Your Job Doesn't Care About Your Mental Health

[@MaynardFergusonify]

"Burnout tends to be caused by people who want to do a good job, but are placed in a situation where doing a good job is very very difficult" Yeah this line hit me like a truck. That's my life lol

[@MrThedumbbunny]

Same. The most stressful part of my job is not fixing an emergency problem but doing paperwork where i am completely dependant on someone else doing thier part (and often havent been getting it done due to overworked/understaffed).

[@jaetrnn6000]

I work in disability as a psych student and I also see a therapist. I was told that in this line of work, there's always the possibility of doing more and better, and so that you have to be okay with doing your best but also doing what's enough.

[@MrThedumbbunny]

@@jaetrnn6000 i understand that but as a task oriented person being unable to do my tasks as often as I am (due to external incontrolable factors) the single biggest stress point in my life. Saying i should let it go (which I do and make an effort to follow through on) does not change this for me.

[@TheItVirusGaming]

Sicklil I feel like I am in a similar spot

[@MrThedumbbunny]

@@TheItVirusGaming a lot of the people i interact with at work are as well. The experienced ones are better at handling the frustration but it is still there.

[@brandon1138]

10hr days 5-6 days a week, but when I mention being depressed or hating my life, all I hear is "But the money must be nice though huh?" Makes me want to tear my hair out, more than I already do.

[@lorden95]

work less live more. if it's possible that is.

[@the_moo000oon]

is it good though?

[@meerafinearts1914]

Yeah I would hear that too. As if my life force was the necessary exchange to make money. SMH

[@gogetyourgun1490]

Sorry, but working that much is not worth any money, even at 6 figures. No doubt that my mental health will not only negatively effect myself, but others.

[@fabianbravo6008]

sounds like you have choices to make then lol

[@andrewkelley9405]

HR is nobody’s friend but the company’s. Don’t forget that.

[@instanttregret]

Does that mean the only way to get them help you is by threatening lawsuit ?

[@BrosBrothersLP]

In america

[@BrosBrothersLP]

I actually Had HR and Union people Help me keep my Job and reduced hours because of Depression after i started Not showing Up in time

[@georgepantzikis7988]

@@BrosBrothersLP I'm glad they helped you, but know that the reason they did it is because they figured it would cost less to help you than to replace you. I know it's a horrible way to think, but it's how companies operate.

[@BrosBrothersLP]

@@georgepantzikis7988 yes but that all we can really ASK from Big Corps in our System. And thats how Unions can create pressure by increasing Costs through financing lawsuits f.e. For example in Germany If your company is a certain Size. I believe 50 employees. You have the right to Organize in the workforce and your Boss has to allocate time for this. Through that mechanism a Boss would Need to fire all employees. Also he would actually commit a crime for firing an employee for Labor organzing.

[@jenl9081]

I realized that not only does your job not care about your mental health, they don't care if you live or die either. My direct manager passed away suddenly over the weekend from health complications of fighting cancer (she thought she was cleared), like one Friday I was still speaking to her, and next Monday she was gone. The company replaced her position with someone new within 3 days, sent out a small tribute via mass email, and called it a day. It was such an eye opener, your workplace doesn't give a shit about you!

[@jvolc]

❤

[@LFanimes333]

I mean, to be fair, while the half-assed tribute is in bad taste… What else did you want them to do?

[@SoulDevoured]

​@@LFanimes333have actual human connection and for it feel sincere when they say "we all feel this loss" or whatever. It can't happen retroactively. So any sort of memoriam or response would feel shallow and meaningless coming from people who never had a meaningful relationship with someone even though they relied on them day in and day out. I know this disconnect is par for the course but that's what alot of people are feeling when things like this happen.

[@LFanimes333]

@@SoulDevoured Friend, they are your bosses. Not your friends.

[@SoulDevoured]

@@LFanimes333 yeah I get that but that's still the feeling people are missing. Established connection. We don't need to be friends to respect each other as people and colleagues.

