A Tip for Helping Colleagues with Anxiety

Your colleagues are likely suffering with anxiety and depression. Your empathetic reaction may be to ask what you can take off their plate. As someone who’s managing anxiety, I’d like to offer a more impactful approach.

Stop guessing. Ask what type of support they need. Some people need step-by-step, practical help to manage their workload. Others just want to know you’re there for them. How do you know what they need? Ask.

When I posted about this on LinkedIn, a colleague’s comment struck me.

And sometimes they don't know exactly what they need! It's worth it to have a real heart to heart and suggest multiple possibilities so they can understand what might work best for them. And to treat it as an iterative process understanding that the first thing you try might not work the way you hope it will, and you can try something else.

Your intentions are good. With a little specificity, you can scale empathy and make someone’s work life a little easier.

Let’s go.