Have you ever hated your job, had so much anxiety, that you were considering quitting.

You're not alone. Nearly half of all American workers that were surveyed are considering quitting their job in 2024, with anxiety being the number one issue among American workers. 79% of employees reported work-related stress. And leaves of absence due to mental health increased by 300% since 2017.

That's huge!

So, if you’re saying, “I hate my job so much it gives me anxiety,” stick around.

I'm going to give you solutions for how to cope now and advice on whether quitting is the right option for you or not.

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If you don't know my story, I'm a chiropractor and I worked in the field for over 13 years. I had one job in particular where I would wake up in the morning and I'd be almost in tears having to go to work. I had to give myself a pep talk before I walked out the door. It was so stressful; it really took a toll on me. Every Sunday I would be sobbing to my boyfriend not wanting to go back on Monday.

This is definitely an extreme scenario.

But it's just to say that there's no shame in having these feelings. If you're having anxiety due to work, then there's a solution. There's a way to get through it.

Let's talk about what work anxiety is. Basically, it's just anxiety or stress that's caused by work. So, if you have symptoms, they basically go away when you take PTO and then they'll come back as you go back to work.

Let's look at some symptoms and I'm going to give you some solutions for each as we go.

If you're having trouble falling asleep or you have poor sleep where you're just not getting good sleep and you're waking up exhausted, these are symptoms of stress and anxiety.

One thing you can do is to come home from work and take a short 10-to-15-minute walk. This will help to give yourself a break, a clear separation, from work duties and that mindset to being home and all of the things that happen at home.

I love to go for walks and when I'm processing information, a walk really helps me clear my head and helps me come up with some solutions to problems I’m facing. So, if you're struggling at work, this is another good option for that reason.

Another option, if you are in the middle of the night and you cannot sleep, you're just stuck wide awake, you can download a meditation app and listen to some sleep music or some bedtime stories.

I actually do not sleep well with the TV on. I'm one of those people that if the tv's on, I'm gonna end up staying up and watching whatever's on and not get any sleep.

But I've listened to some bedtime stories and they're actually amazing and work spectacularly. I highly recommend it. I think it just kind of gets your brain focused on something else.

So, download a meditation app and look for those. I also have some great recommendations in Episode 8.

Another symptom of anxiety and stress is mood swings. If you are feeling like you're constantly up and down, your emotions are on edge. You're just stressed and you're right at that tipping point. So, anything that comes along and triggers you is going to set you off.

Something that can help with that is journaling.

Journaling is a great way to get whatever is in your head out of your head and just put it on some paper. If you want to, you can rip it up and throw it away. That's fine. But just getting it out of your head, kind of like you're talking to somebody, it really makes a difference in your emotions toward that thing or person.

And then also you can head to Episode 4 where I talk more about emotional control and ways to help.

If you're getting to a point where the stress and the anxiety are building up so much, you could potentially start having physical symptoms, like headaches, stomach issues (or worsening stomach issues), or even high blood pressure.

These are things that you if it's getting bad, you should consider seeing your doctor, especially with the high blood pressure.

But a great option in the interim is positive thinking. I know this is hard. You're stressed out and I'm telling you to think positive. But there are some real benefits to positive thinking.

It can decrease your risk in heart disease. It also helps to lower your levels of the stress hormone, which is exactly what we're trying to do. Your stress hormones are way up, so we want to try to get those down.

Positive thinking really makes a difference, so I definitely recommend focusing on the positive aspects of your day, trying not to dwell on the negative.

If you catch yourself complaining or hyper focusing on something that's not helping you, just switch gears. Don't be mad at yourself, just switch gears and think of something that you're grateful for.

I give you some more tips in Episode 10, as well as the health benefits associated with positive thinking.

If you're having panic attacks, this is a big physical symptom. This is when it's gotten really bad, and again, I encourage you to seek medical help.

If you've never had a panic attack before or if you've had one and you didn't know what it was, these are the signs:

If you feel any or all of these symptoms, there are some things you can do to calm yourself down and help the panic to pass.

These steps help take your focus off of whatever it is that is causing you anxiety and puts it onto something else. They can help you calm down and get through the panic attack.

These are some solutions to help with the symptoms in the moment, but the ultimate goal is always to fight the problem at the source. If you're not treating the problem at the source, it's just going to keep coming back.

In the short term, we can work on some solutions for the symptoms, but we really need to work on lessening that hate that you have for your job and lessening that anxiety that you're feeling. And in order to do that we need to look at why “I hate my job so much it gives me anxiety” is playing on repeat in the first place.

You may hate your job because you are being worked to death, your hours are long, you're working overtime, or even because the workload within those hours is extensive.

So, what can you do if this is the issue?

Take some breaks. Take short five-minute breaks throughout your day. Just plan them in, set a timer to remind yourself to get up and move a little bit.

Take it seriously. Don't set your timer and then check emails or something. You want to take a real actual break just to get your brain off of the crazy!

And then also you should leave your desk for lunch. Don't work through lunch. Don't eat at your desk and try to get little things done.

Your work is not going to be good anyway. Just take a break so you can come back and you'll be fresh and more prepared to do better work and probably even do it faster.

Another tip is to set boundaries. If you receive a lot of texts or emails after work, just don't check them. Don't even have your work email setup on your phone.

A lack of control is if there are things where you just have no say or where things are out of your control. It’s having a lot of anxiety about the “what ifs” and about all the stuff that could go wrong.

