Anderson-Fye says people with social anxiety tend to thrive in workplaces with flexible options, such as remote or hybrid set-ups. Although there’s little hard data on how people with social anxiety coped during lockdown, she notes she’s heard countless stories of sufferers blossoming when working remotely – both in terms of wellbeing and job performance – and argues offering a flexible approach to in-person and remote working that allows for different types of interaction is the best way to accommodate human and mental diversity.
This is an idea echoed by Vanessa Matsis-McCready, the associate general counsel at HR consultancy Engage. She points out that in many countries, mental-health concerns including social anxiety could require reasonable accommodation by law, and so it’s important for employers to consider how they can support sufferers by providing mental health assistance or flexible models of work.
But even if an employer is understanding, requesting extra accommodation can be complicated. For one, people with social anxiety will almost certainly choose to work remotely as much as possible. Because many mental-health professionals recommend that fears such as social anxiety are best treated with exposure, this could only exacerbate people’s fears about being in the office, creating deeper divides between themselves and their colleagues.
There’s also the problem of requesting flexible work in the first place. When a person is already worried about how other people perceive them, going against the grain when others are choosing to head back to the office or disclosing a mental health condition can be even more anxiety-inducing.
“I don’t think that my workplace has taken into account mental health when asking for a return to the office,” says Meg. “Even when flexible working is available, people are encouraged to come back by management. It makes it even more awkward if everyone else is returning, but you don’t want to.”
A vicious cycle of anxiety
For both Alexis and Meg, the future is still uncertain as to how they’ll manage their social anxiety when returning to the office.
Meg remains optimistic – her experience has prompted her to start her own mental-health consultancy on the side, working with schools and universities to provide support for teenagers and students. She hopes the pandemic will prompt workplaces to realise they can build community and culture without demanding a return to the office.
But Alexis remains worried. She has been offered hybrid working, but fears that this is just a step on the way to a full-time return. “I believe that my company has this idea that they have a work culture, and that they want to return in order to build this culture,” she says. “They want us to engage more with our co-workers, but I don’t want to make friends with my co-workers on the level that they suggest.”
For people like Alexis, a return to the …….