[@TheGreatRakatan]

Job: "Here, have this meditation app!" Employee: Meditates and realizes their workplace is toxic AF and quits Job: Surprised Pikachu face

[@ghostcowboy8915]

🤣🤣🤣

[@notaburneraccount]

Lmaooo

[@Gokey24]

😂

[@rtgyhurftgyhuj]

You just summed up my experience working for starbucks

[@instanttregret]

Dr K going off on corporate culture feel insanely validating

[@hansonel]

It is so awesome and validating to see he is as angry and frustrated as most of us are at this corporate system.

[@vivvpprof]

Yes, and that's the most poisoning thing about it.

[@fzxfzxfzx]

at this point I'd just kms

[@dustybizzle1]

It really is, and it's so hard to work in a corporate environment, see all of the things he's talking about in this video, watch them actively fail, AND YET the company also sends out these wellness surveys to "gauge how well it's going" but - get this - the survey results directly impact our manager's year end bonus! So the "results" of all of this are BADLY skewed surveys, and not reflective of actual progress, but rather employees' unwillingness to rate their manager poorly. They're taking the most superficial "results" and proudly proclaiming they've fostered a healthy workplace, when we're all still at the end of our rope but just not willing to make our own lives hell by penalizing our manager for it.

[@HannesRadke]

Doc is shooting truth like a machine gun.

[@Gigaflare8822]

This is why communities like antiwork have taken off and why there were so many resignations this year. People are starting to realise how toxic work environments are, and they're not happy about it.

[@jonrambos1976]

Not sure how it is in your country but in mine there is an abundance of job offers and vacancies. Companies are contacting me constantly asking to join them. So this abundance may have caused this rise in confidence of employees who are not afraid to ultimately quit their job if things are going bad. Currently I'm on the fence of quitting as well. This trend is very empowering!

[@dannacht6827]

@@jonrambos1976 Rise up peasants! Don't settle for potatoes and peanuts! They're holding all the treasures in the castle off the backs of our labor! Don't be satisfied with the bare minimum of living cause that's when they rob you blind!

[@SamDy99]

@@jonrambos1976 Don't join. Just tell them to change work ethics or......

[@notaburneraccount]

Not even just that but being exploited for profit

[@UltimateGattai]

It just shouldn't be this way, profits are up significantly, but we're understaffed and over worked, just hire more staff to get the tasks done, you'll probably increase sales as well if there is more stock and staff to help customers.

[@noblesavage149]

Being in a toxic work environment is like being in an abusive relationship.

[@wildeskompositum9556]

its even worse bc u can get out of an abusive relationship, you wont of the job unless you wanna land on the street

[@wolfafe]

@@wildeskompositum9556 you can find another job, put yourself above it. Trust me i did that.

[@kuuryotwo5153]

@@wildeskompositum9556 best piece of generational advice I ever got came down from my great grandfather. I was told with respect to a job he always said, "I was looking for a job when I found this one, I'll be looking for a job when I find the next one." You work to live, you do not live to work.

[@chrisygirl1234]

I have actually said that. I worked at a super toxic place for a long time (imagine blizzard... but probably worse and in trucking) and it was exactly like that. They were excellent minipulators

[@flawlix]

I once left a workplace precisely because the environment was so toxic that it set me back years of recovery from an abusive family situation.

[@hairyfrankfurt]

The fact that you uploaded this on the same day where I literally nearly walked out of my job? This has me feeling less insane. Thank you.

[@Asakedia]

This morning I've been almost boiling blood because of something ongoing here. Refreshing youtube I found this video

[@paisleesheppard5629]

Ppl were more concerned with me being able to pay rent than with me working without fearing the physical abuse would culminate into 'oops I had scissors in my hand and temporary leave of eyeballs, sorry about your spleen.' But hey, it's fine as long as I paid my bills using the currency of PTSD!

