Feeling like a fraud at work is more common now than ever. The ones who feel like a fraud at work are usually better workers and the ones who think they deserve special treatment are usually bad workers. Everyone goes through this thinking at least once on some level in their lives.
The great part is, there’s always a way to combat this imposter syndrome. It’s a temporary feeling that should go away the more time passes. As you get more used to your new surroundings, you get better at your job. There are jobs that are just absolutely the worst.
No matter how much effort you put into the job, the boss just doesn’t appreciate your work. We’re not talking about those jobs. We’re talking about jobs in which you are doing good work and the boss recognizes and appreciates your work. If you’re feeling like a fraud at work, compliments don’t work.
You start to think what you could have possibly done wrong? What if the boss is just saying that just to be nice and not because he actually means it? That’s thinking that needs to be fixed. It’s one thing to be defeated by someone else because they were better competitors.
It’s another thing to be defeated by yourself because you reject yourself. You don’t want your worst enemy to be yourself. I’ve felt like a fraud at work many times in my career. It’s a sign that you’re growing and putting yourself in uncomfortable situations, which is a good thing.
How to Know You are Feeling Like a Fraud at Work and Solutions
This isn’t about feeling stuck at work. This is about feeling like a fraud at work. There are solutions to each of these feelings.
Let’s take a look!
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work Sign #1: You Don’t Feel You Deserve It
No matter what other people tell you, whether it’s your coworkers, your boss, and the like, you just don’t feel like you deserve everything good that’s going your way. You feel like people are complimenting you just to be nice and their words don’t mean any substance at all whatsoever.
That’s how you know you’re feeling like a fraud at work. You don’t feel you deserve a seat at the table even though you worked your entire life to get there. I’ve seen many people who has no substance in their work get $300k+ jobs all for the sole reason that they are good at selling.
Solution: The solution to this thought is to let time pass. The more comfortable you get at working at the new environment and job, the better off your thinking will be. You feel like you don’t deserve it because you can’t accurately judge whether you are actually doing a good job or not yet.
After repetition and putting in the reps, you will get to judge how good of a job you are actually doing.
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work Sign #2: You Only Think of the Negatives
This is when no matter how you’re doing, you immediately think what a bad job you’re doing. You’re focusing on the bad parts of your work and ignoring the positive aspects of your work. You don’t think “I can’t wait until my boss sees what a good job I did”. You think, “what mistakes did I make?”
Negative feedback loops are dangerous. You don’t think it’ll affect you badly until they actually do. Bosses and coworkers can smell that a mile away. And they will not be there to support you. They will be there to take advantage of you. The ones who are there to support you are real friends.
However, they are rare.
Solution: Instead of thinking, “what if it doesn’t work out?”, it’s time to think “what if it does work out?”. Taking the opposite approach to negativity really helps in curbing any self doubt and feeling like a fraud at work. This isn’t physiological or physical problems. This is completely mental.
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work Sign #3: You Don’t Trust Compliments
No matter how much your boss, boss’ boss, or boss’ boss’ boss tells you how great of a job you’re doing, you just can’t accept it. Even just a simple, “hey you did a great job” makes your palms sweaty and seeping self doubt creeps in. That’s a classic sign of feeling like a fraud at work.
You appreciate and like it when others compliment you. But it’s not about what others are doing for you. It’s about what you’re feeling. That’s because you can’t accept or trust the compliments. Even the most eloquent and genuine compliment doesn’t phase you because you just are unsure.
Solution: It’s one thing to self compliment. It’s completely another for others to compliment. I know it’s hard to accept compliments because I’ve been there. This was the hardest struggle that I had to overcome. However, people are generally self interested.
Therefore, when others are complimenting you, there’s little chance that you’re not doing a good job. Slowly warm up to accepting them.
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work Sign #4: You Feel Uneasy Everyday
You just can’t put your finger on what makes you feel uneasy. But you just know that you feel uneasy. Every day you come in to work, your palms get sweaty and your heart beats faster. You don’t just feel or think unsure about yourself. There are actual physiological changes to your body.
Once you step foot in your office and sit down in your chair. It just doesn’t feel right. You don’t feel like you belong there. This could be a function of your work environment but it’s something that you feel when you step in to work. That’s feeling like a fraud at work.
Solution: Objectively pinpoint the problem. The last time that I felt like this, it literally wasn’t my fault. It was literally my boss’ he had a history of driving his employees out. His entire business model was to work the employees hard and then get another one after they quit or he fires them.
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work Sign #5: Promotions Make You Feel Worse
Promotions are supposed to be the ultimate stamp of approval. It shows just how well you’re doing. You’re doing such a good job that the boss thinks you deserve a raise. Bosses don’t hand out or give out promotions. They only give it to people who earned it. Who actually do a good job.
