On average, we spend one-third of our time at work, and in some cases, we spend a lot more time working than the required 8 hours. Work gives people a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and satisfaction, and at the same time, it provides them the financial stability they need.
Job performance is a very significant aspect of a person’s career, and it can make or break a person; it could take his career to the next level, or keep it stagnant and uneventful. How a person performs at work impacts his future, but when job performance is not managed properly, it could also cause some issues that, if left unresolved, could lead to bigger problems.
Three performance-related issues are discussed in this article, and these are: insecurities, anxiety and depression, and health problems.
Insecurities
Being insecure with one’s work performance is a pervasive problem among employees. Having a feeling of uneasiness and discomfort at work not only prevents a person from performing well, but it also causes health affects.
To combat insecurities, there is a need to always conduct self-talk, a constant reminder to oneself that there really is no need to feel insecure so as long as you have exerted efforts to ensure that you do your job as best as you can. People are often worried about how well others perform their job functions as compared to theirs, and as a result, this makes them more and more insecure.
Encouragements should be given to oneself as often as possible, and make a big deal of the accomplishments made, to remind you that you are doing a good job. By making a habit of highlighting one’s accomplishments and strengths, this will make you more confident about yourself and help to rid of your insecurities.
Anxiety and Depression
When employees worry too much about their performance, this could lead to psychological illnesses, predominantly anxiety and depression. Some indicators of these conditions are: being exhausted when you wake up in the morning, being unable to sleep soundly at night, often waking up in the middle of the night because of nightmares and upsetting dreams, not finding enjoyment in the day to day tasks that you perform at work, lack of energy and vigor, being very emotional for no apparent reason, and becoming irritable. These conditions also have very negative impact on the person’s job performance because it will be almost impossible for him to be productive when he is not in the proper state of mind.
When these signs and symptoms are present, the first thing to do is to try and treat the condition on your own. Mild cases can be corrected if the factors contributing to anxiety and depression are identified and addressed immediately. However, serious cases need to be treated by a qualified doctor.
Health Problems
Working long hours and exerting too much effort in your job all the time could lead to health problems, which is why there have been many incidents of people dying from heart attacks and stroke because of their unhealthy and abusive work habits. When there is no work-life balance and people are paying very little attention to their well-being because of work, they put themselves at risk of heart problems and high blood pressure. When you lose sleep, immune system becomes weak and this will make you susceptible to colds, cough, and viral and bacterial diseases.
It is always important to set your priorities. While being able to perform well in the workplace is very important, there is more to life than dedicating it entirely to your work. When we are young and just starting out in our career, it is understandable to work doubly hard and spend many hours working; but as we grow older, it is also just as important to spend time with our families, take care of our health, and keep everything balanced.
Performance-related issues are common and, as what many people would agree, inevitable. But these things can be managed and controlled, if people just make a commitment to do so. While we need to keep up and be competitive, it must be noted that when performance-related issues arise, these would also bring down our performance unless interventions are made.
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