At 53 years of age I’m glad to see that people have taken mental health more seriously over the past couple years. As a kid there seemed to be a stigma against psychological disorders. Today, the idea that encouraging folks are able to associate actions with mental health is quite encouraging. The stories of Vietnam vets with untreated PTSD, unflattering stories of folks with schizophrenia, or using the term “going postal”, were all too real at that point of history, but it’s comforting to hear how things have changed.
As result, there has been a significant impact to way symptoms are approached within the larger medical community. While the physical aspects of health such as stomach aches, hearing loss, and heart attack are obvious, the influence cognitive functions have on quality of life and health overall have really been studied just about 100 years or so.
While medical professionals have long understood the ties between the brain and muscle movement, impacts on things such as stress and anxiety on a persons physical health, or impacts of on a persons performance at work, are relatively new.
Many of these studies have been rooted in the likes of Freud and Pavlov can be credited with really getting that started. It has been through their efforts, and the efforts of those who have followed, where we find ourselves today, with this aspect of the medical community, having grown in ways we would have never imagined.
It is also because of their combined efforts that we can better understand ourselves and the actions of those around us.
While the importance of mental health has grown tremendously, especially over the past couple of decades, I personally believe the psychology associated with the workplace needs more attention. Please let me explain in terms of my own place of work.
I am a Federal employee within one of the US Governments Operations Centers and have been here way too long. I’ve joked that I 13 years into a two year sentence, which is about 18 in dog years … mainly because it feels that way at times.
Let me clarify. While our leadership like to refer to our unit as an Operations Center, it is actually a Watch. Many people don’t realize that there’s a huge difference between the two.
For instance, an Operations Center can enact change … which means the person in charge of a specific shift has the authority to direct someone to take action on an event, and they can expect it to occur.
On the other hand, a Watch can bear witness to an event, provide their chain of command with their details of the event, and keep a record of events as things progress.
Or, more sarcastically, if an Operations Center notices their ship is taking on water, someone will likely be directed to go fix it. If a Watch notices that their ship is taking on water, they can file a report, or if it’s bad enough call someone. Then, after the report is sent, they can expect that someone else might take action on the issue at a later date, and only if someone else deems it necessary. If the ship continues to take on water, the Watch may provide an update to the previous report, but only if leadership seems interested.
Even then, if someone up the chain finds a typo in either the Watch’s original report, or the update, there’s a good chance the author will be in hot water before the ship’s issue with extra water is addressed.
Sarcastic? A little. But, if you’re laughing, there’s a good chance you’ve worked in a Watch at some point in your life. I firmly believe there have been way too many real life versions of these scenarios which have produced more than a few disgruntled employees … which is a different post altogether.
I also believe that for too many folks, these watch (or ops) floors can become a professional black hole, and over time there can be a negative impact on their overall mental health They get hired on, likely viewing the position as temporary, a steppingstone to something else, or simply a short term change, only to wake up one morning with a lot of new grey hair, wondering what where the past couple of Presidential administrations had gone! True, this doesn’t apply to everyone, but this has occurred to enough people in the Watch / Ops Centers I’ve worked for some of us to take notice.
Of those who move on to other things … before they either die or retire … there are a few who are promoted within the same organization. Those who do seem to have a connection, some form of relationship with another human, that helps that move to occur.
Each of these folks have a few great ideas on how to improve the workspace. Sadly, they tend to reach a point where they seem to forget their roots, only to repeat many of the same actions they complained about in the past without realizing it ever happened.
Those long term employees who remain are the ones whose mental health seems to take a hit. Over time they watch the unit evolve, they watch leaders rotate through, with many changes seeming to occur simply for the sake of change, which appears to be the only constant. Regular tasks that were streamlined a few months prior get streamlined again; disto lists are revamped; checklists reexamined, reformatted, and re-instituted with no real change, or improvement, take place like clockwork … all of which takes place without a decent explanation of why these “improvements” were needed.
