What are the standards for mental health in the workplace?

At present, there is no absolutely uniform quantitative standard in the industry, but the general consensus in various fields is that if one can balance self-demand, job requirements and interpersonal boundaries in the workplace, and will not deplete inner energy due to long-term work, and at the same time maintain the self-adjustment flexibility to cope with work fluctuations, it is basically considered to be in a state of compliance.

Of course, researchers in different fields have quite different opinions on the tightness of this standard. Most scholars who do research on organization and management prefer to approach it from a functional perspective. They believe that as long as you can stably output work results that meet the requirements of the job and have no long-term self-denial about your career choice, even if you just treat your work as a tool to make a living and not love it at all, it is still considered to be up to standard. There is no need to force yourself to have a "workplace ownership spirit" to be healthy. However, most researchers who are deeply involved in clinical psychology will place a higher weight on life boundaries. They feel that work has long encroached on private life. No matter how good your performance is and how well you seem to be suitable for the position, as long as you have persistent insomnia, irritability, and physiological resistance to work, even if you have not yet diagnosed a mental illness, you have already left the healthy zone.

I have been doing EAP consulting in the company for more than four years, and I have come across two very typical examples. One is a young man who works on back-end algorithms. He stayed up for more than 20 days in a row while rushing for a major product version last year. During that time, he complained every day in our anonymous consulting group and wanted to quit. He also took melatonin for almost a week before he could sleep. As soon as the version came online, I immediately took five days off and went cycling in western Sichuan. When I came back to work, I immediately returned to work. I usually pack my bags and go to accompany my girlfriend when the time comes, and rarely work overtime. This is a very typical health state - temporary stress is normal, and as long as there is a channel for adjustment and it can be alleviated, it is not a problem. There is also a To B sales girl who has been the best seller in the team for two consecutive years. Her leaders and colleagues praised her for her good attitude and ability to handle things. When she came to me for consultation privately, she said that for more than half a year, she felt sick every morning when she woke up and thought about meeting customers. She couldn't help but lose her temper when she heard other people mention work-related words when eating with friends. She secretly took an anxiety self-rating scale and her level was at the moderate level. This is a typical situation where "it seems to be in full compliance with the organization's requirements, but in fact it has stepped on the red line of mental health."

There used to be a lot of discussion on the Internet about whether the "laying down in the workplace" advocated by young people nowadays is considered mental health. This controversy is not small. Some people think that as long as you give up the obsession with papers and stop internal friction, it is healthy. Some people think that this is an excuse to avoid workplace responsibilities. In fact, there is no need to struggle with these labels. The judgment standard is very simple: if you really accept your own work rhythm, complete your assigned tasks on time, and completely switch to the lifestyle mode after get off work, without worrying about not climbing up, then of course it is healthy. ； But if you talk about lying down, but in fact you are worried about whether you will be laid off when you are fishing, and you are secretly jealous and unable to sleep when you see your colleagues getting promoted. This kind of internal friction is more harmful than serious work, and of course it is not healthy.

Speaking of which, mental health in the workplace is like walking in shoes. Outsiders see whether you are walking steadily or whether the shoes are good-looking or not. Whether your feet hurt and whether you can walk long distances comfortably are the core criteria. There is no need to have a uniform size. After all, everyone's career aspirations are different. Some people want to work hard to reach the top of the industry, while others want to find a stable job to earn a living. As long as you are comfortable in this state and can find a way to ease yourself when encountering bad things, there is no need to judge yourself harshly by other people's standards.