Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a normal feeling of worry or fear that everyone experiences from time to time, especially in stressful situations like exams or job interviews. It can range from mild to severe. However, if these feelings persist and start to affect your daily life, it could be a sign of a more serious condition called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Anxiety is also a main feature of other conditions, like panic disorder, phobias, and PTSD.

About 1 in 10 people will experience significant anxiety or a phobia during their lifetime.

How does anxiety affect people?

Common symptoms of anxiety include:

Feeling nervous or uneasy
Panic attacks
Irritability
Trouble sleeping
Difficulty concentrating

These symptoms might be combined with physical issues, and anxiety can often occur alongside other conditions like depression or substance abuse.

How is anxiety treated?

In most cases, anxiety can be treated by a GP, without the need for a specialist.
There are two main types of treatment: therapy and medication. Some people may benefit from a combination of both.
Lifestyle changes can help too, such as exercising more, cutting down on alcohol, or trying Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which help people manage and relate to their thoughts differently. These treatments can take a few weeks to show results, so patience is key.
For more severe cases, a person might be referred to a mental health team, which can include psychologists, psychiatrists, and nurses. They provide more intensive therapy, such as psychotherapy.

How can anxiety affect work?

You might notice changes in someone’s usual behaviour at work, which can be an early sign of anxiety. These changes could include:

Seeming overly worried or fearful
Losing confidence in their ability to perform tasks
Avoiding certain situations, like public interactions
Struggling to concentrate or make decisions, leading to a drop in work quality
Feeling tired or lacking energy

Recovery from anxiety can take time, but work can actually help the process. The length of recovery depends on how severe the anxiety is, how well the person responds to treatment, and the type of treatment they receive. For instance, CBT is often completed within four months and can be effective.

What can managers do?

As a manager, it’s important to recognize any changes in an employee’s behaviour. If you notice signs of anxiety, talk to the employee and encourage them to see their GP. Early treatment can be more effective.

Discuss how their anxiety is affecting their work. Find out which tasks they can manage and for how long and consider adjusting their workload.
Review the situation regularly since anxiety can fluctuate from day to day.
Gradually increase their responsibilities as they start to recover.

Key points for managers:

People do recover from anxiety and stay better eventually.
Involve employees in decision-making about their work—it helps improve outcomes.
Focus on supporting them to stay at work if possible or help them return as soon as they’re ready.
Employees don’t need to be fully recovered before coming back to work. An early return to work can help speed up recovery for some people.

Points to remember:

Fit Notes: If an employee provides a fit note recommending modified duties, discuss these changes with them and see if the suggestions can be reasonably implemented.

Job Tasks and Risk Assessments: Review the employee’s risk assessment to ensure they can perform their tasks safely, including any temporary adjustments needed, like driving restrictions.

General Guidance: For more information, refer to general advice on managing attendance.