. Another reason is that you might also be sleep-deprived. Simply put, you must find ways that would help you in meeting all your needs beyond work.
If you are searching for a job, the best option is to look for companies that value supplemental passions and after-work activities. Reviews about these companies can help you a lot before joining them.
