If there is one thing that the pandemic, war, inflation, ambivalence, uncertainty, and complexity of this changing world have made clear, it is that WE ARE VULNERABLE. Although most of us were aware of it, what we did not think is that this "weakness" could be shown and managed in the workplace. A good manager considered that he should appear strong, omnipotent. Few were aware that true strength was reflected in showing vulnerability and confidence in managing their own weakness and that of others. Confidence that no matter what happened, we experienced painful emotions, sadness, anger, or frustration, we would know what to do. We can count on the confidence to know that we can manage situations. It will come naturally to some of us, others will have to learn and acquire a new skill: that of managing our well-being and that of our colleagues and teams.
From Healthy Work we recommend training to learn how to:
- Have at least rudimentary knowledge of psychology: Understand anxiety, stress (burnout) and depression, how they manifest themselves, how to identify them in ourselves and in those who work in front of a screen. Can a sad person get angry? Can an aggressive response be due to anxiety and fear? Do we manifest all stress in the same way?
- Know how to be attentive to changes in the behavior of our colleagues to ask... Are you okay? Is something wrong with you? You seem quieter, lately I've noticed you're frustrated, not very participative... it's not you.
- Intervene and manage it. How far should I get involved? Should I let it get to me? Can I mention the word sadness or just talk about results? How do I manage a colleague who doesn't want to talk about what he's going through when it's obvious he's having a hard time?
- Create the necessary environment and culture for the development of resilience and well-being where all team members are aware of the importance of taking care of ourselves and others and generate the confidence to show themselves vulnerable.
- Know the resources available to refer and help when we are not enough.
If managing the mental health of people can be difficult, doing it with people we work with online, through a computer, can be even more difficult. The lack of frequent physical contact can hide what we are going through. The good thing is that,
- like so many of the skills we have, wellness management, mental health management can be learned
- During the COVID pandemic, we have learned that we can show weakness or vulnerability in the face of the normal difficulties of life
- We are aware that we are models, an example to the people with whom we work and that our leadership style contributes significantly to the well-being of the teams we manage.
HealthyWork has increased the supply and availability to help managers develop these skills, and the demand in recent months, as a result of the awareness of the need, has increased significantly.
Miguel Angel Cristobal Carle