Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to conceal our emotions, we just can’t, especially in our worst moments.
Everyone processes emotions differently, but all humans have breaking points that we reach independently. Once we reach those emotional checkpoints, we are unable to compose ourselves. When our emotions get the best of us in the workplace, they can bring on a whole other load of feelings we don’t want to have, especially in the presence of our work peers. We don’t want to feel embarrassed or ashamed in front of everybody, especially when we know that the horrible details about our emotional breakdown will spread through the office.
There are an extensive amount of occupational stresses we may experience every single day, and they each take different tolls on our bodies, depending on the scenario. Deadlines, conflicts with clients or coworkers, feeling a loss of control, feeling the inability to prioritize, general dissatisfaction, frustration with the never-ending workload, problems with low pay, and lack of help or support are very common and can build up quickly.
Sometimes, our meltdowns come in several forms, such as bursting into tears, slamming our phones down, kicking our garbage cans, venting to co-workers, or using language that is inappropriate for the workplace.
Unfortunately, our emotions can ultimately have some serious consequences in the workplace and may even be the reason that we’re fired (if these outbursts continue at an unreasonable rate).
It’s hard to keep our composure when our minds are as uncontrollably messy as our desks are.
Regardless, we inflict a lot of these pressures on ourselves and create an isolated bubble of misery and anxiety. The more we lose control of our workload, the more we lose control of our emotions.
These breakdowns can happen from time to time, and no matter how hard we try to prevent others from seeing us in our devastated state, we just can’t help it. We all experience the ugly crying, tears of frustration, and grunts of pain.
But, after we have a breakdown at work, how do we salvage our professional reputation?
We just have to be assertive with our feelings, whether it is with ourselves or with another coworker. We have promise ourselves to do our best to never lose control again.
If certain things in the office really stress you out or cause you constant anxiety, you should mention something to your boss or to HR. It’s hard to continue on with your day if you feel uneasy about something, such as the workload or your stress level. Your superiors will help you and will try their best to accommodate your needs.
The thing with established companies is that once they make a strong effort to make you feel like part of the team, they’ll continuously pile work on you, thinking that you can handle it. Without you establishing boundaries, they won’t know when to stop. It’s important to speak up, especially if you are scared of breaking down at work.
If you feel ashamed of your behaviour or your snappy mood, reassure yourself that you can’t beat yourself up over it. I mean, if you get physically destructive in front of your peers, then that’s hard to recover from. But, every single person can relate to you and will brush your behavior off because they have been there, too. And, after your long and stressful day, go home and drink.
It’s the best thing you can do.
