Taming Workplace Anxiety: The Ancient Stoic Secret to Modern Peace of Mind
- Sean Robinson
- Mar 31
- 9 min read
Introduction: The Workplace Anxiety Epidemic
The meeting invitation arrives in your inbox. Your stomach tightens. The subject line reads: "Team Performance Review." Your mind races with possibilities: Is your position being eliminated? Will you be called out for that delayed project? What if your colleagues blame you for the recent setbacks? This scenario represents just one of countless workplace anxiety triggers that plague modern professionals. From deadline pressure to difficult colleagues, from fear of failure to imposter syndrome—anxiety has become an unwelcome companion in our professional lives. Recent studies paint a concerning picture. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, workplace anxiety affects approximately 40% of employees, costing businesses billions in lost productivity. What's more, remote work and digital connectivity have blurred the boundaries between professional and personal life, making it increasingly difficult to escape work-related stress. The conventional responses to workplace anxiety often fall short. Wellness programs may offer temporary relief but rarely address the root cognitive patterns driving anxiety. Productivity systems help manage tasks but not necessarily the emotions surrounding them. And while mindfulness has valuable applications, many find it difficult to maintain during high-pressure situations—precisely when it's most needed. What if there were a more sustainable approach? What if an ancient philosophical principle could provide a practical framework for navigating workplace anxiety—one that doesn't require meditation retreats, expensive coaching, or personality transplants? Enter workplace anxiety stoicism and the Dichotomy of Control—a 2,000-year-old concept with remarkable relevance to our modern professional challenges.
The Dichotomy of Control: A Stoic Solution to Workplace Anxiety
The core principle we'll explore comes from Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher born into slavery in ancient Rome who later became one of history's most influential thinkers. In his manual for living, the Enchiridion, he begins with this powerful insight:
"Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing."
This deceptively simple distinction—what I can control versus what I cannot—forms the foundation of Stoic philosophy. The Stoics argued that emotional suffering largely stems from a fundamental error: investing our emotional energy in things beyond our control while neglecting what actually lies within our power. When applied to workplace anxiety stoicism offers a practical framework that can transform how we experience professional challenges. Rather than attempting to control outcomes, other people, or external circumstances—all of which inevitably leads to anxiety—we focus exclusively on what we can influence: our judgments, decisions, and actions. This doesn't mean becoming passive or fatalistic. Quite the opposite—it means directing our finite energy toward areas where we can make a meaningful difference, while developing equanimity toward everything else.
Why Workplace Anxiety Persists: The Control Fallacy
Before we explore practical applications of the Dichotomy of Control, it's worth understanding why workplace anxiety persists despite our best efforts to overcome it. At the heart of much professional anxiety lies what psychologists call the "control fallacy"—our tendency to either overestimate or underestimate our control over situations. This cognitive distortion manifests in two ways:
The Illusion of Control:
We believe we can influence outcomes that are largely beyond our power. Examples include obsessing over a client's decision-making process, trying to control how colleagues perceive us, or attempting to perfectly predict market conditions.
Learned Helplessness:
We fail to recognise the significant control we do have in certain areas. This might include believing we can't improve our skills, that we're powerless to change toxic work dynamics, or that our career trajectory is entirely determined by external factors. Both distortions fuel workplace anxiety stoicism addresses. When we falsely believe we can control the uncontrollable, we set ourselves up for stress and disappointment. When we fail to exercise the control we actually have, we experience powerlessness and frustration. Modern work environments often amplify these distortions. The emphasis on results over process, the constant connectivity that blurs boundaries, and the pace of change that creates uncertainty—all can distort our perception of what we can and cannot control. The Dichotomy of Control offers a corrective lens, helping us see with clarity where our power truly lies.
Implementing the Dichotomy of Control for Workplace Anxiety Stoicism
Translating the Dichotomy of Control from philosophical concept to practical tool requires systematic application. Here's a step-by-step approach to implementing this principle in your professional life:
Conduct a Control Audit
The first step toward applying workplace anxiety stoicism is developing awareness of where you're currently investing your mental and emotional energy. Try this exercise:Draw a line down the middle of a page.