[@XxKINGatLIFExX]

What is even crazier is my bro literally handed in his resignation TODAY! and was racking his mind about whether it was the right thing to do. I am sure if he watches this he will feel happy about the decision.

[@Asakedia]

@@XxKINGatLIFExX i wish him good luck for the future, take care you all

[@XxKINGatLIFExX]

@@Asakedia Thankyou for your kind words. I wish you the best with your future and I'll tell him there are awesome humans on the internet that want the best for him.

[@Farina101]

Funny thing is that I work at a mental health center but all the employees are quitting from burnout. There’s no support. We’re getting a staff appreciation week but thats more of a bandaid than a solution. When I tell people I’m leaving I get “why is it always the good ones!?”. The good ones are always the first to go because we can see how they treat us and the employees who do nothing all the same.

[@Strange9952]

Apparently treating people like human beings and making relationships is too much of a financial burden

[@replicanta9568]

Dude same here. I’m not leaving but I realized I’m not able to make a positive change so I decreased my shifts. I’m Burnt to a crisp

[@notaburneraccount]

Yeah staff appreciation day/week is just the appearance of caring. If they really cared, they'd do something about the whole work structure itself but why would they wanna do that? :/

[@ShaitMcGoose]

I had the possibility to get a piece of the pie at our company, but it turned out that I should've asked on paper. Because I got ducked in my @$$ by the bosses and burnt myself for nothing. Now I am a husk of my former self and nothing feels worth living for :D Hopefully I can get back to school and support my way to a graduation and better situation so that I can start enjoying life again...

[@bobrossw7583]

When you described burnout "interventions" by companies, it reminded me of studies on therapy modalities that found that parents preferred individual therapy for their young children over other therapies that focused on parent training, despite the fact that parent training is demonstrated to be effective and individual therapy (at very young ages) is not...the findings suggest that parents prefer to feel like they are doing something without a lot of effort on their part, even if it's not really accomplishing much.

[@Ofjkk]

And that's why we have kids parented by a phone these days

[@Generalized615]

My extremely well meaning Mom legit took me out of a therapist when I had depression/bipolar at around age 13 because she got in a fight with the therapist when he said she needed to take some responsibility and edit her behavior

[@dianalove539]

@@Ofjkk haha, me lol. Its not that funny but its true, my parents really did not know how to parent. I had to figure out so many things myself, at least its taught me to be a independent teen

[@coolcarly25]

What has bothered me always about this conversation is that it's still centered on improving productivity. Like, companies should do wellness things 'because it actually make employees more productive anyways!'. What if it was just a moral good to increase wellness? What if it DID decrease productivity? I would argue we should still do it anyways.

[@arctikc5889]

That is humanistically correct, but getting a corporation to do anything in a capitalist system without providing clear fiscal motivation is basically impossible.

[@shakashoon165]

Unfortunately for us the ONLY motivation a corporation has is a profit motive

[@Mebble]

I agree but corporations wouldn't give a shit if there wasn't proven results for them to benefit from

[@Jordan64852]

@@arctikc5889 yeah all that matters for them is the end of quarters results and that line graph going up! you can’t invest in something for the long-term if the short term will make you look bad in front of the shareholders 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Puzzlesocks]

You misunderstand because of blind capitalistic hate. Reality is that literally everyone has a bottom line.

[@lukeswain3630]

13:20 - so much this. Between commute time and 40-60 hrs per week, that means we're literally spending over 50% of our waking hours away from home, family, etc. Absolutely "wellness" needs to be integrated during these hours.

[@wolfafe]

man i remember when my boss wanted me to do some work overtime (without extra pay) and i would decline cause i already worked for 9 hours and want to just go out of this nasty ass building and see life and he would be like "what so important you got that you can't do this?" B R U H, i got LIFE TO LIVE.

