Supporting Individuals with Social Anxiety on the Job

Nowadays, more than half of Americans self-proclaim themselves to be altogether shy. Based on the current research and psychological literature, socially anxious individuals meet criteria for maintaining anxiety that prevents them from living the life they desire. Experiences of this anxiety domain can come in the form of passing up a promotion in order to avert staff-related trainings, stomachaches and sleepless nights prior to an annual review, existential dread before public speaking, or simple avoidance of social gatherings despite advance advertisement. In tandem with depression and alcoholism with substance use circumstances, social anxiety has been commonly acknowledged as one of the most prevalent heavy hitters that has caused great distress and unrelenting angst. Often, these individuals that struggle with social anxiety have a reputation for thorough and well-accomplished work assignments in the marketplace. 

While on the job, social anxiety could represent the individual employee that is without fear when delivering a scripted speech but keels over in personal disruption when asked spontaneous questions during Q & A at the end of the presentation. Other individuals eat their lunch alone at their office desk instead of socializing over a meal; moreover, still others wear headphones and withdraw from meaningful connection during these bursts of social challenges, delegate much more, exercise more consistently, communicate within a team, and give effective constructive feedback. Social anxiety could also be likened to the difficulty of sending and receiving constructive feedback and the challenge of personal assertiveness. Others may continuously plow through different work projects with their head down and not ask for any constructive feedback until nearly finished. 

Those other individuals that know socially anxious people and want to be supportive are cautioned to make any additional comments and bring up any noticeable behaviors. If the shyness and forms of introversion are interfering with current life functioning, then it can be addressed. 

Here are several meaningful ways to empower, encourage, and equip socially anxious individuals to navigate the social terrain while on the job: 

Be their cheerleader. 

More common responses are to over-accommodate and protect individuals that disclose social anxiety. Rather than embodying the protector, become their champion. Ask the individual to note where they are currently and where they want to be. Inquire what can be accomplished to support their goals that may be both challenging and realistic. If presentations and public speaking before an audience can be difficult, ask the individual instead to present as a guest speaker to a smaller audience or tackle Q & A as a moderator. As part of navigating the Achilles Heel, start small and then build up to larger and longer. Inviting them to accomplish a challenging social task will typically go smoother than being seen as pushy. 

Establish clear expectations with a role. 

There are many that can outperform and shine on a stage but maintain introversion when interacting with others. Others can be a star player with various clients but struggle with small talk and can be altogether awkward in social gatherings. Anxiety thrives in uncertainty. Structure with clear roles and expectations can be liberating for individuals that struggle with social anxiety. Spontaneous expression and just winging it through a presentation can be altogether nauseating; improvising in a public forum can be anything but invigorating. Structured tasks as a scripted presentation or annotated training can allow for socially anxious individuals to shine, and they need to be paired with tasks that allow their competencies to radiate. Rather than spitballing through the task, allowing opportunities to chime in by email or writing a well-thought-out paragraph can be very beneficial when needing to express ideas in a comfortable manner.  

Support them through perfectionistic tendencies. 

Currently, social anxiety is part-in-parcel within the emotional topography of perfectionism, and this can be very debilitating as it has been immobilizing and self-defeating when in constant play. Initially, perfectionistic tendencies can be indicative of strong and impressive results, but it can later turn into an individual’s paralysis. Social anxiety translates into perfectionism when it relates to personal time management and task prioritization. Whether procrastinating or polishing a project, socially anxious individuals can spend an excessive amount of time at the beginning or end of a project. In this sense, it can be supportive to help them establish process-oriented benchmarks. Understanding how many times people within the workplace typically practice a presentation, check over the drafts of a memo, read over a revised email prior to sending, and their related nuances can help these individuals learn to readjust, recalibrate, and understand  their own work performance expectations. Clinical Psychologist and author of How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen remarks, “Perfectionism is a well-documented fast track to burnout. Talk with them about how they can give 100% rather than 125%. They don’t need encouragement to work, they need encouragement to take care of themselves, recharge (use that vacation time!) and work at a sustainable level of intensity.”

Recognize their value while at work. 

Individuals that experience distress through social anxiety maintain a higher level of self-criticism. From the slightly patronizing to the overworked obsessions of daily marketplace-related demands, socially anxious individuals often hyper focus on their deficiencies, shortcomings, and blemishes. We can remind these individuals of how wonderful they truly are and call out the gold in their lives. Social anxiety is typically packaged with high performance indicators, calculated prosocial behaviors, and empathy for others. Even if they breathe sweet relief upon returning home, these individuals provide much value and bring more light to the office even with an underwhelming social presence and overwhelming personal unease. 

Supporting socially anxious individuals to be more comfortable in their own skin is part of the current-day work landscape.