LinkedIn Presents.

I'm Maura Aaron Smiley, and this is The Anxious Achiever, the show that looks at the intersection of mental health and work and how we can all do both better.

It's one thing to say that anxiety is a good thing, that it can actually help you perform better. It's another to look at real studies that back the idea up, especially when it comes

to work, performance,

and leadership. Dr. Bonnie Hayden-Chang is an associate professor at Hong Kong University

Business School. She has a background in psychology, and when she started talking to people

about their jobs in her doctoral work, She realized just how prevalent anxiety is.

She since studied the impacts positive and negative of anxiety at work,

and she'll explain how it can be useful in our careers,

even in the face of anxiety right now about layoffs or recession.

She offers science-backed thoughts on how to handle anticipatory anxiety

and channel the energy of anxiety into positive results at work and in life.

I dove in by asking her if she was surprised by just how many people feel anxiety about their jobs.

But before we start, I have to tell you that the anxious achiever is a

finalist in the Signal Awards for Best Commute Podcast. Now, this is a big deal. We're up against

some heavy hitters like Pod Save America, the Fantasy Footballers podcast, and Masters of Scale

with Reed Hoffman who founded LinkedIn. I'd be so

grateful if you voted for the anxious achiever. Just go to signalaward.com and search for the show.

So you were surprised by how anxious people were about their work?

I really was trying to focus on the bright sides.

There's too much negative going on in a world.

And so I've always just fascinated about, you know, people's ambitions and their dreams and what they're passionate about.

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