On the left side, list all work situations currently causing you anxiety.
On the right side, separate each situation into two categories:
Elements within your control
Elements beyond your control
For example, if you're anxious about an upcoming presentation, the elements within your control might include your preparation, practice, slides, and responses to questions. Elements beyond your control include technical glitches, audience mood, competing presentations, or whether stakeholders ultimately approve your proposal. This simple exercise often yields surprising insights. Many discover they're investing 80% of their emotional energy in the uncontrollable column while neglecting opportunities within the controllable column.
Practice the Mental Shift
Once you've clarified what you can and cannot control, practice the mental shift that lies at the heart of workplace anxiety stoicism:
When facing a challenging situation, pause and ask: "Is this within my control?"
2. If yes, take decisive action without anxiety—you're in your realm of power.
3. If no, practice accepting it as an external—something to work with rather than against.
This mental habit takes practice but becomes more automatic over time. The key is consistency. Each time you catch yourself worrying about something beyond your control, gently redirect your attention to what you can influence. For instance, instead of worrying about whether your manager will approve your proposal (uncontrollable), focus on creating the most compelling case possible (controllable). Instead of stressing about potential layoffs (uncontrollable), concentrate on delivering value and developing transferable skills (controllable).
Implement Practical Exercises to Reinforce the Principle
Several Stoic exercises can help reinforce the Dichotomy of Control in your professional life:
The Morning Preparation
Begin each workday by identifying:
Three potential challenges you might face
What aspects of each are within your control
How you intend to respond to what's within your control
What accepting statements you'll use for what's beyond your control
This proactive approach primes your mind to apply the principle when challenges arise.
The Evening Review
End each day by reflecting:
When did I successfully focus on what I could control?
When did I waste energy on the uncontrollable? - What would a more effective response have looked like?
How will I approach similar situations tomorrow?
This reflective practice accelerates learning and builds the mental habit.
The Perspective Shift
When feeling anxious about a workplace situation, try:
Describing the situation objectively, without value judgments
Identifying your role and sphere of influence within it
Articulating what success looks like within your realm of control
Letting go of attachment to specific outcomes This exercise helps separate facts from interpretations and clarifies where your power truly lies.
Apply to Common Workplace Anxiety Triggers
Let's explore how workplace anxiety stoicism applies to common professional challenges:
Performance Reviews and Feedback
Within your control:
Your preparation and self-assessment
The evidence you gather about your contributions
How you receive and respond to feedback
Your commitment to growth and improvement
Beyond your control:
Others' subjective evaluations
Office politics influencing the process
How the reviewer delivers feedback
Comparison with colleagues
Stoic approach:
Focus on presenting your contributions accurately and receiving feedback as valuable data rather than personal judgment. Define success as your honest self-presentation and openness to growth, not others' opinions.
Project Setbacks and Failures
Within your control:
Your analysis of what went wrong
How you communicate about the situation
What you learn from the experience
Your next actions to address the issue
Beyond your control:
Initial client/stakeholder reactions
Whether the setback affects your reputation
If others assign blame inappropriately
Unforeseen circumstances that caused problems
Stoic approach:
Focus on thorough analysis, transparent communication, and implementing lessons learned. Define success as your response to failure rather than avoiding failure altogether.
Difficult Colleagues and Office Politics
Within your control:
Your communications and behaviour
Setting and maintaining boundaries
Choosing when to engage or disengage
Your interpretation of others' actions
Beyond your control:
Others' personalities and behavior
Their perceptions and judgments
Organisational culture and dynamics
Others' relationships and alliances
Stoic approach:
Focus on maintaining your ethical standards and appropriate boundaries. Define success as responding with integrity rather than changing others or being liked by everyone.
