Working from home saw many businesses being innovative and creating a completely flexible approach to working. With the lack of face-to-face communication and social interaction, employees working from home have been experiencing feelings of imposter syndrome more than ever. This is something that everyone should be mindful about and understand that it is just a reflection of the circumstances rather than being deep rooted in your ability.
A useful way of dealing with imposter syndrome is by ensuring there is total transparency on what is expected from you. People with imposter syndrome will shy away from asking questions to ensure they are not tarnishing their reputation for being perceived as someone who requires more help than others. But this thought holds no substance. Ensuring that you know the deadline and thorough aim of what you are working on is a fundamental element to ensure you feel you have covered everything that has been asked. It will give you a more rounded approach to your work and remove those feelings of imposter syndrome as you know you don’t have any underlying queries you feel would have enhanced your ability further. Even premature thoughts such as ‘am I on the right track?’ have complete credibility and you will feel more encouraged and supported from your team moving forward.
Another way of feeling supported and secure in your role is through liaising with your fellow staff members. Although there is a detached feeling which stems from working from home, there are still an array of methods to connect and develop yourself with the help of your colleagues. Creating regular meetings via Teams or Zoom is an effective way of discussing a particular project at work and discussing and overcoming any concerns together. Sometimes the way that someone else approaches a particular task is useful to consider and build on in future and lessens the feelings of imposter syndrome knowing someone else works in the same manner as you.
A very common feature of imposter syndrome is comparing where people are in their journey to where you are in yours. Most of the time it is completely incomparable as not everyone you work with is in the same role. Therefore, another useful way of battling imposter syndrome is by having an understanding as to how your individual success is measured. Approaching your line manager and having an informal conversation about the ways that your work is measured will help you understand what they deem as valuable in your role and what you should not even be worrying about.
Imposter syndrome is a difficult feeling to shift. However, knowing the ways that you can help ease this and overcome it even a little bit at a time will help create you be more positive towards yourself and remind you of your importance in your role.