Add these to the cyclical complaints from leadership about typos, formatting, and employees eventually second guessing their own judgement, and after enough time, a persons mental health is impacted. Time creeps by with the only real change being to organizations scope of work … and sadly, for the individual, the only thing that really changes, are the grey hairs and which President has their picture on the wall.
That is where I find myself. Fortunate enough to have a job, seemingly unable to get moved, watching leadership unwittingly regurgitate some prior “change”. Hopefully I will be able to move on soon.
Just in case you’re curious, I started my current job in November 2010 and was removed from the watch in February 2020, just as closures due to COVID were about to kick in. While I now work in the “Standards and Evaluation” branch, I’m still part of the Watch. The which means we turn “changes” into new versions of old Work Instructions, make sure folks on the Watch are aware, and run exercises accordingly. Sadly, I’m still part of the cycle, but at least I’m aware of it!
But, how did I get moved? Simple, a phone call.
I found myself at work that fateful day, griping quite bitterly to a coworker about a proposed change to the schedule when the phone rang.
A coworker picked it up, only to interrupting my gripe session by handing me the phone saying, “Lee, it’s your wife.”
“I’ll be right there,” I replied, as I continued to rant.
“You need to take this,” he urged.
“I’ll be right there!” I replied again with a little more urgency.
“NOW!” This caught my attention and I took the phone.
“Hey Honey, what’s up?”
Through tears in her eyes I could only make out four simple words, “Jeff called … Dad died!”
“I’ll be home as soon as I can,” I replied. My personal stress thresholds had been breached. I hung up the phone and lost my composure with everyone to see.
I soon realized one of our big bosses was present for the entire rant about the schedule. He also heard me lose my mind as one foul word after another spewed from my mouth for everyone on the Watch to hear. The news of my father-in-law’s passing was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The boss quickly reworked the schedule for there to be coverage and I was told not to return until after the funeral. With COVID picking up steam, my return had me supporting the Federal efforts upon my return.
Once that mission ended, some 16 months later, I was placed on a new Standards and Evaluation team. While this group is still tied to our Watch, at least it’s a fixed schedule. Unfortunately, we’re performing many of the same tasks I witnessed others perform in years prior … developing and promoting standards, reworking and recreating instructions and checklists, low level exercises to check the performance of those on the Watch, and training folks to ensure they’re performance meets the standards of our leadership. Things I grumbled about are things I am now part of … I still can’t seem to get away. Ironically, I’ve heard some members of the Watch gripe about us the same way we griped about our own predecessors. On the positive note, my current bosses seem to think I’m doing a pretty decent job.
While I am still unhappy with what I do, I don’t complain. I still have a job with decent benefits and I continue marching toward an eventual retirement. But, the impacts on my own mental health remain, and I’ve witnessed other long-term Watch Standers as they too are beginning to show cracks in their own armor. Change continues to occur as our unit evolves, but nothing really changes. Stressors remain, but I don’t believe our leadership realizes how upset folks are about certain aspects of the Watch. I sense that there is a level of artificial stress simmering just below the surface, and I hope I’m wrong. I would hate to get word of another Watch Stander losing their composure like I did that fateful day in 2020.
Occasionally I’m reminded about an interview question that goes something, “Why are you leaving your current job?” Or, “Tell me about your biggest work related accomplishment to date.”
Legitimate questions, but the first one always seems tricky. I’ve always wanted to answer, “I’m looking to leave my current job because frankly, I’m sick of their crap and am looking for someplace else to work so I can eventually get sick of their crap as well.” Correct answer, probably. Actual answer, not yet. Maybe someday, but not yet.
For the second one, of all my working years, I really can’t think of an answer. Sad, but true. There are things I’m glad I’ve been part of, and things I’ve been proud of at work, but I really can’t think of a “biggest work related accomplishment”, but if there was one event I’m glad I was part of, and it was due to a single discussion. One I had with a coworker.
