Anxiety’s Role in Work and Life Outcomes
Presented by
Ralph Mortensen, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
Senior Consultant, Vantage Leadership Consulting
Rollo May asserts in his seminal book, The Meaning of Anxiety, “Anxiety is essential to the human condition.” Yet psychologists have long known that anxiety above a certain threshold can have many detrimental effects on our performance and on our lives.
This presentation briefly describes the nature of anxiety. We then will review what large-scale empirical research tells us about the dimensions of anxiety and examine its general demographic patterns. Next, we will explore how anxiety is tied to various work outcomes such as performance and job satisfaction. Finally, we will address some of anxiety’s links to life satisfaction and to relationships. We will conclude with a conversation about the implications of these findings.
Ralph Mortensen is a Senior Consultant with Vantage Leadership Consulting, a Chicago-based firm that specializes in Strategic Talent Management. Dr. Mortensen has had a diverse career in consulting, human resources, university teaching and psychological test publishing. Much of his 25+ year consulting history has involved assessing senior level job candidates, including for most C-suite roles. He also has a long track record of contributing to clients’ senior talent reviews, executive coaching, team development, organizational audits and training. Dr. Mortensen has consulted with more than 80 privately held and public firms in many industry sectors. Examples of his clients are Best Buy, NASA, Lear Corporation, Tennessee Valley Authority Nuclear Division, Dow Corning Corporation, BP, Volkswagen of America, Wendy’s, Royal Bank of Scotland, Steelcase, Motorola, Barbados Light and Power, Holcim and Lennox International. Dr. Mortensen completed his B.A., Magna Cum Laude, at Adrian College in Michigan and a M.A. at Central Michigan University. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit. Licensed in Ohio and Virginia, he is president of the American Board of Organizational and Business Consulting Psychology, which nationally certifies practitioners.