[@Puzzlesocks]

In the 1800's the average work week was 70+ hours, the biggest difference being that you were often working with your family or local community on farms. Now we get shipped in to tiny cubicles in a room with more people than we could possibly know and get stuck on phones talking to even more strangers. We're helping a system produce goods we don't use and often don't even see, no wonder people's lives feel meaningless. What is dead is any sort of feeling of community/connection because numbers have inflated beyond our capacity to feel involved or invested. This is felt more strongly in cities and in large workplaces. We grow to hate a boss we never came to see as a person because we've never even met them. TLDR: I firmly believe it isn't at all about the hours worked, but rather the job done and the environment it's done in.

[@safir2241]

@@Puzzlesocks what about the average work week pre-imperialism?

[@Puzzlesocks]

@@safir2241 You mean like hunter-gatherer times when people literally worked almost every waking hour possible and were living in horrific conditions? Cities and industrialization have drastically lowered the number of days and amount of hours people work. There is a reason people flee from rural areas to the city to attempt to get a better standard of living. My argument is the cost of this specialization is causing a disconnect from community bonds people used to form. Basically that working less and having more free time isn't solving the problem, but it's the type of work and the personal investment into it that causes issues. People don't feel fulfilled in the amazon warehouse even though they are greatly contributing to the standard of living quite frankly BECAUSE they don't have an emotional connection to the people they are servicing or the company they work for. The pursuit of hedonism and consumerism isn't giving people meaning, and giving people more time to pursue those things isn't going to help anyone.

[@dannacht6827]

Work your life away so you can piss on your retirement funds for 15 years until you die! What a life! Everyone should want to live a quality life! Experience everything! Demand wages and vacation benefits to support this because the billions in profit is taking your decent life away from you and everyone around you!!!

[@YouAreSoMadRN]

This is why I’m against big corporate… everything. After writing my master’s thesis in marketing on “Creativity in the modern workplace: Using the Big 5 personality trait model to examine corporate culture” I became sure that freelancing is the only option for me and anyone who considers themselves to be creative.

[@Dominik-K]

Yeah, I have to agree. The burden of making a sustainable business isn't easy, but it's worthwhile

[@YouAreSoMadRN]

@@Dominik-K If you’re freelancing, it doesn’t even feel like a business, it’s more like personal finance/sales kind of thing. At first, it takes a while to develop your network that you can outsource some workload on a commission basis so that you can develop an attractive and well rounded sales pitch. But then 5 years down the line, you have your 3-5 gold accounts (and a bunch of smaller ones) which put you at operational capacity, and you become free to mingle with this system to optimise for happiness and self-realisation. At any point you can choose to turn it into a proper company and build an in-house team, but it all starts with a basic freelance setup. A business is something else entirely, like I have an ecomm platform and it’s more of a collection of freelancers/friends who have their own function. It’s rarely suitable for creative self-realisation, because you will have to compromise on a majority of things with the rest of your team, assuming equal stake. Much more admin/paper work too. The choice between freelancing and business routes depends on a lot of things, one of the basic ones being your need for income. To me, freelancing was just a bonus while living in the UK, because I needed a minimum of £1900 for a comfortable life there. In Lithuania, I can do with £800, and in Thailand this amount of monthly income is extremely comfortable… but it may not be like that for you, depending on your needs. If it’s not enough, then a good corporate gig is the trap you must rely on while you develop your business in your spare time. And in business, a good team is essential - most people I know meet their ideal team members while working in corporate environments, and then their business tends to be very closely related to their original corporate functions.

[@esiedits14]

Is there any place where I can read your thesis? I'm interested because I am someone who had a bizarre career change from being an auditor to a freelance video editor

[@YouAreSoMadRN]

@@esiedits14 it’s in the archives at the University of Lincoln (David Chiddick building, business school) and I only have a physical copy, so if you issue a request, it may be available for the public. Author: Poderskis Supervisor: Lock Publication year: 2018 Degree: MSc Marketing Or I could just tell you about the hypothesises, methodology and outcomes very briefly (will have to wait for me to go on the toilet to type it all out)

[@Dominik-K]

@@YouAreSoMadRN thanks a bunch for the detailed answer, I agree with your key points. Would love to hear more myself too, if you have the time

[@MrCriistiano]

"Your Job Doesn’t Care About Your Mental Health" - That was basically my postgrad thesis on occupational health and safety engineering. To solve this problem we need to change the workplace.

