Stressed businesswoman holding head in busy office
Feeling anxious during your probation period is totally normal (Picture: Getty)

Spilled a coffee over your new work laptop or accidentally CC’d the CEO into an email thread? Take a deep breath, no probation period is without a few hiccups.

Starting a job is stressful, no matter how kind or welcoming your team may be, and it’s totally normal to experience some work-related anxiety.

But just because it’s to be expected doesn’t make the feeling of limbo any easier to cope with. And with the state of the world right now, job paranoia is crippling thousands of employees.

Career coach Hannah Salton tells Metro the reason we’re on high alert during probation is because it’s essentially ‘a test, like you’re constantly being evaluated.’

‘You can’t help but worry, “Am I good enough for this role?”‘ she explains. ‘In some ways, it feels like an extended interview that lasts several months’.

While probation anxiety spans generations, Gen Z do tend to experience heightened levels of it, reporting more than double the rate of psychological distress than their Millennial and Gen X counterparts.

When it comes to work specifically, 56% of graduates say they don’t feel ready or equipped for the job market, while another study found that 98% of young people are dealing with symptoms of burnout – despite being on the early rungs of the career ladder.

And the steady stream of headlines bemoaning them for being difficult to work with, lazy, or just generally ruining the workplace probably don’t help either.

Overhead view of design team having project meeting in office
Gen Z tend to experience high levels of job-related stress (Picture: Getty)

‘Gen Z has come into the workforce at a difficult time where most of the work is remote based, job insecurity has increased, and the economy is unstable,’ Connar Walford, student success lead at targetjobs tells Metro. ‘These all worsen anxieties around proving yourself.’

It’s also down to the younger generation’s desire for ‘belonging, feedback, and values purpose’ in their jobs – all things which can be uncertain in those first months after starting.

Think about the state of the world right now. The UK job market is a mess, with youth unemployment now at 14.5%, while social media is filled with stories from young people sending off hundreds of job applications and being met with stony silence or long-winded excuses.

So when you finally do manage to get a job, it’s understandable you might be pulling your hair out at the thought of doing anything that could jeopardise it.

But just because nerves are normal, doesn’t mean living in fear (at least until your permanent contract is signed) is. In fact, according to Hannah,spiralling out over your probation only makes it all worse.

‘Don’t get paranoid,’ she says. ‘It’s easy to overthink every bit of feedback, but that only adds pressure.’

I’m drowning in probation anxiety…

One 26-year-old working in local government in London shared his experience of this on Reddit recently, explaining how he’d had to take three weeks off work after a health issue, which meant his probation period was extended by two months, leaving him extremely anxious.

He admitted to making some ‘silly mistakes’, but claimed the stress had become so bad that he felt the need to reach out and ask for help.

‘I’m completely consumed by this job and the fear that my probation review will just be a rejection,’ he wrote in the post.

‘I latch onto negative feedback way more than positive, and right now I’m convinced I’m messing everything up even though logically I know a 30-minute fix isn’t a disaster and a two-week delay with slow stakeholder feedback isn’t entirely my fault.’

In a viral LinkedIn post, business growth specialist Jenny Moutou highlights how common imposter syndrome is among staff starting out in a new job – and notes how the cycle of self-doubt and failure can be ‘shaped by the environment they walk into.’

‘When leadership norms, decision-making frameworks, and systems of advancement are built within outdated or biased paradigms, they don’t just affect the people at the top – they trickle down,’ she says. ‘They shape culture, perception, and behaviour at every level of the organisation.’

What you SHOULD do during your probation period

Fuelling your paranoia is a definite no. However, career coach Hannah Salton urges new starters to remember these two things when navigating their probation period:

Be proactive. If you have capacity, seek out additional work or offer to help on projects. A manager once told me, ‘ask for forgiveness rather than permission’ – which sounded scary at the time, but it taught me that initiative is often valued more than hesitation.

Ask questions. Some people worry that asking too much will make them look inexperienced, but it actually shows engagement and a willingness to learn. Just make sure your questions are thoughtful and show you’re trying to understand the bigger picture.

If you’re struggling with probation anxiety, coach Hannah says it’s vital to break this cycle by addressing concerns head on.

‘Keep the communication open with your manager – ask what’s going well and what you could be doing more of,’ she explains. ‘That clarity can create trust and make a huge difference to you feeling confident and secure in your role.’

If your employer is worth their salt, they’ll ‘provide the support and training you need to succeed.’ And if they don’t, it’s ‘a sign that the environment might not be the right fit for you anyway.’

Tripping over a cable or making an honest mistake should not result in you failing your probation period, so try to avoid jumping to worst case scenarios every time something isn’t perfect. Getting caught slagging off the CEO in the loos might be justifiable cause for worry – otherwise, you’re probably being needlessly hard on yourself.

Probation is a two-way street

Since environment can make or break a worker’s probation period, Hannah says managers should be careful in how they approach new starters.

‘Be transparent about expectations from day one and encourage open, two-way communication,’ she recommends, along with offering specific feedback describing their strengths and where they can grow beyond the boilerplate ‘you’re doing great’.

‘Check in regularly, celebrate progress, and make it clear that probation is about development, not constant evaluation,’ Hannah adds.

Arrow
MORE: This is what happens to your body if you get less than six hours of sleep a night

Arrow
MORE: I woke up after my wedding and couldn’t see — I’m only 28 but I feel 90

Arrow
MORE: We started selling coffee from our garden, now our business makes £500,000 a year