The five scariest things about work

And how to deal with them

Work can be scary, there’s no two ways about it. Whether it’s the past, present or future, there are things that can really spook us when it comes to work, careers and our working lives.

It might be the present is scary, feeling stuck or feeling frustrated. For some, sadly, it might be that our boss scares us. Maybe it’s the future that can feel scariest - what’s out there, what needs to change, and if you do make a change, will it work?

Fear is everywhere. In fact, a recent survey by LinkedIn found that ‘Can we have a chat’ is the scariest work phrase!

But the good news is we can do things to deal with it.

Here are my top five scary work feels - and advice on managing them:

1. Redundancy

Scary if it’s looming, scary when it happens - and, in my experience, something that can remain with you for a long time. Redundancy is scary because it’s out of your hands in many ways - you are suddenly ‘redundant’. While yes, it’s your role, it can’t help but feel personal, right?

I wrote anonymously about my redundancy back in 2008 - I think at the time people knew it was me, really! And now I’m more open about it. It’s AWFUL. It knocks the stuffing out of you. Even if you want it, it’s still hard. It is the closest thing to a breakup in my experience.

Dealing with redundancy can take time. There might even be initial feelings of euphoria if you don’t like your job. A payout and freedom?! What’s not to like?

But it does also send you into a spin of ‘what now?’. My biggest piece of advice is not to knee-jerk into something. Take a step back - think about what you really want to do next (and need).

Step one is to spruce up your CV and LinkedIn profile so it’s ready for any new roles, and then think about some short and long-term goals. What do you need (money, usually) and also what do you need for you? Take some time, if you can, to focus on the things you’ve not had time for - usually exercise and good food. Connect with people, and reach out to a coach if you need to talk it out with someone other than a friend.

2. Being given more work as an ‘opportunity’

This will sound familiar - hey, would you like to do more for no extra money but ‘it’s a great opportunity!’ Dealing with this one is about knowing your goals - does the thing you’re being asked to do fit in with your long-term plan? Is it a good thing for the future you imagine and plan for yourself?

Don’t just say yes - think about whether it’s genuinely possible, and also how you’ll fit it into your working day/week. It might be you can agree to do it on a trial basis, rather than going full-on into the ‘opportunity’ which you then regret. “Sounds good - how about we do it on a 6-week trial to start with?”. Also, have ideas of how it’ll work for you. The task is their idea, but how can you spin it so it’s in your interests as well?

3. Professional Ghosting

I’ve written about this before on this Substack but it’s up there as one of the scariest things about work not least because it’s so completely out of our control. We can’t MAKE someone reply. We can’t force them to come back to us with feedback, or a follow-up. We can’t demand that they say ‘no’ even if we’ve not got that job.

The only way to truly deal with professional ghosting is to accept it happens and try to move on when it does. Wasting energy on the anger and dreams of revenge is just that - wasting energy.

4. Being stuck FOREVER

This is a big scary - feeling like you’ll never get out of a job you don’t like, or that you’ll never progress or be promoted. The question i’ll just leave here for your pondering is “Are you choosing to be stuck?”.

Is it easier to remain in the role you’re in, but moan about it, rather than daring to update your CV and put yourself out there for other work?

5. Making a big, huge leap

Even scarier than being stuck? Making the leap. Resigning, going self-employed, stopping being freelance to take a job or contract. Posting to that Instagram account, starting that podcast, sending that connection request that could open the door to a new job, career or role. The scariest part of leaping is the moment you make the leap - once you’ve done that step, suddenly you’re in the soaring moment of the decision and while it’s still scary, it’s what my friend Paula and I like to call ‘scareciting’.