What are the standards for mental health in the workplace?

At present, there is no set of hard judgment standards in the industry that is universally applicable. Compared with the perfect personality of "completely free of negative emotions and always positive", true workplace mental health is more inclined to a state of "dynamic balance and self-adjustment". I met a girl who was born after 1995 when I was doing business EAP matchmaking. She stayed up for 10 days in a row last month for a big promotion. During the meeting, she was scolded by her boss and then turned around and complained to me that she wanted to quit. She also wondered whether she had a mental problem because of her poor ability to handle stress. As a result, she had a drink with her colleagues at the big promotion celebration banquet and got over-performance. She turned around and pulled me to talk about the new event planning for the next quarter. Her eyes were bright. Do you think she is unhealthy? Definitely not.

In the past, there was actually some disagreement on this standard in academic circles and workplace circles. Traditional occupational health psychology was more inclined to use quantifiable indicators such as "long-term emotional stability, harmonious workplace relationships, clear career planning, and stress resistance ability to match job requirements". It was felt that if it was not met, it was a state that needed adjustment. However, in the past two years, as the post-00 generation entered the workplace, many people raised objections - Why should I hold back and maintain emotional stability after being treated unfairly? It’s time to quarrel with the leader, and when I’m unhappy, I’ll take a break. As long as I can be responsible for my own choices and don’t get entangled in internal conflicts over and over again, this can be called truly healthy.

In fact, there is no right or wrong between these two statements. To put it bluntly, it is just like when we look at the battery health of a mobile phone. It does not mean that you cannot lose power. It is normal for the battery to drain quickly when you watch videos and play games. As long as you can find a charging method that suits you and don’t have to wait until it automatically shuts down before you remember to charge it. You will not charge it all night and lose 20% of the power as soon as you unplug it. Then the battery status is OK. The same is true for workplace psychology. When you encounter a difficult emo project, when you encounter weird colleagues who complain, or even occasionally have the idea of ​​resigning, they are all normal reactions. As long as you don’t get stuck in such negative emotions and can’t get out, and don’t think about getting a job. I suffer from physical headaches at work, suffer from insomnia and can’t eat for a week or two in a row. I don’t hold all my grievances to the point of internal injury in order to maintain my image as a “good employee”, and I don’t vent my anger at work on my family and friends. I’m basically in a healthy range.

I have met a boy who works on algorithms before. He rarely chats with his colleagues except for necessary needs. He can push and push during team building. Many people have reported to HR that he is withdrawn and unsociable. As a result, he doesn’t think there is any problem at all. He works more efficiently than anyone else. After get off work, he is very happy in his circle of model airplanes. You can’t use the hard standard of “harmony in workplace interpersonal relationships” to say that he is mentally unhealthy, right? There is really no need to follow the restrictive self-assessment standards on the Internet. Everyone's personality and tolerance are different. Some people think that chatting with colleagues is relaxing, while some people think that maintaining social networking in the workplace is draining. As long as you feel that the income from this job can cover the emotional costs you pay, and you will not be consumed by work and lose the interest in life, that is enough.