[@korratheaustralianshepherd5804]

well, as long are there are selfish humans looking to get more more more for themselves in the positions of power within organizations it will be an uphill battle. I think moreso than anything we need a cultural shift

[@ironmaiden93ofangmar]

But how? This video resonated a lot with me and it made me understand better what may or may not be happening to me. Which is great. But I also feel powerless knowing that the solution is to change the workplace as a whole. Like what am I supposed to do as a normal employee to change the workplace, feeling what Dr. K is explaining in this video?

[@BTrain-is8ch]

People are always looking for someone else to swoop in and save them like in a fairy tale but that's not how real life works. People need to grow out of that trend. That's how you solve the problem. People accepting ownership of their own well being is the answer. You're either part of the problem or part of the solution and doing nothing in a bad situation and complaining about how no one is saving you or no one cares is being part of the problem.

[@feudela4357]

@@BTrain-is8ch What does this even mean?

[@IshtarNike]

The real problem is capitalism. It doesn’t matter if you have a company of incredibly supportive and nice people. The wider system REQUIRES ruthless competition. The nice companies will be driven into the dust because a truly human centred workplace is not “productive” in the narrow sense currently validated by the system. You need to change the wider system before things can truly change on a wide scale.

[@tomseiple3280]

This was so cathartic Dr K. I'm a team leader and I am BURNED THE EFF OUT. I also have ADHD, and admitting burn out is risky because it comes with stereotypes of ADHD. Corporate and American culture on a whole is SOOO obsessed with doing ANYTHING other than just letting people DO WHAT THEY WANT AND WORK LESS.

[@prettyshortshorts]

Employers: We care about your mental wellbeing Also employers: There are too many bodies in this team and half of you will be fired, so make sure you work twice as hard, if you want to have a job.

[@littlegreenclementine]

translating employers: we want to cut costs by sacrificing your livelihoods. Why do we want to cut costs? oh, me and the board voted to give ourselves a nice bonus this christmas. take care now! cracks a whip

[@UltimateGattai]

Congratulations team! Profits are up 15% this year! ...I hate my job so much, this is exactly my job.

[@catiapb1]

I refuse to attend any program or conference that is on my resting days /hours. It is ridiculous to attend a conference where you go to learn something that is useful to your practice, after work or at weekends. The worse thing is that most health professionals find this normal... This culture needs to stop.

[@catiapb1]

@@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece It is everywhere... just check international conferences schedules !

[@SamDy99]

Sweden made it illegal to call employees after work hours. Now it's time that we should threat our govt. to do so

[@gmansard641]

Perhaps the current labor shortage and reduction of services will force businesses to change the way they treat their workers. One thing I have long noticed. There is a particular personality that rarely sleeps and just looooves to work. These are the people that barely notice when it's getting dark after being at work for some 9 hours, or just won't shut up at meetings and drag them out far longer than necessary. These are the people who end up as our supervisors. No personal life, they essentially live at their workplaces. Constantly bemoaning that people are so lazy and how no one wants to work.

[@EmeraldAshesAudio]

I'm ditching the company Christmas party this year. I've been stressed as fuck in my new management position, and I don't want to give up an evening so that I can be bored and anxious. Half my damn coworkers aren't even in the region, so it's not even particularly good team bonding.

