How can individuals manage customer service anxiety?
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This post answer: How can individuals manage customer service anxiety? What is Anxiety? What are the signs and symptoms of anxiety?
How can individuals manage customer service anxiety?
Some ways in which individuals working as customer service agents can manage their anxiety are:
Notice the symptoms
The first step to managing one’s anxiety is to recognize and acknowledge the symptoms associated with this particular mental health condition. When individuals are aware of their symptoms it becomes easier for them to tackle them at an earlier stage before it gets very overwhelming.
Some symptoms that the customer service agent can keep a lookout for are:
- Increased heart rate
- High levels of fatigue
- Stomach upset
- Sweating
- Trembling
Take deep breaths
Individuals experience anxiety due to various reasons. Many reports have indicated that taking in deep breaths can be significantly helpful in such situations. Taking deep breaths helps individuals to calm down as the heartbeat lowers that usually spikes due to a sense of threat or fear.
The customer service agent can try and inhale and exhale with guided counting either by themselves or use a particular app that helps them get through this more smoothly within a short period. One technique that is suggested by many yogis is called Equal breathing where individuals inhale through their nose to the count of four and then exhale through then noes to the count of four to calm down and experience a sense of control.
Don’t take customer encounters personally
Being a customer service agent can be very overwhelming due to the interactions with some negative customers. Many individuals experience a sense of anxiety in such situations as they take it personally.
However, individuals must remind themselves that this is something that is related to this service that the customer is using and it is not under their control and they must avoid taking any negative experiences or comments by the customer personally.
Try to get to the root of the problem
Many times individuals experience high levels of anxiety as customer service agents due to underlying reasons that they are unaware of. In such situations, individuals must try and consciously reflect upon what could be the possible reasons that are accelerating their symptoms of anxiety.
This can be done by either making a note of things that are disturbing them or seeking professional help where a therapist helps them through a guided process to regulate their emotions and identify the possible triggers that are unknown.
Both good and bad
Avoiding negative experiences as a customer service agent is inevitable. In such situations, customer service agents must keep in mind that while looking at the negatives they also have to look back on the positives.
Looking back on the positives can act as a source of motivation to individuals and lower the stress and anxiety that they experienced due to some bad experiences in the present. This also helps them to remind their potential and strengths the idea of which can be distorted due to anxiety.
Take breaks
What many individuals do not realize is a healthy balance between work and life. Customer service agents can spend close to 12 to 15 hours on duty which might be mentally and physically exhausting. This also leaves them with no time to spend with their families and result in disturbed relationships. With stress at work and difficult relationships at home, things become very overwhelming for many individuals.
To avoid reaching the peak of anxiety attack individuals must try and balance out their work and personal life to experience a sense of satisfaction and belongingness that plays a major role in an individual’s mental well-being.
Focus on self-care
In the process of meeting up with the work-based targets, individuals fail to focus on their self-care and fall into a bad lifestyle such as unhealthy food habits, lack of sufficient sleep, and exercise. Though the impact of this is not seen immediately it gradually shows up in individuals’ productivity and satisfaction impacting an individual’s mental well-being.
To avoid experiencing stress with very little pressure individuals must try and take care of themselves by eating clean and getting sufficient sleep and exercise which helps them feel fit and capable of fighting both mental and physical challenges.
Take the help of a therapist
In extreme cases where individuals are experiencing difficulties with keeping up to the work standards and also finding it difficult to maintain relationships at home individuals must realize that they must seek professional help from a therapist who can guide them through a therapeutic process that helps to regulate their emotions, understand them and also work towards making them favorable.
What is Anxiety?
Problems and resulting stress are usually accompanied by some common emotions like confusion, feeling at the edge, a sense of helplessness, and recurrent negative thoughts which can collectively be seen as an individual experiencing what’s commonly called Anxiety.
Every human has their unique ways of dealing with these difficult situations and the following emotions, some try to adapt to the circumstances and find the best and most comfortable solution while others try to find an escape route for the same, in both cases the main aim is usually to get over the uncomfortable emotions of anxiety.
What are the signs and symptoms of anxiety?
Anxiety is characterized by a set of signs and symptoms such as:
- Sweating
- Difficulty in breathing
- Shortness of breath
- Sense of choking
- Complaints of chest pain
- Shaking or trembling
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness or Lightheadedness
- Fear of losing control over oneself and their environment
- Fear of impending doom
- Hot or cold flashes
- Tingling or numbness
- Increased heart rate
These symptoms vary in severity from person to person. However, it is noted that many people experience anxiety attacks that are not significantly displayed.
Conclusion
Certain job roles like customer service agents can be more vulnerable to experiencing anxiety than others. However, individuals must identify, acknowledge and also find ways to deal with their anxieties before it starts impacting their work and personal life significantly.
Frequently asked questions: How can individuals manage customer service anxiety?
Why does customer service give me anxiety?
Customer service can be stressful and anxiety-provoking for many individuals due to various personal and environmental reasons that they are sometimes not even aware of.
Why is customer service so difficult?
The challenges with the products and supply chains might make it difficult for service agents to keep up to their word and provide services to the customers.
How can individuals handle customer service anxiety?
One of the most important ways by which individuals can deal with customer service in society is to prioritize empathizing rather than sympathizing.
Why excellent customer service is so rare?
People might complain about not getting good customer service experiences due to the lack of reinforcement given to the customer service agents by their workers in the form of rewards.
Why is customer service so important?
Providing customer service can help improve a company’s sales opportunities and a way to keep growing positively.
Citation
Take Control of Your Anxiety Today: Personalized Counseling with BetterHelp
