How To Help an Employee With Anxiety
Practical steps to support employees experiencing anxiety at work.
Download our guide to managing your teams mental health
Anxiety is a feeling of restlessness and unease caused by fear, nervousness, worry, or increased stress. It’s a natural response to perceived danger or threat, activating the body’s fight-or-flight response.
While everyone experiences anxiety occasionally, persistent or intense anxiety can interfere with daily functioning and lead to anxiety disorders.
Prevalence and Impact of Anxiety in the Workplace
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues affecting the workforce. In 2020/21, stress, depression, or anxiety accounted for 50% of all work-related ill health cases.
Globally, nearly 40 million adults between 18-54 have suffered from an anxiety disorder at some point in their working life.
The prevalence of anxiety has significant implications for productivity, employee engagement, and overall organisational health. Unaddressed anxiety can lead employee burnout and to increased absenteeism, presenteeism, and higher turnover rates.
What Is The Difference Between Anxiety and Workplace Stress
Anxiety and workplace stress, while related, are distinct. Workplace stress typically arises from specific work-related pressures like tight deadlines, high workloads, or difficult tasks, and usually diminishes once the stressor is removed.
In contrast, anxiety is a broader and more pervasive experience that often persists even after the stressor is gone.
Anxiety disorders involve chronic worry and fear that can disrupt daily life and functioning, even in the absence of an immediate threat. This distinction is crucial for identifying and addressing anxiety effectively within the workplace.
Find out more about the importance of mental health in the workplace.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural human response to stress or perceived danger, often characterized by feelings of worry, nervousness, or fear. It’s a common emotional reaction that can manifest in various ways, both mentally and physically.
Mentally, anxiety can cause:
- Persistent worrying
- Difficulty concentrating
- Restlessness
- A sense of impending doom or danger
Physically, anxiety can lead to:
- Increased heart rate
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Gastrointestinal issues like stomach aches or nausea
Common anxiety disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, and specific phobias.
Practical Steps to Support Employees with Anxiety
Foster a Positive Workplace Culture
Creating a friendly and inclusive environment is crucial for employee wellbeing and can be achieved with a few different approaches. For example, eliminating the stigma around mental health, promoting open communication, provide mental health awareness training, and offering support resources can all help.
Leadership can also share personal stories to normalise mental health discussions, fostering trust and empathy in dealing with workplace anxiety.
Open communication in the workplace means creating an environment where employees feel comfortable and safe discussing their thoughts, concerns, and mental health issues without fear of judgment or repercussions.
Practically, this involves having an open-door policy where managers are approachable and available for conversations. It also means regularly checking in with employees, actively listening to their concerns, and providing reassurance of confidentiality.
Training and Awareness Programs for staff and Managers
Managers should undergo mental health and psychosocial hazard training to recognise and handle anxiety. These programs equip managers with the skills to identify early signs of anxiety and provide appropriate support.
Promoting mental health awareness in the workplace reduces stigma and encourages open discussions.
Promote Mental Health Resources Like EAPs
If your employees are struggling with anxiety, it’s critical to promote targeted mental health resources like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs).
An EAP offers a range of benefits specifically for addressing workplace mental health issues, including confidential counselling services and 24/7 support helplines.
By actively promoting these resources, employers can create a work environment that prioritises mental wellbeing, reduces stigma of seeking support and supports employees in managing their mental health effectively.
Provide Flexibility and Reasonable Adjustments
Offering flexibility and reasonable adjustments for employees with anxiety can significantly boost their wellbeing and productivity.
Practical steps include flexible working hours, remote work options, and modifying job responsibilities. Tailoring these adjustments to individual needs ensures that employees feel supported and valued.
For more extenuating circumstances, or if an employee is truly struggling, ensure there are processes in place to support mental health sick leave.
Summing Up
Supporting employees with anxiety is essential for fostering a healthy and productive workplace. By promoting a positive culture, providing mental health training, offering resources like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), and accommodating individual needs, employers can effectively assist their staff.
Related Content:
- Psychosocial Risk Assessment
- What Is Employee Counselling?
- Reducing Stress in the Workplace
- How Much Do EAPs Cost?
- Counsellor vs Psychologist
Answers to the frequently asked questions.
Our last EAP was barely touched. Why would this be different?+
Most EAPs go unused because of how they're accessed, not because staff don't need them. Phoning a stranger, explaining yourself, then waiting weeks is enough to stop most people before they start. Foremind removes all three steps: staff see real counsellor profiles, pick someone themselves, and book the same day.
If you already have a provider, the question worth asking is what your current utilisation is. Most traditional EAPs sit in low single digits, which means you're paying for cover your people aren't reaching. If yours is being used, staff can get seen quickly, and it covers your psychosocial obligations, there's no reason to move. If not, it's worth knowing what you're getting for the spend.
Do you offer 24/7 support?+
Yes. A 24/7 after-hours crisis line means staff can reach someone immediately at any hour, including nights and weekends.
Counselling appointments are also available outside standard business hours, so shift-based and on-call teams aren't limited to a nine-to-five window. Those are two different things, and it's worth checking any provider offers both rather than just the crisis line.
Are your EAP counsellors based in Australia?+
Yes. Every practitioner on the platform holds current membership with an Australian professional body and practises under Australian standards, codes of ethics and disciplinary frameworks. There are no offshore call centres.
Practitioners hold membership with the Australian Counselling Association, the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, or the Australian Association of Social Workers, along with a current Working with Children or Vulnerable People Check.
How much does an EAP cost?+
Pricing is usually per employee per month, based on total headcount rather than how many people use the service. Costs vary widely depending on whether sessions are bundled in and whether compliance tooling is included.
A more useful comparison is cost per employee who actually uses it. An EAP with 2% utilisation can work out several times more expensive per person helped than one that gets used. Foremind offers pay-as-you-go, inclusive session plans and compliance-inclusive plans, with discounted pricing for not-for-profits and charities.
For full breakdown of our plans, see our EAP pricing page or request a quote for a tailored proposal.
What information does an employer receive about EAP usage?+
Nothing that could identify anyone. All counselling is completely confidential and all reporting is anonymous - you'll never see who booked, when, or what was discussed.
What you do see is the aggregated picture: how many people are using it, what psychosocial risks are prevalent in the business, and which teams are under pressure. Enough to know the investment is working and where to act, never enough to identify a person. Reporting thresholds mean small teams can't be reverse-engineered from the data.
Does having an EAP meet an employer's psychosocial duty of care?+
No. An EAP is a control measure, and a valuable one, but it only addresses harm after it has occurred. It doesn't identify hazards, assess risk, or evidence that controls are working.
Australian WHS law requires you to identify psychosocial hazards, assess the risk, control it so far as is reasonably practicable, and review whether those controls are working — with documented evidence at each step. Offering counselling on its own leaves three of those four steps undocumented.
Foremind covers both in one platform. See how the compliance side works in our product tour.