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We also feel pressure when we don’t have the skills required to do the job, or have less experienced workers around you and therefore feel threatened by colleagues. Then there are those who’ve started a fresh in the middle of the year and now have to adapt and fit in the new company.
Then there’s the constant fear of losing your job and when you are simply making it harder on yourself by either procrastinating or taking on too much.
Juanita Simpson, Sales and Marketing Director at ICAS Southern Africa’s employee wellness expert says: “The most common reason that employees lose confidence is often because of a bad relationship with their boss. The feelings of insecurity will last as long as the relationship is strained.”
“Over bearing workloads and a general culture or feeling of negativity also contributes to poor confidence levels. However, there are some quick fire ways in which to get that confidence fix that will not make you feel better or also improve your performance,” continues Simpson.
Here are a few tips to buildup your confidence at work:
1. Understand your company
Knowing your company is vital for your work. Know who runs it and know the different sectors. Every bit of information will make you more effective at work.
2. Boost your knowledge
A guaranteed way of being more certain of what you’re doing is to learn more. Know your clients and their industry. Understanding how and why certain departments and processes work can boost confidence in your ability to do work.
3. Ask questions
Never be afraid to ask questions. Performing a task incorrectly because you don’t fully understand the requirements is not a good way to boost confidence. Instead of getting a task wrong and lowering your confidence, ask for clarification of what is required.
4. Get yourself known
If you are working in a big company you may feel lost and out of place. This may knock your confidence. Profile yourself and get familiar with unknown faces. This doesn’t have to be forced: it’s simply being friendly and being open to meeting people.
5. Have a plan
The more prepared you are, the more confident you’ll feel about your expertise and competency. Try and plan your days each morning and be prepared as you can be for meetings.
6. Cut the negative self-talk
Did your manager compliment one of your ideas? Did you meet a tight deadline? Did you manage to turn a difficult project around? Reminding yourself of successful times is a better way to boost confidence instead of constantly focusing on the negatives.
7. Build your strengths
A good way to boost confidence is to focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses.
8. Learn from your mistakes
Correcting your mistakes along the way is the foundation of success. Learn from previous mistakes and double check your work every time you complete a task. Ask yourself how you could improve on the task even more the next time you do it. In doing so, you will excel and this will boost your confidence.
9. Dress the part
No one is more conscious of your physical appearance than you are. When you don’t feel like you look good, it changes the way you carry yourself and your interactions with other people.
10. Have fun
It’s important to enjoy your job. Be engaged, positive, optimistic, open to suggestions, happy to contribute, proactive and mostly cheerful. Learn from your mistakes but also laugh and take criticism with good humour. Being more light-hearted boosts your confidence and helps you improve yourself.
