More and more people are at home with psychological issues. In recent years, attention to mental well-being has grown. Singer Olivia Rodrigo is funding therapy for her band and crew members, her guitarist announced. What is possible with ‘just’ an office job?
The mental burden of constantly packing and leaving while taking care of a concert tour is undoubtedly different from traveling to the same office or workplace every day. Yet both can be psychologically taxing. Everyone experiences work pressure differently, and for everyone, something different can be the last straw.
Besides Rodrigo, singer Lewis Capaldi also made headlines by making more than 700,000 hours of free therapy available to people who need it. And the need is great. For example, the waiting time at mental healthcare institutions is only increasing, and last year a quarter of absenteeism was caused by stress-related complaints. Yet according to psychologist Ruth de Heer, there is more attention for mental health in the workplace.
“It’s just that it often comes too late. I so often hear people say: ‘we saw it coming’, after someone drops out and ends up staying home for a long time,” says De Heer. That has to change. But how do you create a socially safe workplace, for both employer and employees? Where there is attention for someone’s well-being before things go wrong and intervention can take place in time.
An employee is not an individual in isolation, says De Heer. “Everyone moves within a certain environment and is influenced by the culture that prevails. By colleagues and the management style of the manager.” It is important that every company has a point of contact where you can go within 36 hours, she says. If that is a matter of course, it can increase the discussability of certain problems within an organization and reduce the taboo.
Going to the office more often can help
Esther Roelofs, career specialist and stress and burnout coach, also sees the importance of this. She knows that not everyone always finds it pleasant to discuss certain problems with their boss.
That is precisely why it can be nice if external coaches are brought in who you can pull on their sleeve, so to speak, in the workplace, says Roelofs. “That helps normalize these kinds of conversations. But sometimes it can just be nice to spar. Who knows, you might have enough with just talking once or twice. And if there is more going on, that can be a good starting point for a guidance process.”
Nice if there is someone for that, even nicer if you can do that with colleagues among themselves. Ultimately, it is most pleasant if the work culture consists of not only consulting each other about the best tactic for that one customer, but also knowing how to find each other when things are not going so well.
Although that can also be difficult, because people no longer work in the office every day. Yet it is advisable to make that trip to and from work more often if you want to (continue to) feel connected to colleagues. “It starts with seeing each other and really paying attention to each other. Then you also realize sooner if something is wrong,” says Roelofs. According to her, that works both ways: not only should your manager do everything to create a socially safe environment, but you must also be willing to seek connection.
Everyone has a bad day sometimes
The feeling of belonging and being part of a team comes up most often as important points in career studies, Roelofs sees. But even then, it ultimately comes down to someone opening their mouth or sounding the alarm. Whether that is the employee who is facing burnout, or the employer or colleague who sees that happening. A human, open and curious attitude is important in this regard, says De Heer.
If you notice that a colleague is behaving differently, try not to make assumptions, the psychologist advises. For example, if someone is usually very present and now suddenly very quiet. Ask further: why is that person not sleeping well, what does that mean? For example, sleep problems can manifest themselves differently in someone else than in you.
It is and remains a balance. After all, everyone has a bad day sometimes. That should just be possible without the company doctor being called in.
“That’s exactly why checking in with each other every now and then works so well,” De Heer thinks. “That can ensure that people feel seen and heard and make it easier to raise things before they become too big.”
She recommends taking a moment with each other every few weeks to see how things are going. “If you jointly signal the signs of too much stress, you will both learn from that. And with those techniques and tools, you can possibly prevent that in the future.”