[@Serena-or7sl]

What I've seen done (by my boyfriend) is to take an equivalent amount of days off after the event, without using PTO (he can because his employer encourages this). This is IMO the only way to go to work conferences

[@CYXXYC]

This man really works 60 hours a day and 10 more arguing with insurance companies

[@thenoblemute7669]

Poor guy's so burnt out its warping space time

[@luisvelasquezjr]

This man is so time efficient he is able to add more hours to a day. What a beast

[@stevechrollo8074]

@Chemical Lemons the problem with prices are that hospitals and providers are making it up, even without insurance being in the way

[@stevechrollo8074]

@Chemical Lemons they are regulated by the FDA. Unlike the “wellness” business like essential oils and fake shit like that. Otherwise, hospitals charge whatever they want. Enjoy $70 tylenols per pill

[@stevechrollo8074]

@Chemical Lemons Hospitals are paying legislatures to prevent legislation to control their prices

[@Quasartist]

I literally quit my extremely high stress high pressure job in February and haven't been employed since (thankfully I've been able to float off my savings by being frugal and I still live with my parents, don't let me blow smoke up anyone's ass) and I've never been happier. The absence of stable income hurts and sacrificing the gym especially bums me out, but man, it's been a huge sigh of relief in a lot of ways. I was gonna write this big paragraph about how awful it was, but I'm just gonna say, it's a welcome and well needed change at this point in my life. I'm trying to pursue freelancing in the meantime, but I'm also aiming at a part time job at a place that has a strict 9 to 5 or so workday, as to not get trapped in that rut again. Perhaps pay for some classes at my local community college or something. I'm just glad I pulled the trigger and quit when I did, despite not having a plan of attack. Sometimes you just gotta roll the dice if you can afford to.

[@KDill893]

"We'll make less money if we don't give our workers a reasonable break" The problem with this is you'll make less money if that worker quits and you need to put effort into hiring someone who will likely quit... and if the worker stays, the efficiency of their work is less than if you offered them some relief from the tasks they hate.

[@hgzmatt]

Let's not pretend companies plan ahead like this. It's mostly short sighted. I don't even remember what I ate 2 days ago.

[@pepeokatze]

Just threaten them lmao, what they gonna do ? Quit when they barely made ends met ? Exploit the fuck out of the workers and have backup plans incase they try to quit : threaten them with terrible cv, make them pay a fine for leaving early. Anything! Once they leave its ok, our replacement are already here.

[@hotpaws_maths_and_science]

@@pepeokatze are you a manager

[@jansafar3540]

@@pepeokatze 2008 financial crisis called, they want their mentality back

[@AndPennyThought]

I feel like there is an extremely strong belief in our culture that pain is the thing that makes you do better, stronger, harder, etc and we will go to insane ends to not surrender this belief. Maybe because to deny it would incriminate ourselves for participation.

[@WanderTheNomad]

I don't think incriminate is the right word. I think it's more like "This HAS to be true, because if it *isn't* true, then that would mean that *_I_* went through ALL that pain for *nothing."* And their brains can't handle that realization This is all just speculation of course.

[@AndPennyThought]

@@WanderTheNomad a good point!

[@bradchambers4229]

Pain is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. - Khalil Gibran. I think there is a dichotomy between passion and struggle, in that passion is what drives people to overcome the injustice and pain that is inherently present in existence. If you look at the world you see this battle throughout history, in every culture, and every person will experience pain. Schopenhaur asserted the idea of minimizing pain in existence through aestheticism. It seems that the bigger your dream and the bigger your reach for material existence, the more pain you expose yourself too. I think the difference is in intrinsic and extrinsic goals and that's what really makes the idea of pain change. When you intrinsically chase something for yourself you are more accepting of the pain and better able to process, whereas this extrinsic grind (the rat race) we are all sucked into is more a perversion of our lives and not something we are willing to go through all this shit for. The problem is clearly in how we are being exploited unfairly due to corporatization/HR bullshit.

[@CmoIsDaNam3i]

Yup. Exactly. Sunk cost is a real thing.

[@Jordan64852]

@@WanderTheNomad It reminds me of the episode of bojack horseman “good damage” I actually have thought to myself the reason I have trauma is so I write a book that will make me successful but trauma is just trauma accepting it as such allows you to grow from them!

