Our jobs are one of the most important aspects of our lives. We need them to keep a roof over our heads, pay our bills, and buy our groceries, just to name a few. However, as important as our jobs are, they could also hurt our mental health.
I’ve recently read an alarming article about a crew member who worked at one of Royal Caribbean’s ships, Wonder of the Seas. After the ship left Port Canaveral, a Brazilian crew member committed suicide after leaving a note and posting a video on social media. The crew member requested earlier to return home after his contract got extended because he was dealing with some issues back there. His request was denied. Some crew members felt that this denial might’ve led to his unfortunate suicide.
Reportedly, this is not the first unfortunate tragedy of employees that have worked on cruise ships. There have been several other similar incidents of employees disappearing and intentionally ending their lives. Experts feel that part of this is due to the lack of mental health assistance for employees on Royal Caribbean’s ships. Many companies, big and small, are experiencing this similar problem. If your company has a lack of employee mental health assistance, here are 5 things you must do to protect it to stay productive and healthy at work.
Acknowledge Signs of Poor Mental Health
The first important thing you must do is acknowledge that you’re not okay. Check for any alarming signs of poor mental health. Do you feel less enthusiastic than usual about coming to work? Are you feeling more sluggish about completing important assignments on time? Has your physical hygiene been poor lately? These are just some of the questions you must consider and answer concerning any changes in mental health behavior. Don’t be in denial about your health. Pay attention to any alarming signs of behavior changes.
Find the Root Cause of Mental Decline
It’s not enough to say that your job is ruining your mental health. What exactly is it about your job that is ruining your mind? Is it your co-workers, your boss, or your increasing workload? Finding the exact cause of your mental problems helps you work on a plan to solve your problems. Try keeping a journal of your feelings throughout the day. Be sure to make a note of any events, tasks, or interactions that are causing you to become depressed or experience anxiety. Be open and honest about how these situations made you feel.
Reach out to a Trustworthy Person
When we start experiencing any problems in our lives, we can’t solve them all by ourselves. Reach out to someone that you come to trust for help. Make sure that this person is a good listener and allows you to express what you’re going through. It could be a co-worker or even better, a supervisor. This person must direct you to helpful resources that could aid your poor mental health. The human resources office could also be a good source sometimes. Some companies have employee assistance programs where an employee can have a handful of therapy sessions at no charge. However, if your employer is fighting back against you because of your mental health state, contact the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to file a claim.
Consider Changing your Job
Are you sure you’re in the right job? Are you really happy where you’re at? If you’ve been experiencing anxious feelings within your job, it might be time to examine whether it’s the right one for you. Start to think about whether it is the job or you that’s holding you back. If the job is the problem, consider making a career change today. If you’ve worked in the healthcare field as a nurse for many years and you want to further your hobby as a gardener, go and pursue that career interest. If it causes you less stress than your nursing job, you owe your mental health to seek that opportunity.
Give Yourself a Good Break
Sometimes, you need to take a vacation. Taking a week or two trip benefits your mental health. We all need a well-deserved break from our jobs sometimes. Do what’s best for you and your mental health and take a vacation. Go and visit some family members you haven’t seen in a while. Visit a foreign country you have never been to. Just give yourself that much-needed break you truly need. Some people take a vacation for a week or more to relieve their minds from the daily stress of their jobs.
If your job is impacting your mental health, consider following these tips to alleviate this problem. Having a job is vital, but it’s not worth keeping if it is ruining your life. Go after something that makes you satisfied mentally and pays the bills. Put yourself before your job.
Have a job that’s badly ruining your mental health or know someone going through this? Feel free to open up in the comments section below. I’ve created a free 30-page journal in Canva where you could share some of those interactions at work that triggers your anxiety or depression. Download this journal and print it up if you like. You may use it in Adobe Acrobat Reader as well. As usual, feel free to like or share this post with someone you care about.