However, for some reason, you still feel like a fraud at work. You think they made a mistake or that this will make you more expensive so you’ll be the first one on the chopping block. Profits aren’t guaranteed and you think that being this expensive will surely be the final nail in the coffin.
Solution: I’ve never seen a person get fired because they were good at their job. No matter how expensive they were. The ones who got promoted might have been more expensive but the company kept them with the team anyway.
Even during 2007-2009. Companies actually kept the good ones, even the ones who costed $200k+. You deserve to move up in life and make more money. You earned it.
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work Sign #6: You are Skeptical of Raises
You feel like the company is willing to pay you more money to justify getting rid of you later down the road. They need to convince the higher ups that you are just too expensive to keep. Is what’s going on in your head if you get a 30%+ raise.
I’ve got news for you. I’ve seen people get 100%+ raises and still keep their job years down the road. That’s just how it happens. Companies value quality workers. It’s expensive to hire any workers in the first place. Especially these days. It’s even more expensive to hire quality workers.
Solution: Understand your position very well. My bosses historically earned many multiples of what I earned. Yet they never got fired and kept their jobs even though economic downturns. Even though you may be feeling like a fraud at work because they’re offering you such a good raise. it’s not true.
Companies don’t give out raises if they don’t think you can help fulfill their interests.
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work Sign #7: You Don’t Sleep Well
This may be because you have physiological problems. I personally have a huge digestion problem and makes it hard for me to fall sleep. I literally cannot sleep well until I have an empty stomach and that takes a lot of meticulous work to get to by the end of the day.
However, this isn’t about physiological problems. This is about you not sleeping well because you just feel so uneasy. So unconfident in your work and abilities that you can’t sleep. Your mind is racing at a hundred miles per hour and you can’t just make sense of it all. You can’t stop thinking about work.
Solution: Feeling like a fraud at work contributes to your sleep. Sleep is a necessary component of life. There are many “tricks” and “set ups” you can use in order to boost your chances of sleeping. They include taking care of your gut health. Taking care of sleep hygiene.
Not watching screens an hour before bedtime. There are a lot of things that you can do in order to protect your sleep.
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work is Normal
Whether people like to admit it or not, EVERYONE knows what feeling like a fraud at work feels like. No matter how much they try to deny it, the most accomplished people felt like it. Even the most confident ones felt it because feelings are inescapable.
People get themselves into uncomfortable situations all the time. The ones who feel 100% secure in their lives never did anything new. They never stepped outside of their house. And who hasn’t stepped outside of their house in their entire lives? Absolutely no one.
I’ve been through many cycles where I felt like a fraud at work and I know I’ll continuously put myself into situations where I feel like that as well. My new job came with a great raise of 25%+. You think I’m not worried that I’m too expensive? Of course I am! My income for my age group is near the top 2%.
With a bear market of 2022, I consistently feel like I’m going to be on the chopping block. I feel uneasy every single day. However, I get through it by padding up my emergency fund and becoming prudent with my finances. I do not want to depend on the government to bail me out.
Feeling like a fraud at work is completely normal. You have no idea how many successful and well accomplished people feel like this. There’s a very good chance that your boss felt like this as well. Nobody climbs to the top knowing how to do anything and everything from the start.
Adjustment period takes time.
Time is the Most Important Ingredient
If you’re feeling like a fraud at work, it’s amazing just how much time will do to heal you. We’re not talking a couple of months. We’re talking a solid 6 – 9 months before you really start to feel comfortable. Not even be great at your job. But start to feel comfortable.
At the nine month mark is when I started to feel comfortable with all of my jobs. My most recent job took me nine months in order to feel comfortable. Before I could judge whose fault something is and whether I’m generally doing a good job or not. Time is the most important ingredient in order to feel better.
And you will feel better if time just passes. Even in the most horrible jobs with the worst bosses, it just took time before I got used to their idiosyncrasies and before I got the ability to deliver on my work product and feel confident. You can’t judge your performance based on 6 months of work.
It takes about 10,000 hours before you can actually feel confident. There’s little chance you accomplished that in just six months. It’s also not even about the hours, it’s about the days. The more days that pass, the less you start feeling like a fraud at work.
Take it from someone who changed jobs numerous times in his career. I changed jobs twice in just 6 years. I know what it feels like when you feel uneasy. When you question every decision you’ve made not because it was the wrong decision but because you feel like it was.
It’s high time you took your confidence back.
Feeling Like a Fraud at Work Signs Shortlist:
- You don’t feel you deserve it
- You only think of the negatives
- You don’t trust compliments
- You feel uneasy everyday
- Promotions make you feel worse
- You are skeptical of raises
- You don’t sleep well
