Imposter syndrome can be a very lonely and isolating experience. Most people experience it at some point in their lives, with its impact ranging from constant self-doubt and negative self-talk to lowered productivity, overwork and at the extreme end of the scale, burnout. For women and parents in particular imposter syndrome (and the feelings of self-doubt that come with it) can be an underlying reason for having an unhealthy work-life balance.

What is imposter syndrome?

Imposter syndrome is a negative thought pattern characterised by feelings of a deep sense of self-doubt and fear of being exposed as not good enough. If left unchecked, it can be harmful to the mental health, job satisfaction and morale of your employees.

How can employee imposter syndrome be combated?

As part of the Bubble For Work wellbeing offering, therapist and confidence coach Yasmina Hedhli led an interactive workshop with working parents and other beneficiaries on overcoming imposter syndrome. During this information-packed session, she covered five ways in which imposter syndrome can present itself in one’s work style:

• The perfectionist
• The super person
• The natural genius
• The soloist
• The expert

Fear of being seen as a failure can stop employees from asking for help, suggesting brilliant new ideas, or even setting boundaries and falling into patterns of overwork. These feelings of imposter syndrome can keep parents and women from owning their work accomplishments and going for that promotion they deserve—taking a toll on both their career satisfaction and mental health.

Here are some tips you can share with your employees on how to overcome imposter syndrome:

• Be proud of your achievements. Avoid deflecting praise or attributing your work wins to things outside of yourself
• Focus on what’s going well for you. Stop defining success and failure based on what everyone else is doing. Instead hone in on what you want and set realistic standards for yourself (not based on social media)
• Don’t be afraid to put your needs first. Your needs matter – stop putting yourself and your own needs last. You are worthy of good things and caring for yourself isn’t just a nice thing to do, it’s essential to your ability to show up at work and at home as your best possible self.
• Prioritise self care and your mental health. When something doesn’t go perfectly focus on the 90% that went well and don’t allow that other 10% to overshadow those positive feelings. Your mind responds to the thoughts and actions you feed it, so regularly practice self-care.

Imposter syndrome can be triggered by a range of personal and professional experiences from fea of negative stereotyping to there being less people who look like them in senior leadership positions. As beneficial as wellbeing tools and programmes can be, steps must also be taken at an organisational level to foster an inclusive work environment that brings the best out of every employee, regardless of identity.

Bubble For Work is transforming the world of work with its one-of-a-kind inclusive wellbeing, health and family support platform. Visit here to learn more about Bubble For Work’s wellbeing and Working Parent Club offering and schedule your demo today.