But if you’ve been on the job for a while and still feel as if you can’t do anything right, despite having been hired for your expertise and experience, it may be that an inferiority complex is keeping you from peak performance. According to Nickia Lowery, a licenced professional counselor with Optimum Purpose Counseling and Education in Lawrenceville, Georgia, some of the ways that the persistent, irrational signs of inferiority complex might pop up at work include:

Worrying that you’re less competent than your coworkersConstantly questioning your skills — and thinking that others are questioning them, tooAvoiding taking on new projects for fear of failureFrequently feeling reactive or combative, especially when hearing feedback or criticism

While lingering self-doubt may indicate it would be wise to work with a therapist to understand why you feel this way and how you can move forward with more confidence, there are steps you can take on your own to curtail any feelings of insecurity and increase your happiness and performance at work, says Leigh Johnson-Migalski, PsyD, clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychology at Adler University in Chicago. “Inferiority feelings happen when we don’t know how to fix a situation,” she explains. To start fixing the situation:

  1. Use comparisons as inspiration. It’s quite natural to compare yourself with your coworkers, says Dr. Johnson-Migalski. After all, healthy competition can cause us to work harder and fuel success. But frequently measuring yourself against others to the point that you feel envious, anxious, and frustrated is a recipe for misery. It’s also a waste of time and energy that would be better invested in doing the best job possible, so that you both showcase your abilities and enhance your self-worth. It’s also helpful to turn those comparisons inward by comparing yourself with you, says Lowery. “Tell yourself that you wouldn’t have been hired if the company didn’t feel you were competent. Focus on your strengths to reassure yourself. This can help you to restructure that mindset. Also, if there’s something you feel you can improve on, make that your own goal. Be proactive about taking steps to improve in that area.”
  2. Do frequent reality checks. People with an inferiority complex tend to immediately blame themselves when problems arise at work, but often the work environment is the real culprit, Johnson-Migalski notes. So when you catch yourself thinking negatively about yourself at work, ask, “Do I need to make changes myself, or do I need to look for ways to make changes in the environment around me?” For instance, imagine you notice that during brainstorming meetings your ideas are repeatedly attributed to other people. You could drag your self-confidence down by thinking, “I’m so unimportant no one pays attention to me.” Or you could do a reality check with your coworkers by asking, “Does this happen to you?” If they say yes, Johnson-Migalski notes, you can take action together. “You and your peers might decide to support one another by commenting ‘nice idea’ in future meetings to ensure the focus is on who really deserves credit.”
  3. Act on evidence, not emotions. Are your insecure feeling a reaction to a real problem, one that you’re getting direct feedback about with concrete examples? Or are you responding to what you assume other people are thinking or to whispered gossip you might be misinterpreting or that isn’t a true reflection of a particular situation? Lowery’s advice: Talk to a trusted coworker or a friend outside the office to get their feedback. “We all have our own perceptions, and it’s always good to have that feedback to make a good self-evaluation.”
  4. Spend more time with positive coworkers. Being around supportive, positive people reminds you of how you’re supposed to treat yourself, Lowery says. Don’t waste time on colleagues who undermine you, don’t listen when you speak, or don’t make you feel accomplished and accepted.