If you feel that you've been dealing with a ton of uncertainty, you're not alone. We're feeling it, too: Economic uncertainty, political uncertainty, and work uncertainty. The percentage of employees who are mentioning "uncertainty" in their Glassdoor workplace reviews increased by 80% from last year.

Psychologists who study stress have identified three primary factors that make us feel awful: a lack of control, unpredictability, and the perception that things are getting worse. In other words: uncertainty.

Research even shows we’d rather be absolutely sure that something bad is going to happen than deal with ambiguity. Scientists found that people who had a 50% chance of receiving an electric shock were three times as stressed as people who had a 90% chance (aka were much more certain) of getting the shock.

But how much uncertainty we can handle does vary from person to person. To find out more about your uncertainty tolerance, take our free assessment. 

We've had thousands of people take the assessment, and 11% are uncertainty seekers, 28% are uncertainty avoiders, and 61% are uncertainty balancers. 

If you are an uncertainty avoider or balancer, it's important to acknowledge that some choices do tend to be more certain than others. If your current situation involves a great deal of uncertainty and is causing you chronic stress, you may want to look for ways to create more stability in your life. For example, it may not be the time to move to a new city.

You can also try translating your ambient anxiety into specific fears, which can help pinpoint exactly what you’re afraid of losing, and how you might be able to avoid some of those circumstances. Often, you’ll find that you’re scared of losing a part of your identity, or of experiencing uncomfortable emotions in the future. 

To gently surface the stories driving your sky-high heart rate, ask yourself:
 

• What am I afraid of?
• What do I imagine could happen?
• How exactly would each of those scenarios look and feel?

If you’re changing careers, you might write something like, “The responsibilities I’m taking on are outside my past experience. I might not know what I’m doing or I might look foolish. I’m most afraid that I’ll fail and be fired.” 

To make sure you’re not creating even more anxiety for yourself, we encourage you to also ask:

• Is there evidence for my fear, or am I making assumptions?
• What is the probability that my worst case materializes?
• What's the best case scenario?
• What's most likely to happen?

For more on working through uncertainty, check out our book Big Feelings: How to be Okay When Things are Not Okay. 

1​. Take our New Parenting Survey

We are still working on a new book about the emotions of being new parents. It will be a guide for transitioning into parenthood without losing your sense of self. We are writing this book because we don't have all the answers, and we need help, too! So we want to hear from you! What are some of the difficult emotions you experienced as a new parent? How have you made parenting decisions that are best for your family–while keeping in mind that you are an essential part of your family? How have you identified and prioritized your own emotional needs? If any of this resonates with you, please take our 2 minute survey to tell us about your experience in your first years of parenthood.

2. Workshops for your organization

We've been speaking at companies like Google, Viacom, and NPR on topics including how to combat burnout, emotionally fluent leadership, and navigating different work styles. If you'd like to learn more about bringing us in to your organization, see our full list of workshops.

1. Safe Danger Book

Mollie's former IDEO colleague (and amazing human) Ben Swire wrote a fantastic new book that came out today! Ben leads some of the most inspiring team-building workshops and experiences we've ever been a part of. He shares a set of playful, low-stakes activities that unlock the human qualities we need most at work and home: trust, curiosity, joy, and connection. Order your copy now!​

2. Employee Stress Is a Business Risk—Not an HR Problem

Employee stress is often viewed as an HR problem, but reducing it is actually a good business strategy, and deserves executive attention.

3. The Best Leaders Normalize Emotions at Work

This author shares tips that align with our leadership philosophy of selective vulnerability. She writes, "During crunch times, you might say: "I know things are hectic. I’m feeling stressed too—but we’ll get through it together.'"

Liz: I LOVE fall and Halloween in particular. Here are my three favorite spooky decorations of 2025: this orange LED 4' lit tree, these giant googly eyes you can put in a bush or on your front door, and everything from Grandin Road (which is admittedly very expensive and I have never actually gotten something from them but clicking around the website is an annual tradition).

Mollie: One of my favorite snacks is cashews, and these are the best I've found. Unsalted BUT roasted-- delicious! I buy them in 5 lb bags!

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