Councilors and therapists have named this a phenomenon that has been effecting workforces and especially women all around the world, called – Imposter Syndrome. This is how it's defined:

‘A collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. ‘Imposters’ suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence’

The facts more notable in the above description is how inverted the relationship of professional success is to the feeling of inadequacy. Be that intellectually, through work promotions or even day to day activities, the imposter syndrome conditions one to feel like a fraud, not deserving of any accolade in the workspace. With findings from @Instant Offices, here are the top four causes of self-doubt at work according to their survey:

  • Self-generated doubt: 38%
  • Being criticized: 23%
  • Having to ask for help: 20%
  • Self-comparisons to high achieving colleagues: 16%

Why is this syndrome prevalent and why does it mean for workspace moral? Not just for employees, this mental condition also affects entrepreneurs and business owners alike. In the current workspace dynamics, women are often made to feel like they need to choose – family or career, personal or professional, marriage or promotions and so on. With such intense conflicts present in a young women’s mind, any sense of career advancement or progress comes with a pinch of salt. This intensifies and manifests itself as the imposter syndrome – where women in the workplace start feeling like shadows of their true self.

With that in mind, here are a few ways in which one can resist spirals toward the syndrome, that can not only cause unproductivity at the workplace but also mayhem in your personal life.

1. Be respectful of your choices and worth:

Detractors and people who want to push you down may be a part of your life now and then – learn to stand by your choices in life and use it as a shield. Surround yourself with people who will support your decisions – remember, we can be our own biggest detractors! The reason for success is often a lot of hard work and dedication, thereby ensure that the journey is celebrated everyday with pride!

2. Accept Praise:

A challenging yet important proposition is to accept praise. Not only does praise provide professional credit and add to your experience, being gracious about accepting praise from your boss or superior affirms to oneself about their self-worth – single-handedly the biggest deterrent of imposter syndrome. So go on, pat yourself on the back and celebrate your achievements to build up your self-worth.

3. Aim to overachieve, but don’t be an over-achiever.

A lot of people plagued with imposter syndrome are perfectionists. This does not apply to work alone – perfectionism is often misconstrued social behavior – such as being the happiest co-worker, keeping everything perfect at the cost of lagging behind work etc. Don’t miss out on a lot of opportunities to grow and learn by trying to perfect something that you’re pretty good with anyway! Self-assessment and critique are often very helpful.