Professional Anxiety Can Stem from Personal Comparisons
Many hard-working professionals enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after a job-well done and basking in the warm glow of well-deserved accolades.
That is, until they check their LinkedIn page to see how their success matches up to that of their peers.
For many competitive high achievers, however, once they log on, objectivity flies out the window and they feel inferior reading about how much more their peers and competitors seem to have accomplished by comparison.
Whether true or not, believing one’s own accomplishments pale in comparison to others throws a wet blanket on professional pride.
So, why do we look?
Assuming for the sake of argument that everyone else’s showcased accolades are true, there may be limited value in keeping pace with peer posting. Research explains.
Are There Imposters In Workplaces?
Ben Marder et al. (2024) in th aptly entitled, "Does LinkedIn Cause Imposter Syndrome?" examined how professional social media usage contributes to feeling inferior.
They define imposter syndrome as "feeling phony or fraudulent in the workplace," something that research reveals impacts as many as three in five workers, with one study estimating the number of affected employees as high as 82% (citing Bravata et al., 2020).
Are contemporary employees more at risk for feelings inferiority than generations past? Quite possibly, given the ease with which we can compare ourselves to others with a swipe on our phones, or a click on an app.
The truth is, that many people rely on SNS (social networking service) sites for validation, coming back hours and even days later to check on how many "likes," "thumbs up," or "shares" a post has earned.
When sharing success on professionally geared sites like LinkedIn, the poster is particularly interested not only in how many, but which professional colleagues have weighed in.
But is such interest healthy?
That Imposter Identity Online
Marder et al. (ibid.) investigated the intersection of imposter syndrome with professional social network site (SNS) usage.
Reinforced by objective self‐focused attention theory, they found that spending time on professional SNSs elevates professional self‐focused attention, which triggers imposter thoughts, resulting in negative emotions.
They note that imposter thoughts may include believing others think they are more competent than they think they are, an internal discrepancy that triggers negative emotion.
Although Marder et al. (supra) found that these effects are reduced for people with elevated levels of narcissism, because most people are not narcissistic, we take these research results seriously, not that we needed empirical corroboration for what most of us experience as a practical phenomenon.
Sites like LinkedIn are not the only SNSs that have the potential to make high achievers feel sub-par.
Depending on the industry, many professionals showcase their accomplishments on sites like Instagram and Facebook, among many others.
From public speakers to photographers, sites that specialize in showcasing visual imagery will always have something more spectacular than what a poster shares, or at least that might be the way they feel . . . every time they log on.
The Discipline of Digital Disengagement
Society’s contemporary focus on emotional health and wellness would suggest that time spent on LinkedIn and similar sites beyond professional networking is not healthy when it leads to negative emotion, feeling like our best is never good enough.
True, not everyone experiences imposter syndrome, but for those who do, a change in mindset might be in order.
Cultivating and maintaining a supportive offline social group both personally and professionally is far more edifying and encouraging than comparing oneself to professional peers, who always seem to accomplish more.
Family, friends, faith, and authentic in-person professional relationships provide a strong foundation of unconditional support that provides an objective fact check on the endless digital race to the top.
Sometimes the healthiest decision at the end of the workday is to log off.
(This column was originally published in Psychology Today, and is used with the permission of its author.)
Wendy L. Patrick, JD, MDiv, Ph.D., is an award-winning career trial attorney and media commentator. She is host of "Live with Dr. Wendy" on KCBQ, and a daily guest on other media outlets, delivering a lively mix of flash, substance, and style. Read Dr. Wendy L. Patrick's Reports — More Here.
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