A good tip for this is to do some meditation and grounding exercises which get you back into the present moment. Anxiety is a big problem for when we are too focused on the future. This is why meditation is such an excellent tool for that.

I've always noticed when I have a regular meditation practice, I am calmer and I can handle things better. So, even if it's just five minutes to start, just start with something. But it's going to make a big difference in bringing you back in to center and calming you down.

This is office politics, its drama, its difficult coworkers.

This one's tough because it's other people's actions that are triggering your anxiety and you certainly can't control that.

If you are feeling like you're having a lot of stress and anxiety because of other people, a good technique is to start doing some breathing exercises, especially if you're fired up and triggered from somebody or something that happened.

But it’s also a good idea just to have a regular practice where you're doing breathing exercises regularly. I know Tony Robbins has a morning routine where he has a breathing exercise that he implements every day.

This is a really great tip because it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is your rest-and-digest system. That's what we need to feel calm and safe, and in general it helps reduce feelings of anxiety.

I recommend the 4-7-8 breathing exercise where you:

The idea is for it to be long and slow counting, but if you can't hold that long then you can speed it up. As you go, it will get easier.

Repeat that three more times. So, every time you do your breathing exercise, do four repetitions, and that should help calm you down and help your system relieve some of that anxiety.

Anxiety may just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hating your job. So, I put together a free workbook to help you when you hate your job but don’t know what to do.

I implemented these 3 strategies in my own life when I was going through some serious job hate. And it helped me to not dread each day and actually improve some of my work relationships.

 
Life is way too short to hate the place you have to be at for the majority of your week. So, grab my free workbook.

Those were all some short-term solutions you can work on now. But what can you do in the long term?

To create a better, more enjoyable workplace, try personalizing your work space. If you have your own office or space and you can do this, add some pictures or decorations. Do something so that every time you are in your workspace you feel a little happier, you feel safer, you feel good.

Another thing you can do is what’s called dopamine dressing. Dopamine dressing is basically dressing in a way that makes you feel good and makes you feel happy. Things like wearing bright colors or fun patterns. Some people like to go crazy and wear something wild. (Go check out @feedmegemsofficial on Instagram for some inspiration!)

Not all workplaces are going to allow you to do wear crazy outfits, but do what you can. I personally like to wear lots of jewelry. I wore scrubs when I worked and I didn't like to wear rings or bracelets because my hands are on people all day. But I dopamine dressed with earrings and necklaces and things like that. It just made me feel good and it’s definitely worth a try.

You can also try to build relationships with the people that you are getting along with or that there is a glimmer of hope in. Get to know them better. Plan something outside of work.

Having stronger relationships in your job is going to help you get through the crap that’s making scream, “I hate my job so much it gives me anxiety!”

DISCLAIMER: Don't complain to those people about your job hate.

Not only do people not want to hear that negativity, but you’re thinking positive now. Complaining just drags you down and back into that crap. Let's just not do it.

Stay positive and build good relationships based on positivity.

And then also, consider talking to a colleague that you trust, or your supervisor if that's somebody that you can trust. Or even consider going to see a therapist or a mental health professional just to have somebody to talk to and who can give you other coping tools.

Sometimes, just being able to talk about your anxiety and what is going on can help. Finding someone who will support you through difficult times can be the difference between getting through it and breaking down.

The number one question when you hate your job so much it gives you anxiety – is it okay to quit?

First of all, if it's a new job and you're having a lot of anxiety, I have a rule of thumb where I give myself at least three to four weeks before making a decision on whether to quit or not.

In those first two to three weeks, you're really just getting a handle on everything. You’re getting to know everybody. You're learning how everything works. You're uncomfortable and that can feel like a lot of pressure.

Anywhere you go, a new job is going to feel like this. So, if it's brand new, give yourself time to settle in before you determine the discomfort is from you learning the work environment and the job or if it's really not a good place for you to be.

Another question you should be asking yourself is what does your savings look like?

In the book, Money Honey by Rachel Richards, she breaks down all things money, such as how to pay off debt, what your savings should look like, and all the things.

She recommends that you have at least $1000 saved in an emergency fund just in case something would happen, like an appliance breaks or you need a car repair. She also recommends that you have three to four months’ salary saved.

God forbid you quit your job without something lined up, and it takes you three, four, or five months to find something else. You want to have the ability to cover your expenses during that time.

So, if you're going to quit, if it's something that you just have to get out of, consider saving some money first before you just leave or finding a job before you quit.

You should also think about how easy is it going to be for you to find another job? Do you have skills that are easily transferable to other positions, to other jobs? Or is it very niche?

For example, as a chiropractor, I don't have a lot of options of where I can go, but maybe you are in marketing and there's a lot of applications where you can use your skills.

And then of course, you need to consider the level of your anxiety. If your mental and physical health is at risk, you might need to think about leaving sooner versus later. You need to take care of yourself.

Obviously, having a backup plan, like some kind of savings or another job line up, is going to be beneficial. But you have to put your health first. That definitely needs to be a consideration when deciding if you're going to quit or not.

We talked about:

Regardless of how much you hate your job right now, it is truly possible to overcome your workplace anxiety.

And if you need some extra help knowing what to do when you hate your job, go ahead and grab my free workbook. With regular practice, it can help you improve your work relationships, wake up happier, and potentially lead you to your dream job.

So, if you want that workbook, go ahead and grab it by clicking the orange button below.

Hopefully, you now have some tools you can use when you’re feeling overwhelmed at work.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with anxiety at work. What is impacting you most at the job you hate? Share it in the comments below.