Breaking the Silence: Talking About Anxiety in Business

Anxiety is everywhere in business, but it’s rarely talked about. I see it every day, I experience it every day. As entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals we carry enormous responsibilities, we manage risk, navigate uncertainty, many of us lead teams, and we always, always wear multiple hats… often while juggling how to wear them at the same time. Yet in a culture that prizes confidence and decisiveness, we also feel the pressure to push our anxiety aside or even worse, pretend it doesn’t exist.

The truth is, anxiety isn’t unusual. It’s human. And silence around it is costing us, not only in our personal well-being but in the performance of our businesses and the corporate culture we create.

I am originally from Germany and talking about emotions, especially in a professional environment, is not something comes naturally to me (and writing articles about it openly is a stretch for me, but I do believe in the importance of this conversation). It has taken me a long time to learn that talking about emotions doesn’t equal weakness. Today I study emotions and behaviours (literally, I am in the midst of pursuing my Masters in this field), and here is what I know to be true: embracing emotional intelligence in business isn’t a soft and fluffy skill, it leads to hard results. And yes, anxiety is an emotion, so let’s talk about it openly.

Anxiety Is More Common Than We Think

We sometimes imagine anxiety as something that affects “other people”, but the reality tells a different story. Data shows that 25.1% of Canadians experience moderate to severe anxiety¹ and 28% report that their mental health affects their daily lives².

For entrepreneurs and business leaders, the stakes are often even higher. Research shows that entrepreneurs experience greater levels of anxiety compared to the general population, largely due to uncertainty, workload, and personal financial risk³. Add to that the cultural expectation to appear in control, and it’s no wonder many keep their struggles hidden.

Why Anxiety Thrives in Silence

Anxiety itself isn’t the problem. The problem is silence.

In business, there’s an unspoken rule: leaders should always be confident, collected, and “on”. Admitting to anxiety can feel like admitting to weakness. This stigma drives people underground, where anxiety worsens in isolation. This can often lead to unhealthy, but ‘socially acceptable’ coping behaviours, such increased consumption of alcohol or drug misuse to ‘not feel’ so anxious⁴.

The paradox is that anxiety thrives in the very environment we create by refusing to acknowledge it. Suppressing it doesn’t make it go away, in fact, research shows that attempts to suppress emotions can backfire, making them more intense and harder to regulate⁵.

For entrepreneurs and professionals, this silence can also spill over into their organizations. Leaders set the tone. If a leader feels they can’t acknowledge or work with their own anxiety, that culture of suppression can ripple through the workplace. Studies have shown that leaders’ emotional states influence team climates, and suppressed emotions don’t stay hidden; they leak out⁶.

Reframing Anxiety

If anxiety is so common, why not embrace it as part of the landscape rather than an intruder? From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety is simply our body’s built-in alarm system. It exists to scan for threats and prepare us to act⁷.

Of course, in modern business we’re not facing physical predators, but our brains still respond to uncertainty in deadlines, client meetings, and market volatility as if they were life-or-death situations. Understanding this reframes anxiety: it isn’t a flaw, it’s a signal. It shows up when something matters, when stakes are high, or when uncertainty looms.

The goal isn’t to erase anxiety but to work with it; to recognize it as information rather than as an enemy.

Emotional Intelligence: A Framework for Navigating Anxiety

This is where emotional intelligence (EQ) becomes practical. EQ is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions, in ourselves and in others. When it comes to anxiety, emotional intelligence offers three powerful steps:

1. Awareness: Notice anxiety without judgment. Instead of telling yourself, “I shouldn’t feel this way,” try acknowledging, “I’m feeling anxious right now.” Research shows that simply labelling emotions reduces their intensity by dampening activity in the brain’s fear centres ⁸.
2. Understanding: Explore what’s driving the anxiety. Is it fear of failure? A lack of clarity? Needing to do something that makes you unconformable? By pinpointing the source, you move from uncertainty and vague unease to actionable insight.
3. Management: Respond in constructive ways. This could mean reframing anxious thoughts into motivating ones, grounding yourself with breathing techniques, or seeking support from a mentor or peer rather than isolating.

Through EQ, anxiety stops being something that controls you and becomes something you can navigate.

Practical Actions for Entrepreneurs and Professionals

Here are a few evidence-backed strategies to bring this into daily business life:

• Model honesty in small ways: Anxiety doesn’t need a dramatic announcement. Even saying, “I’m a bit nervous about this pitch because it matters” can normalize the experience for yourself and others.
• Label, don’t suppress: Putting feelings into words reduces their intensity⁹.
• Reframe stress as energy: Viewing anxiety as your body gearing up to meet a challenge can reduce its negative impact ¹⁰.
• Anchor decisions in values: Anxiety thrives on uncertainty. Grounding choices in your values can restore clarity when outcomes feel unpredictable.
• Create support moments: Whether it’s with a mentor, coach, or trusted peer, sharing experiences reduces shame and helps break the silence.

Final Thoughts

Anxiety will always be part of us, and our businesses, it’s built into the risk, responsibility, and constant change that entrepreneurship and professional life demand. But silence doesn’t serve us. When we pretend anxiety isn’t there, we not only isolate ourselves but also reinforce a culture where no one feels safe admitting what they’re going through.

Breaking the silence doesn’t mean airing every worry, or being stuck in it. It means normalizing the reality that anxiety is part of being human, part of caring about outcomes, and part of growth.

With emotional intelligence, we can move from seeing anxiety as a private weakness to embracing it as a shared human experience. And when we do, both people and businesses thrive.

I am ready for the conversation, join me.

Alexandra

Alexandra Krieger is a business and emotional intelligence coach, helping entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals lead with clarity, confidence, and emotional intelligence.

 

The Science Behind The Article

1. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (n.d.). Anxiety, Feelings of Depression and Loneliness Among Canadians Spikes to Highest Levels Since Spring 2020. ↩︎
2. Mental Health Research Canada. (n.d.). Key Facts on Mental Health. ↩︎
3. Stephan, U. (2018). ‘Entrepreneurs’ mental health and well-being: A review and research agenda’. Academy of Management Perspectives, 32(3) pp.290–322. ↩︎
4. Patzelt, H., Shepherd, D.A., 2011. ‘Negative emotions of an entrepreneurial career: Self-employment and regulatory coping behaviors’. Journal of Business Venturing 26 pp. 226–238. ↩︎
5. Gross, J. & John, O. (2003). ‘Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2) pp.348–362. ↩︎
6. Barsade, S. & O’Neill, O. (2014). ‘What’s love got to do with it? The influence of a culture of companionate love in the long-term care setting’. Administrative Science Quarterly, 59(4) pp.551–598. ↩︎
7. Öhman, A. (2008). ‘Fear and anxiety: Overlaps and dissociations’. In Handbook of Emotions, 3rd edn. pp.709–729. New York: Guilford Press. ↩︎
8. Lieberman, M., Eisenberger, N., Crockett, M., Tom, S., Pfeifer, J. & Way, B. (2007). ‘Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli’. Psychological Science, 18(5) pp.421–428. ↩︎
9. Lieberman, M., Eisenberger, N., Crockett, M., Tom, S., Pfeifer, J. & Way, B. (2007). ‘Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli’. Psychological Science, 18(5) pp.421–428. ↩︎
10. Jamieson, J., Nock, M. & Mendes, W. (2012). ‘Mind over matter: Reappraising arousal improves cardiovascular and cognitive responses to stress’. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141(3) pp.417–422. ↩︎