What are the standards for mental health in the workplace?

No matter in the field of clinical psychology or corporate EAP services, there has been no unified standard that can be applied to all industries and all positions. There is even a huge difference in the judgments of people from different positions on this matter. I recently talked to a friend who is an EAP consultant at an Internet company about a case in which a girl who works as a user operator in a large factory has achieved S-level performance for three consecutive quarters. She was ranked first in department evaluations. Her boss felt that she was in good enough shape to take on more projects. However, when she came to consult, she said that she could only sleep 3 hours a day for more than a month. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard Qiwei's notification tone, and she felt nauseous even when browsing content related to the product she was responsible for. From the perspective of managers, many people think that being able to steadily complete job requirements and not bring personal emotions to work is considered mentally healthy. According to this standard, this girl fully meets the requirements. ； But from the perspective of clinical psychology, she is already in a critical state of anxiety disorder. She is just relying on willpower to hold on, which is obviously not healthy anymore.

In fact, there is no need to worry about those obscure academic definitions. The commonly used judgment logic is very simple. It is a bit like when we wear shoes. Outsiders see whether the shoes you wear are good-looking and whether you walk fast enough are empty. Only you know whether your feet are hurt by wear. Last month, our team conducted a psychological screening for a manufacturing factory in the Pearl River Delta. There was a workshop monitor who scored healthier than most office workers. However, his daily job was to argue with workers who failed to meet production capacity and bang the table with the leader who was pushing for progress. We asked him if he found it annoying. He laughed and said that this is my job. After the argument, he could drink two bottles of cold beer and eat half a pound of braised food when he turned around after get off work. He didn't take it to heart at all. You see, his work scene itself has its own conflicts. As long as he doesn't suffer from internal conflicts and can express his emotions, and doesn't have to be a "professional smiler", there will be no problem.

Nowadays, many colleagues who work in professional psychology are making a statement called "unhealthy mental health is allowed". To put it bluntly, it means that you don't need to be emotionally stable and motivated all the time. When working on a big project, you need to stay up late for weeks and have conflicts with colleagues. Sometimes I feel depressed for two or three days, or I can’t help but secretly complain when my boss scolds me. These are all normal fluctuations. As long as you don’t get stuck in your emotions and it won’t affect your eating, sleeping, and work for a long time, there is no need to put yourself in the shackles of “unhealthy psychology.” If it really gets to the point where you feel nauseated just thinking about going to work, you can't get excited about the work at hand even though it's not difficult, and you can't even taste your favorite food, don't force yourself to do it. Talk to a professional. There is no perfect health standard. If you can find a dynamic balance between work and comfort, you've already passed the test.