Why do people pay more and more attention to psychological health at work?

26 Apr. 2023

Mental health is a topic that is being covered more and more every year, and taking care of your psyche is becoming an important priority for a large number of people. Along with education on the topic of mental health, the need for qualified psychologists, understanding leaders, and universal support is also growing. This is due not only to the growing stress against the background of economic and political events but also to the fact that the direction of psychology and caring for one's condition itself has moved from stigma to a widely publicized topic.

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Considering that we spend 70% of our conscious life at work, the psychological state during the performance of tasks and communication with the team should be consistently good. We all face deadlines, overwork, and conflicts, but if your work brings stress on a regular basis, this is a reason to think about your health. Let's figure out together why psychological health deserves your attention—both at home and at work.

Note: The article is for informational purposes. If you have any problems with your mental health, contact a specialist.

Mental health is a chronic problem?

Robert Sapolsky, in his book "Why Zebras Don't Have a Heart Attack," noted that zebras have an acute stressful situation from time to time (for example, a physical threat from a predator). We humans, on the contrary, have a chronic stress reaction (psychological threats) that rarely reaches such values as a zebra, but it does not disappear anywhere. It is the chronic nature of stress that negatively affects our body, lifestyle, mood, and, as a result, also our communication with others. For example, closing a large project by staying at work until night during the week is one thing, but making such a schedule a habitual way of life is completely different.

Chronic stress leads not only to psychological complications in the form of depression, burnout, RPP, and others but also to the failure of the whole body (due to the weakening of the immune system; you can read more about this from Robert Sapolsky). Thus, by ignoring the signals of the psyche that it is difficult for her, we endanger our condition as a whole.

Constant anxiety at work is reinforced by both external events and experiences within the family if you have them. Can you imagine how this "cocktail" disables the systems of your body? And now imagine that this is all happening day after day, without respite or vacation. This is the kind of problem that many Russians are familiar with, and that is why psychological help should not be neglected.

How does mental health affect the work?

You've probably heard phrases in your life about leaving all problems behind and being able to abstract. This is certainly a tough approach that works, but with one caveat—not for long. The human psyche is not able to ignore incoming stress (only if it accumulates), and memory does not have the ability to switch off and on, as if there is a special toggle switch in the head. Whether we like it or not, chronic stress has its consequences, including those affecting work processes. What will happen if you do not engage in mental health?

Burnout

The most common syndrome of modern society is that if you work hard 24/7, then the body will require a break, and not at all in the format in which it will be convenient and pleasant. The main symptoms of burnout are apathy, drowsiness, unwillingness to communicate and do work, and difficulties even with simple tasks.

Depression

A very serious disease accompanied by various symptoms, from apathy to the inability to walk to the bathroom. In the event of any manifestations of depression, we advise you to consult a specialist.

Aggression

This is one of the options for the reaction of the psyche to constant stress. This is especially true for work processes; shouting and disruptions, even to elementary remarks, can make a positive manager an offended employee who is not ready to communicate in a team.

Tendency to manipulate and provoke

This is one of the options for the behavior of an employee who is dissatisfied and tired of his work. This method may be a subconscious desire to leave the company; such employees can sabotage tasks, be rude, set conditions, and substitute colleagues. Unfortunately, even kind and sympathetic people are not immune from this.

As we said earlier, we spend most of our time at work. And mental health problems do not choose who they affect: work, family, hobbies, or character. They strike on all fronts, which means they endanger everything, including careers and work.

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What can I do to improve my mental health?

Let's start with the simplest—with yourself. To work with mental health, it is necessary to be aware of the problem—in other words, to understand that a person is tired, overloaded, and can no longer accept stressful situations calmly and objectively. After realizing the problem, it is necessary to assess its scale. How far has stress gone, and how much has it affected the psyche? Here, you may already need the help of a specialist because it can be difficult to conduct a self-diagnosis in such cases. Fortunately, in modern society, you can find many psychological assistance services and get advice in a convenient format: online or by arriving at the clinic.

If we talk about help from the employer, then there are at least three simple ways to help your employees:

1. Full-time psychologist

This is a trained and highly qualified specialist who helps employees of a particular company. For such a specialist, introductory training about the organization is conducted, and time is given for him to independently assess the situation on the team. The observations of an outside psychologist help identify problems that the management may not guess or notice. It is important to note that a psychologist is hired not to monitor or collect feedback but to help, so everything that is said to him in the office remains between the specialist and his client. This option is convenient because the psychologist knows and understands the "cuisine" of a particular company and finds solutions suitable for working with this particular team.

2. Medical insurance with psychological support

This option is also convenient, first of all for employees: they themselves choose which specialist and when to contact. It can be a clinic at home, or it can be an online meeting. Moreover, it will be possible to work with such a psychologist not only with problems in the team but also to discuss more personal things if stress does not cause discomfort at work.

3. Adequate leadership attitude and empathy

As practice shows, problems at work are always accompanied by problems in the team: an inadequate manager, poorly coordinated teamwork, biased task setting, high demands, ignoring personal needs, or a complete lack of empathy can lead to collective burnout. You can start taking psychological care of employees with a human attitude toward your team. For example, in 2022, 66% of employers actively and comprehensively supported their employees, and 31% directly asked what kind of support colleagues needed.

First of all, real people work on tasks and projects, and this is a fact that entails certain "costs". Comprehensive care from the team and an adequate approach to yourself and your mental health will make life easier during such a difficult period.

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