Anxiety in Men vs. Women in The Workplace

Stress is rampant today, and when it overwhelms your employees in the workplace, it can lead to anxiety disorders which eventually can affect overall productivity and job satisfaction. Signs your employees may already be experiencing anxiety include nervousness, panic, and irritability. Physically, these employees may experience shaking, sweating, increased heart rate, and even hyperventilation. Here is how anxiety impacts men vs. women in the workplace.

In the US alone, somewhere around 2.7 million adults experience anxiety disorders, with more women than men falling within this category. Much of the reasoning for this remains a mystery, but factors such as biology, family needs, and pay gaps are suspected. 

Anxiety in Men vs. Women in The Workplace: 

A study conducted and published by the Journal of Psychiatric Research reveals that anxiety disorders reported by women are higher than in men. While digging deeper into this, the research resulted in the following findings. 

• Women experience more lifetime diagnoses of anxiety disorders as opposed to men 
• Women’s approach to managing stress is by agoraphobic avoidance, whereas men often turn into substance abuse 
• Social anxiety disorder is at the same rate in both men and women  

Anxiety-Causing Stress in the Workplace 

Stress in the workplace often results from excessive demands, unhealthy work environments, pay differences, and various other factors. This stress can manifest into anxiety, which, if left unaddressed, can lead to poor health, lower work productivity, and more days of missed work for employees. 

How Can Employers Help? 

Employers can help alleviate the stress levels of both male and female employees in various ways and, in turn, reduce their anxiety. A few ways you can do this include the following: 

• Start by assessing your work environment and making changes to ensure a healthy workplace for everyone. You may need to change some aspects of the organizational culture. Also, promote training in areas such as interpersonal skills, empathy, active listening, and sexual harassment. 
• Find ways to build resiliency in your workforce, so they can better adapt and handle any unexpected circumstances or overwhelming workloads. 
• Initiate work-life balance programs, and, if you don’t have one already, add a third-party employee behavioral health assistance program, where employees can go for resources and recommendations for a variety of issues. 
• Formulate stress-management options, including lessons in mindfulness, classes in yoga or tai chi, and quiet spaces for relaxing and recharging. 

Recognizing workplace stress is the first step to helping employees alleviate anxiety and create a healthy environment, so they and the organization can continue to thrive.