His grip was tighter than I expected. The young man who first introduced himself with a timid handshake now wrapped his arms around me like I was family. As we broke, tears welled up in both of our eyes. An hour is all it takes to really get to know someone.
This was one of several intense conversations I had while interviewing engineers a year ago. Back then I was building a tool to help make the hiring process more human. When I moved on from this idea to a new project I once again found things taking a personal turn.
Recently, I set out to test a hypothesis that technical teams need to follow a rigorous process to build successful products. As I began interviewing people I soon discovered that the more interesting problem to explore was human emotion. Specifically, the causes of job related anxiety.
I had 20 virtual conversations with people in a range of roles including: engineers, product managers, marketers and designers. Another 60 people shared their perspective through an anonymous form. These conversations stunned me the way the young man’s embrace had a year before.
Are there common causes for anxiety at work? Yes, but that isn’t exactly a revelation. What I didn’t expect was how willing people were to discuss job related anxiety in a personal, vulnerable and intimate way. In as little as 20 minutes I felt connected to these complete strangers. From a few sentences in a survey I was given a window into their fears and struggles: work overload, lack of appreciation and the nagging feeling that they are not working on the right thing.
I learned that we are all challenged with uncertainty. Am I being valued? Am I meeting everyones’ expectations? Will I be “found out” as incompetent? When you deal with this anxiety it can feel like you are all alone. You’re not. We all experience this doubt. Even the people that appear to be perfectly in control are not immune.
I set out to find a problem I could solve with software, and uncovered a deeper set of challenges. The anxiety we feel at work is complicated and damaging but we are barely even talking about it. Right now is the time for writing words not code.
My next step will be a series of articles digging into these topics and reflecting on my own past experiences. In these posts I will show you that these struggles are universal, that we can work through them together and that you are not alone. I promise to write in a personal, vulnerable and intimate way.
I look forward to this journey and would be honored to include you. You can subscribe below and you’ll get my first article soon!
Beginnings