Does Covid Have You Feeling Like a Fraud at Work?

“With the pandemic, people are increasingly working in isolation, so it doesn’t surprise me that it’s really exacerbated,” says Valerie Young, author of “The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It.”

It is normal to feel like an impostor every so often, with up to 82% of people doing so at some point, according to research published in 2019 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The findings were based on responses from more than 14,000 participants across 62 studies. Researchers found that impostor syndrome was common among men and women from adolescence well into adulthood and particularly high among ethnic minority groups.

Students of color who navigate predominately white environments may experience more pressure to prove that they belong and show others that they aren’t being tokenized for reasons unrelated to merit, says Kevin Cokley, a professor of educational psychology and African-American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Amid the pandemic’s labor-market turmoil, “it stands to reason that impostor feelings could creep up especially in ethnic minorities trying to get a job when they have already dealt with impostor feelings as students,” Dr. Cokley says.

The feelings often affect students entering college or recently promoted workers facing new situations or challenges. They can lead to overworking, keeping a low profile, procrastinating or other behavior that has consequences for workers and organizations.

Libby Champion experienced a bout in November, when she was hired as a digital communications coordinator after being furloughed last year. Mrs. Champion, who is 30 years old, was thrilled but feared the job might be a stretch after months out of work. “It’s just been such a stressful year, mental health-wise and everything, that I’m like, you know, maybe I’m losing it. I’ve had [impostor phenomenon] before, but this is a whole new dynamic of it,” she says.

People who work alone generally are more vulnerable to impostor feelings because they are less likely to receive cues from others that can put their performance in perspective, Dr. Young says.

Those dealing with such feelings sometimes discredit their achievements, emphasizing the enormous effort it took to reach a goal, says Pauline Rose Clance, a psychologist in Atlanta and one of the researchers who introduced the concept of impostor phenomenon in the 1970s.

After being furloughed in April 2020, Mrs. Champion, who has a master’s degree in communications, began taking online classes to keep her skills current and burnish her résumé. After a number of rejections, she began applying for positions for which she was overqualified—but eventually landed the digital communications coordinator post in Orlando, Fla.

Months into the job, things are going much better. “It’s not like it doesn’t come up still,” Mrs. Champion says. “I feel it all the time, but nobody knows how to live in a global pandemic, so I’m trying to give myself a break.”

Impostor phenomenon is associated with impaired job performance, decreased satisfaction at work and burnout. Here are suggestions for coping with persistent professional self-doubts:

Recognize your response

One aspect of the phenomenon is a fear of falling behind one’s peers. In December, Mary King, a 21-year-old junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, jokingly tweeted a screenshot of phrases she ignored on Twitter—including “thrilled to announce” and “some personal news”—because they made her doubt herself.

Ms. King has spent the pandemic with her parents in Kure Beach, N.C., and although she already has a summer internship lined up, she says, “You’re thinking, ‘Oh shoot, on top of school and work, should I be freelancing? Should I be doing all these extra things?’ ”

Some people overwork to manage anxiety about being revealed as a fraud. “We’re trying to take care of ourselves under the circumstances. Something’s kicking in to protect us, but we do pay a price for the protection,” Dr. Young says.

Working twice as hard may shield you from scrutiny but is a fast track to burnout. Not speaking up in meetings wards off possible humiliation but often also closes off opportunities. People should be aware of their coping mechanisms so they can decide if these are habits they are willing to accept despite the cost—or ones they should change, Dr. Young says.

Reflect and record

People with impostor feelings often forget or diminish their accomplishments. Dr. Cokley, whose research focuses on how impostor syndrome affects students of color, suggests keeping a daily, weekly or monthly diary of your achievements.

It is useful to document “all those successes that you’ve had, so you can look back on that to remind yourself that you are not a failure, that you have in fact done quite well on these occasions,” he says.

Dr. Clance recommends jotting down feedback from someone you trust and how those words made you feel. Compare the two lists so you can see where you might be putting yourself down. This helps “you see how discounting your abilities really discounts others who evaluate you, believe in you and have written you recommendations,” she says. It reminds you that people you respect wouldn’t give you positive feedback if they didn’t mean it.

Tap your support system

Before the pandemic, Daniel Erenstein, a senior studying neurobiology, physiology and behavior at the University of California, Davis, would discuss his uncertainties about projects and presentations with friends, peers or mentors. Those conversations have moved online—and aren’t the same. “There is something to be said for connecting with someone on Zoom or over the phone, but as far as physical connection, face to face, that’s not where it was before. You never mentally leave the space where you’re in necessarily,” says Mr. Erenstein, 23.

Just because you can’t see your colleagues’ body language in person while you navigate a new role doesn’t mean reaching out is a lost cause, says Lee Humphreys, a professor of communication at Cornell University. “Make sure you have social support but also have professional mentors who can share with you not just their successes but their failures,” Dr. Humphreys says.

Explaining your feelings to people you trust and getting their feedback can help, especially when re-entering the job market after months out of it. Others’ insight can help you build resilience.