The role of fear of negative evaluation in interview anxiety and social‐evaluative workplace anxiety

• Published in: International journal of selection and assessment Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 302 - 310
• Main Authors: Zhang, Irene Y., Powell, Deborah M., Bonaccio, Silvia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2022
• Subjects: Anxiety; Employment interviews; fear of negative evaluation; interview anxiety; Job performance; workplace anxiety
• ISSN: 0965-075X; 1468-2389
• DOI: 10.1111/ijsa.12365

We investigated the consequences of interview and social‐evaluative workplace anxiety on job performance, and whether these two anxieties share a common antecedent–fear of negative evaluation. Job applicants (n = 128) completed a survey following their interview and halfway through their work term; supervisory performance ratings were collected at the end of the work term. Fear of negative evaluation was positively correlated with both interview anxiety and social‐evaluative workplace anxiety. The correlation between interview anxiety and job performance was near zero, as was the correlation between social‐evaluative workplace anxiety and job performance; these relations were not moderated by the social‐evaluative nature of the job. This study suggests that anxious interviewees and employees perform as well as their less anxious counterparts, even in social‐evaluative jobs.
Key points
Anxiety about employment interviews and anxiety in the workplace are common experiences for many people.
Both types of anxiety are related to a trait called fear of negative evaluation.
Although commonly experienced, neither interview anxiety nor workplace. anxiety are predictors of later job performance.
Managers are encouraged not to overlook anxious interviewees during hiring or anxious employees during promotions because anxiety does not hinder job performance.