The Long-Term Benefits of Applying Workplace Anxiety
Consistent application of the Dichotomy of Control yields several long-term benefits:
Increased Resilience
By focusing on what you can control, you build confidence in your ability to handle challenges. Each situation becomes an opportunity to exercise your agency rather than a threat to your wellbeing. Over time, this creates psychological resilience—the ability to bounce back from setbacks and maintain equilibrium during difficult periods.
Improved Decision-Making
Anxiety clouds judgment by activating our threat-response system. By reducing anxiety through proper attribution of control, you enhance your decision-making capacity. You'll make choices based on values and rational assessment rather than fear and stress responses.
Enhanced Productivity
The energy previously wasted on worrying about uncontrollable factors becomes available for productive work. Many professionals report significant productivity gains when they redirect attention from the uncontrollable to the controllable.
Better Relationships
Workplace relationships improve when you stop trying to control how others think, feel, or behave. Instead of manipulating or pleasing, you focus on bringing your best to interactions while respecting others' autonomy. This authentic approach typically leads to healthier, more sustainable professional relationships.
Greater Peace of Mind
Perhaps most importantly, applying workplace anxiety stoicism leads to greater tranquility—what the Stoics called ataraxia. This isn't a passive or detached state, but rather a dynamic equilibrium that allows for full engagement without emotional turbulence.
A Personal Journey with Workplace Anxiety
My own journey with the Dichotomy of Control began during a particularly challenging period in my career. After being promoted to a leadership position, I found myself overwhelmed by expectations, responsibilities, and the sheer volume of factors seemingly requiring my attention. My initial response was to work longer hours, obsess over every detail, and try to anticipate every possible problem. Predictably, this approach led to burnout, strained relationships, and ironically, poorer performance. The turning point came when I encountered the Dichotomy of Control in a dog-eared copy of Epictetus' writings. The distinction between what I could and couldn't control wasn't immediately revolutionary—it seemed obvious in theory. But when I actually listed my daily anxieties and sorted them into "controllable" and "uncontrollable" columns, I was shocked to discover how much mental energy I was investing in things beyond my influence. Implementing this principle wasn't easy. Old thought patterns resisted change, and the workplace culture encouraged an "everything is your responsibility" mindset. But gradually, by practicing the exercises outlined above, I developed a new approach. I began defining success differently—not by outcomes but by the quality of my decisions and actions. I stopped taking responsibility for others' choices while becoming more accountable for my own. I learned to say "That's outside my control" without feeling I was making excuses. The results weren't immediate, but over time, they were transformative. Not only did my anxiety decrease, but my effectiveness increased. By focusing my finite energy on my true sphere of influence, I accomplished more with less stress. Paradoxically, by letting go of trying to control everything, I gained more genuine impact.
Conclusion:
The Stoic Path to Workplace Calm In our achievement-oriented culture, we're often told that anxiety is the price of success—that worry, stress, and hyper-vigilance are necessary for professional advancement. The Stoics offer a powerful counterargument: true effectiveness comes not from trying to control everything, but from the wisdom to know what we can and cannot control, and the courage to act accordingly. Workplace anxiety stoicism isn't about lowering your standards or becoming indifferent to outcomes. It's about allocating your finite resources—attention, energy, time—to where they can actually make a difference. It's about working smarter rather than simply working harder. The Dichotomy of Control won't eliminate all challenges from your professional life. You'll still face difficult colleagues, high-pressure situations, and uncertain outcomes. But it will transform how you experience these challenges—from sources of anxiety to opportunities for exercising your agency and wisdom. As Epictetus reminds us: "Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens." This ancient wisdom offers a surprisingly effective path to modern workplace calm. The next time anxiety arises at work, remember: divide the situation into what you can and cannot control, invest your energy accordingly, and discover the peculiar power that comes from letting go of the illusion of total control.
"The Reluctant Stoic: A Practical Guide for Imperfect People" offers an entire chapter on applying the Dichotomy of Control to workplace challenges, with additional exercises, case studies, and implementation strategies. Available now on Amazon.
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