Managing Anxiety at Work: 7 Strategies That Can Help

Workplace anxiety doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it sounds like overthinking a single email for ten minutes, replaying meetings in your head after they end, or feeling a tight knot in your chest before the workday even begins. You may be doing your job well—maybe even excelling—while quietly carrying a constant sense of pressure, self-doubt, or urgency beneath the surface. If you’re experiencing this, you’re not alone—and it doesn’t mean you’re failing or “bad at stress.” Anxiety at work is common, especially in demanding roles, remote environments, and high-responsibility positions. The good news is that there are practical, realistic ways to work with anxiety rather than fighting it. The strategies below are designed to help you feel more grounded, focused, and in control during your workday—without relying on toxic productivity or forcing yourself to “just relax.” Learn more about when you should see a professional about your anxiety by clicking here.

Introduction

Anxiety at work often shows up in ways that are easy to miss—or easy to judge ourselves for. It can look like racing thoughts before meetings, avoiding emails you’re afraid to open, over-preparing to the point of exhaustion, or constantly wondering if you’re about to be “found out.” For some people, it’s physical: tight shoulders, a clenched jaw, headaches, or a stomach that won’t settle once the workday starts. For others, it’s the quiet pressure to be perfect, productive, and unbothered no matter how overwhelmed they feel inside.

If this sounds familiar, it’s important to know this: workplace anxiety doesn’t mean you’re bad at your job—or bad at handling stress. Anxiety is a common response to pressure, uncertainty, high expectations, and environments that demand a lot from us with very little room to pause. This post is for professionals, remote workers, high performers, and anyone in a demanding role who feels capable on the outside but anxious on the inside.

Below, you’ll find seven practical strategies to help you manage anxiety at work in realistic, sustainable ways. These aren’t about “just calming down” or forcing positivity—they’re tools you can actually use during your workday to reduce overwhelm, feel more grounded, and regain a sense of control.

What Anxiety at Work Can Look Like

Workplace anxiety doesn’t always look like panic or obvious distress. In fact, many people experiencing anxiety at work are still meeting expectations, showing up every day, and appearing “fine” to others. Internally, though, anxiety can show up in several ways:

Cognitive signs often include overthinking emails before sending them, replaying conversations long after they’ve ended, or constantly worrying about making mistakes—even small ones. You might struggle to focus because your mind is jumping ahead to everything that could go wrong or questioning whether you handled something “the right way.”

Emotional signs can show up as irritability, heightened sensitivity to feedback, or a persistent sense of dread before the workday begins. You may feel on edge, easily overwhelmed, or emotionally drained by tasks that didn’t used to feel so heavy.

Behavioral signs vary from avoidance to overworking. Some people procrastinate or put off tasks they feel anxious about, while others cope by over-preparing, working longer hours, or saying yes to everything to avoid disappointing anyone. Both patterns are common responses to anxiety.

Physical signs are also common and often overlooked. Tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, headaches, jaw or shoulder tension, stomach discomfort, and ongoing fatigue can all be signs that your nervous system is under stress—even if you’re mentally telling yourself to “push through.”

Recognizing these signs is an important first step. Anxiety at work isn’t a personal failure—it’s a signal that something needs attention and support.

The 7 Strategies

1. Create Predictability Where You Can

Anxiety thrives on uncertainty. When your day feels unstructured or constantly shifting, your nervous system stays on high alert. Creating predictability— even in small ways—can reduce that sense of constant vigilance.

Why it helps: Predictable routines signal safety to the brain, making anxiety easier to manage.

Work-life examples:

• Time block your day so you know when focused work, meetings, and breaks will happen.

• Create a short daily task list with 3–5 priorities instead of an overwhelming to-do list.

• Develop a consistent start-of-day and end-of-day routine (e.g., reviewing priorities in the morning, closing out tasks before logging off).

Tip for perfectionists: Aim for done, not perfect. Completing tasks imperfectly is often more regulating than endlessly refining them.

2. Set Gentle but Clear Boundaries

Many people with workplace anxiety cope by people-pleasing—responding immediately, overcommitting, or saying yes out of fear of disappointing others.

Why it helps: Clear boundaries reduce decision fatigue and prevent anxiety-driven overextension.

Work-life examples:

• Set realistic email response expectations instead of replying instantly.

• Use calendar blocks for focused work or breaks.

• Pause before agreeing to new tasks.

Helpful scripts:

• “Let me check my schedule and get back to you.”

• “I can take this on, but I’ll need to adjust the timeline.”

• “I’m not available right now, but I can follow up later today.”

Boundaries don’t require over-explaining—they just require clarity.

3. Ground Your Body During the Workday

Anxiety isn’t just mental—it’s physiological. If your nervous system is activated, thinking your way out of anxiety can be difficult.

Why it helps: Grounding techniques help regulate your nervous system so your body can settle, not just your thoughts.

