Answering the phone strikes fear into the hearts of office workers. Pictured: Grace Kelly and Ray Milland putting the telephone to deadly use in Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M For Murder.
Over a quarter of workers admit to choosing their career paths in order to avoid dealing with workplace fears, new research has found.
Over 3,000 UK professionals contributed to the poll, which was put together by CV-Library and the research highlights the top ten qualms that affect employees in their day-to-day roles.
“While it’s discouraging to see that so many workers are closing themselves off to career opportunities as a result of their fears, it is positive to see that many are choosing to face their worries confidently,” Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said of the findings.
Over a quarter of the people questioned highlighted that public speaking and presenting were their main worries in the workplace, totaling at 27.9 percent.
Furthermore, other social aspects of working such as cold-calling, leading a meeting and speaking on the phone all featured on the top reasons contributing to work anxieties.
The survey also sought to uncover how UK professionals react when faced with one of their work-based worries.
Despite many workers selecting a career that removes them entirely from the situation, the research suggests the majority of those who choose to face their fears appear to do so in a proactive way.
26.6 percent of professionals chose to tackle the issue head on, and 15.6 percent use the task as an opportunity to grow.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, 12.2 percent of people choose to ignore the task, nine percent avoid the situation for as long as possible and two percent call in sick to avoid the situation entirely.
When asked to identify the best ways to address workplace fears, over half of workers felt ‘training opportunities and managerial support’ would be the most helpful.
“Many workers would massively benefit from extra support from their employer. Businesses can help their staff address and overcome their anxieties by providing additional training and mentoring programmes,” Biggins added.
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
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