Popular science on mental health in the workplace

The essence of mental health problems in the workplace is never "your poor ability to withstand stress", but the result of the combination of "continuous erosion of personal boundaries, long-term misalignment of professional values, and lack of effective outlets for negative emotions." There is no need to attack yourself. Most problems have feasible adjustment paths, and there is no need to deal with them forcefully.

I have worked in employee relations in the Internet industry for 6 years, and I have received nearly 200 consultations on workplace psychological distress. I have seen too many people slap themselves first: "Am I too fragile? I can't handle this. ”There was even a young girl who had just graduated. Because her leader said something to her in public, she hid in the fire escape and cried while still scolding herself for being "worthless." Oh, yes, as early as 2019, the WHO has officially included "occupational burnout" in the International Classification of Diseases, making it clear that this is a health problem caused by long-term work stress that is not effectively managed. It is really not your "hypocrisy" or "overthinking".

Regarding psychological distress in the workplace, scholars in different fields actually give completely different solutions. There is no "standard answer": cognitive behavioral consultants will advise you to adjust your interpretation of the event first. For example, if the leader does not reply to your message, it may not mean that he is dissatisfied with your plan. There is a high probability that he is being scolded by his leader and cannot hold his head up.； Those who engage in psychoanalysis may lead you to look back on your childhood relationship patterns. Have you been accustomed to "meeting other people's expectations" as your primary responsibility since you were a child, so any negative feedback in the workplace is like the sky is falling? ； There are also scholars who engage in organizational behavior who are even more straightforward. They directly say that 80% of workplace psychological problems are essentially problems of labor distribution. If you are given enough money, clear rights and responsibilities, and do not engage in messy office politics, most of the problems will naturally disappear. All three arguments are valid, and there is no need to praise one or criticize the other.

Last year, a boy who was doing back-end development came to me. He graduated in 985 and won the Best Newcomer Award in the first year he joined the company. His future was originally bright. However, in the second year, the department structure was adjusted and he was forced to stuff three old projects that had been put on hold for almost a year. Oh my god. He worked overtime every day to correct the "Shit Mountain Code" written by his predecessors, and received a B grade for three consecutive months. During that period, he suffered from insomnia every day, and he even cried inexplicably while sitting at his workstation typing the code. He felt to himself, "Why am I so useless? I can't bear this pressure." Later, after we spent half a month with him, we discovered that the problem was not "stress resistance" at all: the original configuration of three messes was for two people to handle it, but he was too embarrassed to appeal to the leader, so he took it on by himself. ； Coupled with the news of Internet layoffs flying all over the market, he didn't even dare to ask for leave for fear that his boss would think he had a "bad attitude." He also completely tied "getting all A's in performance" with "do I have any value as a person". One bad performance equaled that the whole person was negated. Later, he bit the bullet and talked to his leader about the division of labor, split off a project, and set aside two nights every Wednesday and Friday to ride a road bike. He was not allowed to think about work. Within two months, he was back to his best, and he even won the department's technical contribution award last quarter.

Of course, I also know that some people will definitely say, "My back hurts when I stand and talk. If I can talk to my boss casually, why do I need to be anxious?" ”Indeed, not all companies are reasonable. Some companies are full of PUAs. They instill in their employees every day that "you are lucky to work in our company." They are given more work than anyone else and less money than anyone else. At this time, no psychological adjustment method is effective. A resignation application is more effective than any psychological consultation. I met an administrative girl before. The company asked her to manage the annual meeting of more than 200 people in the company. She even had to pay for the budget for mineral water. She was too embarrassed to refuse. She stayed up late every day to change the plan. In the end, the annual meeting was completed. I was hospitalized for acute gastritis. The first thing I did after leaving the hospital was to quit my job. Now I work as an administrator in a small cultural and creative company. I work from 9 to 5. After get off work, I go to the ceramics studio to make cups. I post the weird little ornaments I made on my friends circle every day. I am in great shape.

To be honest, I am most annoyed by the chicken soup some bosses tell me: "Pressure is motivation." That's because the pressure is not on him. If you ask him to do 996 every day and deduct his performance, he will collapse faster than you. People's psychological energy is like a mobile phone battery. If you use it every day and then charge it when it automatically shuts down, and if you charge and play at the same time, the battery health will drop below 80 in less than half a year. The same goes for psychological energy. If you cannot make ends meet for a long time, you will naturally experience a depletion state of "you don't want to go to work, you feel annoyed when you think about work, and you have no energy to do anything". This is an alarm sent by your body, not that you are lazy.

One of the most convenient methods that I usually use is the "5-minute shutdown ritual before leaving get off work": when the time comes, set all work groups to do not disturb, and the moment I close the office computer, I say to myself, "Today's work is done, and the rest will be done tomorrow." Don't think, "Will my boss have any objections to me if I don't reply to messages?" If there is really an urgent matter, the other party will call you directly. Matters without a call are not worth sacrificing your time to eat and sleep to deal with. If you don't set up your sense of boundaries, people will keep stepping on it.

Finally, to be honest, the workplace is where you exchange your time and energy for labor remuneration. Don’t tie all your self-worth to KPIs, performance ratings, and leadership evaluations. Work hard when you can, and take a break when you can't bear it. If it doesn't work, find another place. This is not the only job you can do in your life. Mental health is always more important than the year-end bonus, right?