Desk-friendly techniques:

• Paced breathing: Inhale for 4 counts, exhale for 6 counts for 1–2 minutes.

• Muscle release: Gently tense and relax your shoulders, jaw, or hands.

• Sensory grounding: Press your feet into the floor, notice the chair supporting you, or focus on a neutral sound nearby.

These techniques are subtle and can be done without drawing attention—ideal for office or virtual settings.

4. Challenge Work-Related Thought Traps

Workplace anxiety is often fueled by unexamined thinking patterns that feel true but aren’t always accurate.

Common thought traps include:

• Catastrophizing: “If I mess this up, everything will fall apart.”

• Mind-reading: “They think I’m incompetent.”

• All-or-nothing thinking: “If I’m not great at this, I’ve failed.”

Why it helps: Gently questioning these thoughts reduces their emotional intensity.

Simple reframing questions:

• “What’s the most likely outcome—not the worst one?”

• “What evidence do I actually have for this thought?”

• “What would I say to a colleague in this situation?”

You don’t have to eliminate anxious thoughts—just loosen their grip.

5. Break Tasks Into Anxiety-Sized Steps

Big projects can feel paralyzing when anxiety is high. Overwhelm often leads to avoidance, which then increases anxiety.

Why it helps: Smaller steps make tasks feel safer and more manageable.

Work-life examples:

• Instead of “finish the report,” start with “open the document” or “write the outline.”

• Set a 10–15 minute timer to begin rather than waiting for motivation.

• Focus on the next step, not the entire project.

Progress reduces anxiety more effectively than waiting until you feel calm enough to begin.

6. Reduce Anxiety-Driven Overperformance

Many high-functioning professionals manage anxiety by overworking—staying busy to avoid discomfort or fear of falling behind.

Signs productivity is being used to manage anxiety:

• Difficulty resting without guilt

• Over-preparing for routine tasks

• Feeling valuable only when productive

• Constantly raising the bar for yourself

Why it helps to slow down: Overperformance may reduce anxiety short-term, but it often leads to burnout and reinforces the belief that rest is unsafe.

You are allowed to work at a sustainable pace. Consistency, not intensity, supports long-term performance and mental health.

7. Know When Extra Support Is Needed

Sometimes anxiety at work goes beyond situational stress and begins affecting sleep, health, relationships, or overall quality of life.

Signs additional support may help:

• Anxiety feels constant or escalating

• Work stress spills into evenings or weekends

• Physical symptoms are persistent

• You feel stuck despite trying coping strategies

Therapy, coaching, or workplace accommodations can provide tools, insight, and relief. Seeking support isn’t a weakness—it’s a proactive step toward functioning well and feeling better.

What Does Not Help

When anxiety shows up at work, it makes sense that we reach for strategies that feel productive or protective in the moment. Unfortunately, some of the most common responses to workplace anxiety can actually keep it going—even when they’re well intentioned.

Pushing through without rest is often praised in work culture, especially for high performers. But ignoring your limits, skipping breaks, or working longer hours to “get ahead” usually increases nervous system strain. Anxiety may quiet temporarily, but it often comes back stronger once exhaustion sets in.

Constant reassurance-seeking can look like repeatedly checking with others that you did something right, rereading messages for approval, or needing frequent validation to feel okay. While reassurance can soothe anxiety briefly, it teaches your brain that you can’t trust your own judgment—making anxiety more persistent over time.

Waiting for anxiety to disappear before acting is another common trap. Many people believe they need to feel calm or confident before starting a task, speaking up, or setting a boundary. In reality, anxiety often decreases after action—not before. Avoidance may feel safer in the moment, but it reinforces the idea that anxiety is something to be feared.

If you recognize yourself in any of these patterns, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. These are human responses to stress. Awareness is simply the first step toward choosing approaches that actually support you.

Conclusion

Anxiety at work is far more common than most people realize—and it’s also manageable. Experiencing anxiety doesn’t mean you’re weak, incapable, or in the wrong career. It means your nervous system is responding to pressure, expectations, and demands that matter to you.

The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety completely. For most people, that isn’t realistic or necessary. What is realistic is learning how to respond to anxiety differently—so it has less control over your thoughts, your body, and your workday. Even small shifts can make a meaningful difference over time.

Rather than trying to implement all seven strategies at once, choose one that feels doable right now. Start there. Progress happens through consistency, not perfection. With the right tools and support, work can feel more manageable—and you can feel more grounded, capable, and at ease in the process.

More Resources

If you are interested in learning more, click here. For more information on this topic, we recommend the following:

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Anxiety at Work: 8 Strategies to Help Teams Build Resilience, Handle Uncertainty, and Get Stuff Done

About the Author

Jessica Jenkins is a licensed therapist and board certified coach who contributes to the promotion of mental health and addiction awareness by providing educational resources and information.