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Attachment styles can shape how we handle stress and relationships at work.

Secure attachment is linked with lower burnout and job stress.

Anxious and avoidant attachment styles can make workplace stress harder to manage.

You may know about attachment styles when thinking about our bonds with parents, partners, children, and close friends. But attachment can also spillover into our work lives..

Attachment describes the ways we tend to think about ourselves and other people in close relationships. Broadly, attachment can be secure or insecure. Insecure attachment can take different forms, including anxious, avoidant-dismissive, and avoidant-fearful.

Secure attachment is linked with a more positive view of both yourself and others. You tend to trust that people can provide support and that you are worthy of support in return. You can enjoy closeness without needing constant reassurance, while also being comfortable with some distance.

Insecure attachment (anxious) tends to involve a more negative view of yourself and uncertainty about whether others can be trusted. You look to others for reassurance and validation. At work, this might show up as worrying about how your manager or colleagues view you, reading too much into a short email, or finding criticism especially hard to........

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