Work had me super nervous. I hate feeling like Im wussing out. Why anxious?

For some reason whenever I have to go to work I feel super anxious. I get a bit shaky and light of breath. So I've been looking for a job for a while but was trying to look outside of fast food eventually I said you know what let's give fast food a shot and applied to the KFC. The location is great right outside my apartment complex and the hours are okay. Yeah I still feel super anxious. Starting my first week my manager told me nothing I was just supposed to or watch another co-worker and by the next day I was having to do the cash register by myself. Which I was fine with and adapted well to the front cash register. Then wait 3 Days in they started putting me on drive thru whenever they didn't feel like being on drive thru or whenever my manager thought it was a good idea to "learn" drive-thru. On my first week we had one of the busiest rush hours that my coworker said they've had in a really long time and I was on drive thru for part of that time and front counter when no one else was there. Along with that our manager left during that out of frustration. That has kind of bugs me with rush hour they all hate it and get me to do it when they don't feel like doing it. This is my first job usually I'm trying to do things more entrepreneur like my YouTube channel , photography, and art. Before my job I was trying to see if there's anything I could do with those. That manager who had a bad temper and left early lost his job recently and we are Under New Management but some things are still the same with how my co-workers Act, rush hour is, and everytime I have to go to work I just feel stressed out and then when I'm at work I feel a bit relieved but still stressed out. I don't want to be a quitter so I just deal with it and haven't really said much. I talked about needing more employees but that was about it typically at night it's only 3 people working drive-thru packing and front counter. Maybe I just have the spooks because this is my first job or maybe this just isn't my forte. I had these issues playing sports especially with soccer and track I felt like whatever I did can let down my group or team and I really didn't want to be a weak link on a team. That's why when I got to tennis I was thrilled when I started playing singles sure I still wanted to win to help out the team but I felt a little stressed out and have more fun just playing in it for myself. If it means anything my parents weren't very supportive during my life with a lot of stuff they would choose to critique me over praising me in most situations. So I would bench press like two 80 pound dumbbells and my dad would say something like well you can lift a hundred if you just tried it which I was working to but yeah. My mother is just pretty much a narcissist she only cares about things pertaining to herself as a kid she told me how my dreams of wanting my parents back together from a divorce was selfish of me but not out of her own sadness just because it didn't fit her goals because she was already looking at another dude when I was six. It's been like that most of my life you just do things because you have to.

I do not think you are a good fit for Food Service work. You may want to look into something else.

Exactly the idea that comes to my mind.

I believe you are having what I have called, 'performance anxiety'. I think it stems from our tendency to expect too much of ourselves and need for things to go smoothly. Should you wish to stay the course, you may want to evaluate and alter your expectations.

In my own experience with food services it was the inability to count on a smooth operation that was my own challenge. I was very stressed out as I was constantly vigilant in trying to anticipate difficult and uncontrollable situations. I would then beat myself up for not being perfect and able to control those events. It sounds like you are encountering the same circumstances

After moving on from such employment I heard over and over just how common it was to have such an experience. You are not alone.

There are other ways to work in the customer service industry. Retail can be more rewarding than food services. It doesn't have the same level of stress. Being a cashier allows you to work with the public yet is more routine with less opportunity for stressful events to pop up. Customer service that has you working from behind a counter (for example being a bank teller) also allows you to work with people in a controlled environment.

I work in the receiving department of a retail store. I think it's pretty good. I don't deal directly with the customers. I spend most of my time in the warehouse opening boxes and putting security tags on clothes. I work with 6 other people. And I usually get off work before 2, so I don't even see many customers. I struggled with my anxiety when I worked as a bagger at a grocery store. But, this job is so much better. I still can get anxious before going into work, but once I'm there I'm fine. I try giving myself incentives to help me get through the day. Yesterday, I brought a jar of hearts of palms to eat on my break. I also set silent alarms on my Fitbit, for when it's time to go on break, or if I have 15 minutes left on my shift. That way, I'm not focused on the time, but I'm still keeping track. It's just the little things I do to keep my work days going smoothly.

I pretty much enjoyed working in the recieving department of a retail store.

I was nervous around a few of the people I worked with but for the most part it was one of the better jobs I had.

Bad management is a big part of the issue here. It appears even the manager seems to have been so stressed out that he left during peak hours.

Be kind to yourself.