Why do so many of us feel like a fraud at work?
A few years ago, I was invited to take part in a panel discussion to celebrate female success. Sitting on stage, alongside some highly respected women, I began to feel as though there was a big sign flashing above my head: FRAUD. I felt sure I was about to be found out; exposed as someone who wasnt as good as the others and didnt deserve to be there. Imposter syndrome. Until that day, imposter syndrome was something I thought affected other people. Now, after making a new podcast for the Telegraph, Imposters, I know it can strike anyone  no matter how successful or confident they might appear. Not that everyone wants to admit it. Or perhaps thats just our inner imposters talking  At its most basic, imposter syndrome is the struggle to believe that you deserve your success as result of your hard work and experience. Instead, you attribute it to luck, fluke or being in the right place at the right time. You worry that everyone will eventually realise this, whereupon it will all come crashing down. It goes hand-in-hand with perfectionism. Thats just imposter syndrome in disguise. The term was coined in 1978 by psychologists Suzanne Imes and Pauline Clance, who called it the Imposter Phenomenon (which some academics still prefer as IS hasnt been officially classified as a mental disorder, although low self-esteem and a feeling of failure are recognised as factors that can contribute to mental illness) and identified women as the sole sufferers. Research has shown that both genders are affected, albeit women still tend to come out on top  academics remain conflicted over whether we are genuinely less confident in our abilities or just happier to admit to it. In a 2018 study of 3,000 UK adults by OnePoll, 66 per cent of women and 56 per cent of men said they had experienced imposter syndrome over the previous 12 months. Other surveys have placed the number of women suffering at closer to 90 per cent. Now, as uncertainties around the return to the office continue, that number is predicted to rise further. The dislocation and isolation of working from home, the challenges of communicating virtually with our colleagues and anxiety of being out of our comfort zones during the pandemic have all contributed to an epidemic of self doubt in Britains workforce. During this slow and frustrating return to normal, more of us than ever are feeling inadequate. Lockdown has had an impact in terms of imposter syndrome, as you dont have the same opportunity to bump into people making a cup of tea or go for drinks, explains Dr Jessamy Hibberd, psychologist and author of The Imposter Cure. It leaves less room for being reassured in terms of how youre doing with work or getting the feedback youd normally have in an office environment. Working from home you also dont have the same chance to gain perspective, so you can start to worry about something and then it gets bigger and bigger  but youre not then seeing anyone who can give you a different view.  Nor will the effects of WFH just disappear the moment we set foot back in the office, adds Dr Hibberd, who calls our homes a breeding ground for insecurity and self doubt. The cumulative toll means that moving out of the bubble youve created around yourself to get through this period can seem quite daunting, she adds. No one has been more surprised by this resurgence than Imposter Phenomenon pioneer Dr Pauline Clance. I am surprised that the concept is now so prevalent. When I wrote my book, I thought there would be an audience. I certainly did not think ahead to now, she tells me. Certainly the pandemic may have made people feel more on their own and that may contribute to imposter feelings.  Women, Dr Hibberd thinks, will be particularly prone to this post-lockdown imposter syndrome because of the disproportionate domestic pressures that have been placed on them. Somebody said to me recently, I dont know why they think Ive been doing a good job, Ive been doing the school pick up every day, she says. It made me think of the rules imposters have: they have one rule for when things go well, which is that they then put that down to external circumstances. And then if things go badly, its a personal failing. So then no matter how well youre doing, youre not taking it on board.  That certainly rings true for me.