•  Only 13% of employees said that management successfully resolve issues around workplace performance anxiety
•  On average, people report feeling anxious at work at least once a week

UK companies are failing to support employees suffering with work-related performance anxiety, the business world’s equivalent to stage fright, despite it being a regular occurrence for many workers, according to new research.

RADA Business, the commercial subsidiary of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art which provides communication skills training for corporate individuals, has published the report Beating Workplace Performance Anxiety, which surveyed 1000 workplaces. The report found that, on average, workers report feeling anxious at least once a week (five times per month).

Despite this, few workplaces act effectively to counter incidents of communications anxiety. Only 13% of people surveyed said that anxieties round communicating in the workplace are picked up and resolved by the management team.

As well as the personal impact of these anxieties, the report also found that this problem could also have a major impact on business performance.

1 in 5 (20%) workers admitted to being less productive and the same number also confessed to calling in sick at work to avoid anxiety-inducing situations, such as difficult meetings or performance reviews.

Almost 1 in 5 (18%) say that work colleagues who are anxious about communicating make them feel anxious too, as the listener.

Adrian Kirk, Tutor at RADA Business, commented on the findings: “It’s concerning to see how many UK workers aren’t getting the support they need to tackle feelings of anxiety around communicating at work. These findings highlight the urgent need for more awareness from businesses, and more strategies to support their employees in this area. We’re convinced that organisations work most effectively when everyone has a voice – and we’re committed to giving people the skills to get themselves heard.”

RADA Business helps works tackle workplace performance anxiety by harnessing simple acting techniques.

Adrian explains, “Techniques inspired by acting training can be effective at tackling performance anxiety in the workplace. Managing nerves and their physical effects can help release the build-up of tension and enable us to access our best self in the workplace.”

To read more about RADA Business’s training, please visit www.radabusiness.com.

RADA Business helps people at work become brilliant communicators. We build on the work of one of the world’s most respected drama schools to deliver world-class training programmes and coaching for organisations and individuals.