Key contents of mental health in the workplace

A clear sense of boundaries, cognitive flexibility that can be bent, and a support system that does not require hard work. All the remaining emotional regulation and stress management skills are derivatives of serving these three cores.

Last week I just helped a girl working in an Internet operation to sort out her emotions. She responded to her boss’s revision opinions at 2 a.m. for three consecutive months. Last week, she was criticized because she missed reading group messages for half an hour while eating, and she broke down in the conference room on the spot. Discussions on the sense of boundaries have actually always been divided into two schools: conservatives advocate "absolute cutting", which means closing work messages directly after get off work and not replying during non-working hours; realists believe that it is impossible to completely cut off most industries, so it is better to install a "flexible switch" on the boundaries. The best I have ever seen is a sales director in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. He synchronized his rules with all colleagues, superiors, and core customers in advance: after get off work, he will only take emergency calls for million-level projects, and all other messages will be responded to as soon as possible at 9 a.m. the next day. No one has ever considered him irresponsible. On the contrary, his team's delivery efficiency ranks first in the company for two consecutive years. Don't believe that "a sense of boundaries means it's hard to talk and blame others." In essence, if you clarify your own scope of authority and responsibilities and respect the work rhythm of others, you can reduce 90% of ineffective internal friction.

What’s interesting is that many people suffer from emotional breakdown at work. It’s not because of the seriousness of the matter, but because they have led their own way. There used to be a boy who was doing back-end R&D. A non-core bug appeared on the project and he was scolded by the leader in public. He had insomnia for a whole week and felt that he was about to be laid off due to lack of ability. He secretly refreshed the recruitment software for three days. Only later did he find out that the leader was emotional because of a conflict with his family that day. After the bug was fixed, he won the quarterly project award. This is a typical lack of cognitive flexibility. Different schools of thought have completely different views on how to deal with this matter: Positive psychology advocates translating setbacks into growth opportunities and thinking more about "what can I learn from this"; existential psychology's views are more down-to-earth - you don't have to force yourself to be optimistic. Allowing yourself to squat on the stairwell and curse for 15 minutes is much more useful than forcibly suppressing your emotions. To put it bluntly, cognitive flexibility is like the automatic dimming function of a mobile phone. If it is too bright, it will dazzle and burn the screen, and if it is too dark, you will not be able to see the content. Being able to adjust the brightness according to the external environment is the most power-saving mode. When I was rejected three times when I was rushing out of Party A's plan, I hid in the company's tea room, ate half a box of ice cream, and bullied the customer for ten minutes. After scolding me, I went back to change the plan without any delay. It was better than insisting on saying "I'm fine" and secretly venting my anger on my family and friends.

Many people have misunderstandings about the "workplace support system", thinking that it means complaining to colleagues or relying on the company's EAP as a formality. My friend who used to work in HR in the manufacturing industry said that many people in his company initially thought that EAP was a surveillance tool for capitalists. Until an engineer who worked overtime for a month came to talk to a consultant. The consultant directly helped him connect with the department head, coordinated three days of rest, and adjusted the unreasonable project schedule in his hand, which really solved the actual problem. There are two completely different opinions on whether to build a workplace support system: one group believes that relationships should not be discussed in the workplace and that everything has to be done by oneself, and building relationships is a waste of time; the other group believes that good workplace connection itself is a cushion for mental health. I used to work in a small team of about 10 people. Everyone agreed that if someone had something to do at home, he only had to hand over the core work clearly, and everyone else could help out for two days. After three years, the turnover rate of the team was less than 10%. On the contrary, I had been exposed to an Internet company that preached "everyone is an independent screw, and anyone who leaves can be transferred." A wave of people changed in half a year, and everyone was tense because a cup of milk tea could cause a quarrel for half an hour if it was misplaced.

In fact, to put it bluntly, mental health in the workplace means not to twist yourself into conforming to others’ expectations. Some people apply for high-paying jobs based on their performance, while others look for slow-paced jobs because they like to pick up their children from get off work on time. Don’t listen to what the Internet says about “excellent people who have given up their emotions long ago.” It’s all nonsense – everyone is here to earn living expenses, and it’s normal to have emotions. If you can understand the three things mentioned above, you will be much more dignified and comfortable than 80% of migrant workers.