One day about 5 years ago I overheard another coworker ranting about his work environment … more specifically, the organizational structure, why he didn’t believe it was working as it should, and why he didn’t seem to believe leadership really cared. When we’ve all heard folks gripe at work about something or other, in most cases we simply let folks get their gripe off their chest. While we may get sick of those gripes, I’ve come to realize that in many cases, venting seems to help the person involved, at least in the short term.
Joining such a conversation is likely the most important thing I’ve done in any job. I don’t remember anything else that was going on that day, but I do remember this gentleman had reached his breaking point and it was overflowing into his personal life. He wasn’t just griping, he was openly talking suicide … sadly, nobody … else … flinched.
At that time this gentleman was about to retire as a Reservist in the military. He was a grandfather of three, a wife he bragged about, and was thinking about ending it all because our Watch pushed him to his limits. At that point, all I could do was listen.
I slowly began to repeat points back to him, not only to make sure I heard him correctly, but to ensure he heard what was coming out of his mouth. Before long, the tone began to subside. The talk was still there, but the tone was slowing to a simmer, and then I had to speak up.
“Fuck ’em.”
“What?”
“You heard me!” I replied.
“No, I’m not sure I did!”
“I said FUCK ‘EM!!!” and for a brief moment we just stood there starting at one another. “Look dude,” I continued. “You’re telling me you’re these assholes have gotten to you so badly that you’re willing to off yourself? For what? This bullshit?! You’ve got three grandkids that need to be spoiled, a wife that loves you, beer to drink, fish to catch, and football to talk about on Monday morning, and now you’re telling me you’re going to tell me these fuckers have gotten so deep into your psyche that you’re going to throw all the good things away?! Fuck ’em! Fuck all those fucking fucker fucks! Matter of fact, I’ve got two fishing rods in the car and enough money to buy some booze. How about we take the rest of the afternoon off, get some beer, and go drown a few worms before the sun goes down?”
At this point I knew he’d snapped out of it. “I can’t do that, I don’t even drink!” he replied.
“I guess you’re driving then, huh?!”
And not only was that best day I’ve had on my current job, but I’m glad to say my buddy is still alive! The rest of the crap we’ve had to deal with could, and still, can be flushed without missing a beat.
While the most noteworthy workday I’ve had can be summed up in a conversation, it is apparent that things really haven’t changed. About a month ago, I went looking for my boss for something of minor importance, only to find him talking with our FBI liaison about their Watch. As the conversation ended he muttered something about spending seven years working on their floor.
As he walked off I’d muttered something along the lines of, “Just seven? I’d been on ours for just over nine and now I’m on psych meds.”
Apparently, my boss thought I was joking and laughed it off. I’d been on anti-depression, anti-anxiety meds for just shy of a year at that point and he treated it like a joke. Granted, I’d never brought it up, nor have I mentioned it since, but with the big deal folks have made about mental health in the workplace, I’d expected more than what I’d just witnessed. Is this truly the norm? I hope not. Will things ever really change? I doubt it.
Earlier I’d mentioned how I’m glad to see that people have taken mental health more seriously over the past couple years. While I’ve used my workplace as an example as to how situations can wear on a persons mental health, it by no means suggests that that my place of work it is a cause of mental disorders.
I’m also glad the efforts of mental health professionals have not only reduced many of the social stigmas of the past and improved the way we interact with those around us. The National Alliance of Mental Illness has also publicized statistics that help folks to relate. Some have caught my eye more than others. For instance:
- 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
- 1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
- 1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
- 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24
- Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-14
With stats like that, more than likely there are folks in our social, professional, and family circles that are either currently working through some issue, or already have, even if we don’t realize it’s occurred. It is from this perspective that I believe we need to be cognizant that folks around us are possibly struggling with something in their lives, whether social, psychological, or physical, and we may never be aware. I also believe we should be empathetic enough to understand that when someone loses their cool, it might be the result of a personal struggle with rather than something we caused.
And, when it comes down to it, please take a few minutes to talk. It may not only mean the difference between a good day and a bad, but it may mean the difference between life and death.
Please, let’s look out for one another, and help when you can.