It cannot be denied that human being is of social nature.

In this life full of diversity, a

human is directly linked to other humans from an early age till the end of life. Social interacti

ons of each person develop in many different ways; therefore everyone needs certain social s

kills and abilities (Gedviliene, Gerviene, Pasvenskiene & Ziziene, 2014). Interactions with

others during adolescence are thought to be of principal importance for social development in

human adolescents. Nevertheless, an individual’s adolescent years can be among the most

turbulent experiences of his or her life. According to Brook and Willoughby (2015), while

others go through this transitional time successfully, others are confronted with difficulties in

both academic and psychosocial adjustment.

One psychosocial factor that may hinder social interaction in workplace is social anxi

ety, an emotional problem that often is overlooked or hidden from the casual observer (Brook

et al. 2015). Social anxiety can affect a employee’s performance in work. Specifically, if a

employee has social anxiety, the employee might not be able to complete group/individual tas

ks, feel uncomfortable asking for help in work, have fear of being the center of attention, may

lack confidence or may be hypersensitive to criticism and evaluation. Today, social anxiety, s

ocial phobia and shyness are features that every individuals of all ages might experience (Sis

man, Eleren & Yoruk, 2013).

Another important factor to consider is social competence which refers to the ability

of the individual to deal with his social environment. Employees have varying levels of social

competence, in which employees may interact differently with their co-workers, and manager

s—therefore, a possible factor in predicting their performance not only in the workplace but a

lso in their social dealings. According to Kurian and Prakasha (2016), in order to successfull

y
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interact with others and cope with the complexities, stress and expectations of modern life, it

is vital that all employees should acquire social competence.

Social anxiety was defined as a state of anxiety resulting from the prospect or presence of int

erpersonal evaluation in real or imagined social settings. He referred social anxiety as both sh

yness and social phobia and believed that Social phobia, (also known as social anxiety disord

er) is at the more extreme end of the continuum of social anxiety and “includes a collation of

symptoms which unlike shyness can vary in severity throughout one’s life”, these symptoms

are only elicited in certain social situations. In contrast, shyness while at the less severe end o

f the social anxiety continuum is more likely to be a lifelong characteristic of an individual’s t

emperament which is experienced in every social occurrence (Leary, 1983 as cited in Sisman,

Yoruk & Eleren, 2013)

Social anxiety explains that the individual who’s experiencing fear in social interactio

ns or involvements may be affected if required to participate in work activities, thus affecting

his or her social competence. Certain associations were also made in social anxiety such that

socially anxious people may be prevalent in certain people that are girls having low family in

come. In other cited research, social anxiety was found to be relatively common in girls. In a

ddition, other cited studies revealed that social competence may or may not be associated wit

h gender but may vary based on cultural environments (e.g. rural and urban places). In the sa

me manner, social competence may or may not be associated with family income but may var

y based on ethnicity or race (e.g. Latino, Whites and Blacks).

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Furthermore, negative significant relationships were found between perceived social

competence of adult and social avoidance, concern for being criticized and sense of social an

xiety symptoms predict social competence in adulthood. Finally, relevantly cited researchers

proved that social anxiety and social competence affect each other. And although both variabl

es play a significant role in an individual’s success in certain social situations, certain demogr

aphic factors were identified by the cited studies explaining that these factors are important in

determining one’s psychosocial functioning. We all know the feeling of being nervous or unc

omfortable in a social situation. Maybe you’ve clammed up when meeting someone new or g

otten sweaty palms before making a big presentation. Public speaking or walking into a room

ful of strangers isn’t exactly thrilling for everybody, but most people can get through it.

Social anxiety disorder prevents you from living your life. You’ll avoid situations that most

people consider “normal.” You might even have a hard time understanding how others can

handle them so easily. Having an anxiety disorder can make a major impact in the workplace.

People may turn down a promotion or other opportunity because it involves travel or public

speaking; make excuses to get out of office parties, staff lunches, and other events or

meetings with coworkers; or be unable to meet deadlines. Many people with social anxiety

disorder lack assertiveness and can benefit from learning to become more assertive through

self-help strategies. Practice becoming more assertive by communicating your needs in a

calm and relaxed way that respects the needs of others. Usually, this takes the form of "I"

statements such as "I feel hurt when you don't respond to my phone calls." Learning to say no

is also an important part of being assertive and a skill that most people with social anxiety

struggle with. Developing body confidence in this way will help you to become more

confident in social interactions.

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REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Social Anxiety Disorder. In Diagnostic and statisti

cal manual of mental disorders (5th ed.) (pp. 202-208). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publ

ishing.

American Psychological Association. (2015). APA dictionary of psychology (2nd ed.). Wash

ington, DC: Author.

https://magnoliafamilycounseling.com/4-ways-to-deal-with-social-anxiety-at-work/

https://www.verywellmind.com/coping-with-social-anxiety-disorder-3024836