Popular science on mental health in the workplace

Mental health in the workplace is neither a pretentious manifestation of "poor ability to withstand stress" nor a necessary stage that can only be overcome by "going through it". It is a core occupational health indicator alongside performance output and career development - Chinese Psychological Society's 2023 Workplace Population Survey It shows that 87% of job burnout and 62% of non-organic chronic headaches/gastrointestinal discomfort are directly related to long-term poor workplace psychological state, and more than 90% of early workplace psychological problems can be alleviated through low-cost intervention, without any need to deal with them.

Last week, I accompanied Fa Xiao, an e-commerce operator, for a psychological screening. She had been carrying out the 618 sales for three consecutive months. Last week, she burst into tears over an activity plan that had been revised to 8 pages. She happened to be seen by the department director who was passing by. After the meeting, she privately mentioned to her that "young people still need to practice their ability to withstand stress." These words are very familiar to me. In the five years I have been doing corporate EAP consulting, I have heard at least hundreds of managers say the same thing in hundreds of cases. This is also the biggest misunderstanding that most people have about psychological issues in the workplace: If you feel that you are in a bad mood, you have a glassy heart, and you will be able to endure it.

Currently, there are actually two different research directions in academic circles on the causes of psychological problems in the workplace, and there is no absolute right or wrong. One type of research is more biased toward organizational attribution. To put it bluntly, "the company is sick, don't let employees take medicine." Data from this part of the study show that 60% of psychological stress reactions in the workplace are related to unreasonable organizational systems: such as unequal power and responsibilities, meaningless internal overtime, and PUA-style performance appraisals. I met a management trainee in the manufacturing industry last year. Three people in the department resigned one after another, and all the work was piled on him. The leader patted his shoulder every day and said, "This is the company's focus on training you." Scholars who hold this view generally suggest that when encountering such structural problems, you should give priority to adjusting the working environment. If you cannot adjust in time to stop the loss, don't trade your own health for the boss's luxury car.

Another type of research is more biased towards individual adjustment, believing that the remaining 40% of psychological distress in the workplace is actually related to the individual's cognitive model and emotional sensitivity. For example, data in positive psychology have long confirmed that about 30% of people are highly sensitive and are 2-3 times more sensitive to negative evaluations and stress than ordinary people. The same leader said, "There are still some problems with the logic of this plan." Some people forget about it after making changes with a wave of their hands, and some people can think about it over and over all night, and even extend to "Does he have a problem with me?" Will I be fired? ”Such excessive associations. Scholars who hold this view also recommend daily emotional first aid training, such as the "3-minute landing method" that we often taught in corporate trainings. When emotions arise, don't get stuck in the thoughts in your head. Reach out and touch small objects such as water glasses and keys around you, and name three things. The touch you can feel - such as "cool, hard, and concave and convex patterns" can quickly bring your attention back to the present moment from the emotional whirlpool. I once saw a salesperson squatting and crying in the stairwell after being scolded by a customer. Using this method, he calmed down in 2 minutes and went back to change the plan.

When it comes to this, someone will definitely ask, should I blame the company or myself? In fact, there is no such black-and-white answer, just like the previous quarrel on the Internet about "Should I reply to work messages after get off work?" Some people think that not replying is to maintain professional boundaries, and some people think that it is okay to reply in special circumstances. How can there be any standard answer? If you feel that replying to a message is just a piece of cake and doesn’t affect your life at all, then just reply. ； If your blood pressure rises as soon as you see a work message pop up, then simply prepare a work mobile phone and turn it off immediately after get off work. Use it as you feel comfortable. Don't be kidnapped by the "correct workplace norms" on the Internet. Your feelings are the core judgment criterion.

I have been doing counseling for so long, and the most important thing I want to remind everyone is, don’t wait until you have depression or anxiety before you think about intervention. If you have these symptoms for more than two weeks in a row: you feel nauseous when you think about going to work, you can't sleep well, you can't get excited about the things you used to like, and you can't help crying at every turn, don't force yourself to do it. Go to a regular psychological platform for a professional assessment that costs tens of dollars first, and talk to a counselor if necessary. It's much more cost-effective than trying to force yourself to go to work and have your salary deducted or go to the hospital to prescribe medicine.

To put it bluntly, mental health in the workplace never requires you to become a "workplace superman" without emotions. None of the sales leaders or department directors I have met are either tired or annoyed. They just don't regard "bearing emotions" as something worth showing off. Some take 1 hour a week to play badminton to vent, and some have candy in their drawers all year round. If they are in a bad mood, they will eat two. If they really encounter unreasonable demands, they can argue with them. The worst is to change jobs. The sky will not fall. After all, you come to work to make money, not to survive the tribulation, right?