• Anxiety and depression are amongst the top 4 most common reasons for absence from work, contributing to approximately 17.6 million days’ sick leave, or 12.7 per cent of the total sick days taken in the UK.
• Mental health problems affect 1 out of every 6 employees in the UK. Anxiety is one of the most common conditions among stressed or overworked staff. From avoiding certain situations, affecting your confidence and lowering ambitions, left unchecked anxiety can interfere with your career prospects and your mental health.
• If you're suffering from anxiety and it's impacting you at work and at home, we take a look at what you can do about it.

How to deal with workplace anxiety

If you are experiencing workplace anxiety, here are some steps you can take at work that can help you:

• Know your rights

If you find your employer being unsympathetic to your situation, be aware that the legislation is on your side here, giving anyone experiencing a long-term mental health issue, protection under the Equality Act 2010. This means all employers must make reasonable adjustments to work practices and provide other aids and adaptations for those in need. Beyond statutory health and safety duties, employers also have a general obligation to take reasonable care of the health and safety of employees in the workplace, including their mental wellbeing. Your employer should adhere to it. If you think this isn’t being met, it might be time to speak to HR and obtain legal advice.

• Use workplace support

Read up on your employer’s wellbeing and mental health programmes to make sure you’re aware of your workplace policies and the support options available. Many businesses provide support for stress and personal problems through employee assistance programmes (EAPs). EAPs offer direct, confidential contact with experts who can support individuals with anxiety and emotional distress, from family issues, work-related problems, addiction and mental ill-health.

• Face your fears

We often avoid the things that we fear. Although this can help avoid anxiety in the short-term, this often doesn't help in the long-term and can make working life feel very hard. If there is something that you have been putting off doing at work, taking the plunge and doing it can not only bring a huge sense of relief, it will also give you the opportunity to see whether your worst case scenario will happen or not. Even if it does, it can be liberating to have taken action and therefore can improve your confidence in yourself and your ability to cope.

• Seek professional help

We can all experience anxiety and feelings of fear from time to time. However, if your anxiety has become so severe and long-lasting that it is affecting other areas of your life, it might be worth seeking a short course of therapy to help you to understand and overcome the anxiety you are experiencing.

For more information on this and any other employment law matters contact Irina Polyakova on 01484 821 300 or at irinapolyakova@eatonsmith.co.uk