In a quest to drive conversations around the widespread psychological phenomenon Imposter Syndrome, a two-week long campaign inviting professionals to talk about their experiences around Imposter Syndrome has been gaining ground.
Launched on professional networking platform LinkedIn by four interns at ad-agency BBH Singapore, and titled Our Imposter Stories, the campaign is a response to a study by Asana, The Anatomy of Work Index that has revealed that 74% of Singaporeans experience Imposter Syndrome, a significant disparity when compared to the global average of 62%.
Since its launch yesterday, the campaign page @Our Imposter Stories on LinkedIn has seen prominent members of the public, such as Jamus Lim (MP, Sengkang GRC), Alvin Tan (Minister of State, MTI), Leanne Robers (Co-founder, She loves Tech) share their own experience with Imposter Syndrome, further reinforcing the idea that no matter how successful one is, we are all susceptible to self-doubt.
Imposter Syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments, and are faced with an internalised fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Studies have shown that it can lead to high levels of fear, anxiety, stress, drops in job satisfaction, increased burnout and even depression, if left unmanaged.
By press time, the campaign page had attracted multiple testimonies across different industries and countless positive engagement, with various resources to direct people on appropriate ways to talk about their experience and cope with these feelings.
The objective of the campaign is to combat the inherent loneliness of the experience by inviting the LinkedIn community to shed the facade of constant positivity that the platform so often perpetuates.
Jadee Ng, an intern at BBH Singapore, who worked on the campaign, said, “We wanted to create a space in which all of us could safely share our struggles with this issue and find comfort in knowing that we were not alone in experiencing Imposter Syndrome. With three in four Singaporeans experiencing Imposter Syndrome, we wanted to chip away at the need to showcase only our best selves on LinkedIn, and start honest conversations about our insecurities”.
To be part of the conversation or to understand more about the Imposter Syndrome, do visit https://www.linkedin.com/company/imposter-stories/.
Images: BBH Singapore
