It has probably happened to you too. You are at home on a Friday night, on the sofa relaxing with a good book in your hands or with a glass of red wine while watching an episode of your favourite TV series. You take your phone and scroll through your feed and notice that friends, colleagues and family are somewhere having fun, dancing and sharing their time on social. How did you feel on occasions like this? Many people feel a sense of anxiety, inadequacy, the realisation that they have missed the opportunity to have the best night ever. Has this ever happened to you?0
This is exactly what FoMO (fear of missing out) is, a term introduced in 2004 to describe a phenomenon observed mainly as a result of the popularity of social networks. This phenomenon includes two main situations.
The first is the perception of ‘being cut off’ and the second is the compulsive behaviour of maintaining social connections with who and what arouses our sense of inadequacy.
These situations, initially attributed to social networks, have recently been observed in the working world as well. In professional life, constantly doubting one’s own position, the choices made and envying other people’s careers has a negative impact on our mental health, performance, satisfaction and overall well-being.
What are the main consequences of this phenomenon in the workplace?
- We feel inadequate and our self-esteem is lowered
- To counterbalance point one, we try to have a superhero/heroine attitude to gain the respect and admiration of others
- Performance level tends to drop
- We are inclined to always say “yes” to requests from managers, co-workers and colleagues
- We start doing many tasks and risk completing only a few of them
What one observes is therefore a great sense of emotional and operational instability. Forbes, in an article dedicated to this topic, advises readers to ask themselves some specific questions to understand whether the FoMO phenomenon has an impact on them. Here are some of them:
- Do you often have doubts about your career path when you visit certain profiles online on Linkedin that you hear about or read about on blogs?
- Do you say yes to every single job opportunity that arises, justifying yourself by saying that it could be a potential ‘great opportunity’?
- Do you often feel excluded when you are not involved in a meeting or consulted on a decision?
- If you are unable to attend a conference or event, are you anxious about not making valuable meetings that could take your career to the next level?
At this point, it is essential to look at solutions to counter and overcome this phenomenon that is so impactful and so common in today’s society. In recent years, in fact, we are also beginning to talk about JoMO (joy of missing out), the perfect antithesis of FoMO. By JoMO specifically, we mean a process of personal growth that leads us to be aware of our present, to be able to appreciate and live by building our own path.
So how is it possible to develop and direct our attitude towards this opposite process?
- Identifying priorities: i.e. understanding what is really important to us, being aware of what we want to do, what kind of career we want to pursue and how we live our everyday life
- Living in the moment: knowing how to live experiences, moments, meetings and days in a conscious way, where our intentions and actions are in harmony with each other
- Knowing how to say no, without guilt: once we have identified our priorities, it will be easier to say no, to delegate more, to lead a team or an employee towards common goals
- Getting out of the hyper-connected world: i.e. closing social apps, turning off notifications, getting in touch with nature and knowing how to give time to ourselves without guilt or fear of missing opportunities beyond our control
- Perceiving time in our favour: organise the activities that require your utmost concentration and always leave space for hobbies, passions, exercise, and the people who are important to you.
Working on one’s professional life and adjusting our approach towards the ‘Joy of Missing Out’ at the expense of the ‘Fear of Missing Out’ will have positive consequences on every other aspect of personal life.
Balance, awareness and harmony must be placed at the basis of our needs today more than ever. In a hyper-connected, frenetic, competitive, and often dissonant world, knowing how to take care of oneself and one’s time becomes the highest and most revolutionary act of kindness.
Martina Dalla Vedova
Marketing Manager
Hospite – The Italian Hospitality Academy