Tackling Job Insecurity – one step at a time

If you are someone like me who gets anxious over the smallest of things, likely, your mind wouldn’t be at peace with your job. Job insecurity is something that I have struggled with since I had a job.

The constant tug and pull between being enough and being confident about your work are what leaves you in constant despair. I still remember the first job that I bagged, I was skeptical that I would end up losing it at one point.

And, before I knew it, the effects of job insecurity were ending up taking a toll on my mental health. Stress and anxiety became a constant in my life.

People often ask, “Why are you insecure about your job if you are doing things the right way?” And, that is the catch, isn’t it? I didn’t know what was causing this feeling. Lately, I have been struggling with the same thing and the stress has been pretty bad.

Headaches and a constant feeling of anxiousness has created a permanent home in my mind. But, given that I have coped with this before, I knew not to give in. It is hard to exactly pinpoint the causes of job insecurity but let me share some tricks that I know work best when you are in the same position as I am.

How to reduce job insecurity?

Before we discuss further, know for a fact that when I am talking about job insecurity, I mean every kind of job, be it a 9-5 desk job or a freelancing gig that you are working on. At the end of the day, you are answerable to someone in the hierarchy and rely on them for your payout.

So, these are some of the things I did to overcome job insecurity or at least tame the anxiousness.

Understand the trigger

Whenever I struggle with job insecurity, the first thing that I do is sit down and access what is causing the anxiousness first. As lame as it sounds, it helps me analyze the root cause. For the most part, it is either my lack of self-confidence or maybe some remark about my work that ingrained into my mind.

I try to tell myself that criticism is part of our work and that I can’t please every single person around. To be fair, I do tend to either go rework on the work that I was criticized for or I end up simply letting those feelings tide over with time.

Vent!

There is nothing better than to talk to someone about your struggles. Job insecurity does end up taking a toll on your mental health if you fail to talk about it. You can vent to your friends and ask them for suggestions, but the best way out of this is to talk to someone in the hierarchy.

Letting them know that you are struggling with this constant feeling of despair can help you get a perspective. You get to know your position in the organization and help get a better outlook on things.

For the most part, you will realize that your work is being appreciated when you open up to someone about it. I did bottle things up back in the days but gradually over time, things do get better. Don’t be ashamed to acknowledge that you are struggling because the more you do that, the more you are going to struggle.

Manage your stress

According to one of the statistics reports published by the American Institute of Stress, it suggested that 25% of the workers reported saying that their work is their biggest stressor.

Top that with job insecurity and you have brewed yourself the perfect concoction for the signs of chronic stress.

Finding a healthy outlet for your stress is a necessity if you don’t want the same to end up affecting your health. I find recluse in writing and I did do that the past few days that I have been stressed with this doomed feeling of job insecurity.

But, I was so wired up with things that I criticized my work and deleted every single blog that I wrote. Even today while I am writing this, I have just wanted to “Ctrl+A” and Delete so many times.

And, to be honest, feeling that is okay. Don’t undermine how you handle your stress. You could be fine within a day or you could take days. It is completely on you.

If you have a hobby, start indulging in it more. Even that helps you de-stress.

Ever thought of journaling?

We are so less expressive about our mental health and our inner feelings that we often find ourselves ashamed to acknowledge that we are struggling with.

Even if you are not okay to address your problems and talk to someone about it, at least find a way to get things off of your chest.

If you don’t want the overwhelming burden of the job insecurity tearing you down, I would suggest journaling. This is yet another thing that I believe in and has seen good results from.

Your journal is just for you to read through, so you can express in it the way you want. There are no obligations for you to have the perfect grammar or even the best handwriting.

Treat your journal as your best friend and just vent to it the way you would to a human being.

Often, I come back and reread these when I am feeling better about the situation and I have found that it does help.

Focus on what’s to come

I have noticed that when I let my feelings of job insecurity consume me, my productivity goes down, which is normal, I guess.

But, then I realize that I am fretting over my past doings or a momentary remark and letting that affect my present work and possibly the future productivity as well.

I wouldn’t say that I realize this within the snap of the fingers but I do get over this as quickly as I can.

Instead of dwelling on things that could go wrong or things that I did wrong, I focus on what’s to come. It helps.

Don’t force yourself to do something you are not ready to

I have always advocated about letting someone feel the way they want to. If you want to feel sad and worried about your job, do it. If you want to be confident about your job, be you!

It is a hundred times better than feeling nothing.

If you want to overcome your constant feelings of job insecurity, you need to realize that it is okay to sometimes feel like this.

Even when you are putting in your 100% and more, there will be times you will question every single thing you have done till now.

Let yourself realize that there is nothing wrong with feeling like that.

Keep this in mind

Dealing with job insecurity is in your own hands. The way you handle your stress is in your hands. Instead of letting that take over your life and make you feel not good enough, clap back and tell yourself that it’s okay.

At the end of the day, “You are the only person you need to be good enough for.”