Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/975483
maltatoday, SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2018 II Careers IT'S a feeling many of us have had at some point when scroll- ing through Facebook. One friend is travelling the world. Another is at a festival. And one has scored a promotion and climbed even further up the career ladder. FOMO, or fear of missing out, is the worry that everyone else is having more fun, more success and generally more rewarding experiences than you. We know it affects our social lives, which is why we say yes to going out when we want to stay in, or endlessly check social me- dia so we're kept "in the loop". But FOMO is impacting our work lives, too – and it has the potential to reduce our job sat- isfaction and overall happiness, while leaving us burned out. Erin, 30, works in publish- ing and often heads to evening events which stretch into the early hours of the morning. The opportunity to network with bosses puts pressure on her to stay out late – and competition in the industry means she fears saying no will lead her to miss out on promotions. "Because of the nature of my job, there are a number of events outside of work that I feel compelled to attend, like book signings, dinners and drinks events," she says. Erin, like many others, suffers from career FOMO. It manifests itself in a number of differ- ent ways – from taking on too much, to endlessly worrying about being in the wrong pro- fession because other people's jobs seem so more impressive. "FOMO is to do with how we compare ourselves to others and, importantly at work, how we think other people com- pare us to others," says Karen Meager, a psychotherapist who co-founded Monkey Puzzle Training & Consultancy. "People assume – sometimes correctly – that if they are not present at that meeting, or staying late at that social event, then they will be overlooked or forgotten, or other people will undermine them in some way." FOMO is even more un- derstandable because we can all point to a situation where someone else got a promotion or better recognition because they were in the right place at the right time, Meager says. Unsurprisingly, social media plays a key part, too. A 2015 study by the Australian Psychol- ogy Society found that FOMO triggered by high levels of social media use can lead to mental health problems, such as anxi- ety. Career FOMO is difficult to shake off, but it can be toxic. It can lead people to avoid taking time off when it's needed, and this can cause health problems, such as stress and, again, anxi- ety. Those with FOMO might be tempted to overwork, disrupt- ing their work-life balance and impacting their relationships. Ironically, spreading yourself too thin can take its toll on your work, too. Kat, a 31-year-old writer, says career FOMO directly affected her mental wellbeing. "I've defi- nitely found myself stressing out after seeing other friends getting ahead, particularly in the world of freelancing. I watched their careers racing ahead of mine, and saw them getting published in bigger and better outlets," she says. "It made me feel anxious that I'm not as good at them. In my lowest moments it's made me doubt my own skills, given me a bout of depression, and even consider giving up my writing career altogether." Luckily, it's not all bad news. If you're struggling with career FOMO, there are some steps you can take to tackle it. It's worth noting that people on social media mainly post about positive experiences, rather than negative ones, so you rarely get the full picture. The colleague with the promo- tion will rarely brag about being landed with more paperwork and being stuck in the office until 8pm. It's also crucial to research as much as possible to find out what the work, meeting or event is about, who is going and what the real – not perceived – op- portunities are. For Erin, beating FOMO means saying no when necessary and not dwelling on it. "It's difficult to come in the next day and have people talking about how great the party was, or how much they spoke with a director, or discussed a new work initiative after hours," she says. "You really just need to suck it up and tell yourself it doesn't matter – because you can't be at everything and it isn't worth sacrificing your health just to be present at every function." What is career FOMO and how can we reclaim our work-life balance?