[@NicholasPR]

This makes me so grateful for my job I've had for the last six years. They really do look out for us and our wellness, including having someone available to talk to for any kind of stress - she's not a psychologist or a counselor, but a spiritually-minded chaplain and ethnographer. I don't have to pay to see her and she's been a massive asset to my mental health. They also helped me get a new car when my old one drowned in a hurricane, and are allowing us to continue working from home for all the reasons Dr. K stated here. I don't have burnout like I used to, no chia seed pudding required haha. I hope more organizations follow suit in the future because I know I'm in a huge minority here

[@slimshady1293]

That makes me really happy for u

[@georgepantzikis7988]

Workplaces care about you being an efficient worker. They want you to have good mental health only because being depressed makes you less profitable. This isn't some complicated analysis of corporate culture, it follows by definition since the point of your existence in a company is to make money for it. Companies care about their workers' mental health in the same way that I care about my car having good tyres.

[@TheGreektrojan]

@@Dimitris_Half Also they tend not to see the downtick in efficiency easily/quickly as its usually gradual short of quitting.

[@catiapb1]

Between wanting and actually doing something about it there is a long way to go... Most of managers don't know what is good mental health, and they have a very poor work/personal life balance.

[@patu.121]

Haha. In my job they constantly send us emails about mental health, having good posture, staying active and going to the gym. However, since the pandemic started in March 2020, we've been working from home (I'm a teacher, so we've been teaching online), but we're expected to work at whatever hours they want us to - our schedules go from 7:00am and last class ends at 11:00pm. They expect us to sub classes when other teachers are absent or have problems with their connection. Also, they give us schedules that take our time both in the morning and night. So much for them caring about our wellbeing 😂😂

[@proximityclockworkx1572]

*good enough tyres.

[@dannacht6827]

All the mental health advocacy is bullshit! It's virtue signaling! What people need are good paying jobs that can support all living expenses and support a family! We are already extremely productive, but the wages do not reflect this!!! Stupid mental health seminars don't help me pay rent!!!

[@humanbeans7952]

I've been a Therapist for 3 years and when you were slamming note writing and insurance companies i felt that in my soul. I could do therapy all day, as soon as i have to stop and write notes my mood swings

[@bk8230]

My work place used to be awesome. We got a lot of new management, and they are making a lot of people mad, and they wonder why we don't perform as well.

[@hgzmatt]

I feel like sometimes you just get lucky and end up with an awesome team and managers.. the stars aligned. But then things change and you realize what you had was a rare gem. It has nothing to do with any kind of training or corporate culture bs.. just good ethical people coming together and not falling for the bs. It only takes a few key people to leave and the whole dynamic changes.

[@entropyfun]

I find that the workplace frustration is mostly to do with sense of fairness. People don't usually have problems with working, even if it's hard and challenging, they have a problem when their work is ineffective, futile or unrewarded.

[@DragonRiderShiru]

Edit: This aged poorly and no longer is true. Never trust your work place. Even if it seems like they care, they really probably don't unless they can take advantage of you. As someone who now works somewhere where my bosses actually insist that I take mental health days, have given me two raises this year I didn't ask for, and check on me and actually mean it, I feel beyond blessed.

[@KS0102]

Where do you work? The support helps, doesn't it?

[@DragonRiderShiru]

@@KS0102 wow this actually aged really poorly. :( I was actually told I'd never be considered for moving into a position of higher responsibility after needing a month of temporary disability because my insurance messed with my meds. I've completely given up on where I work now and things have changed a lot in a year. I also learned I was being critically underpaid. It's really depressing.

[@hanifjones4914]

damn.

[@DragonRiderShiru]

@@hanifjones4914 yeah. It was pretty soul crushing for me at the time. I did my all, worked from 7am to 8pm 6 days a week during the busy season without complaining, actively tried to improve things, and got screwed over for it. I don't think I will ever trust a work place ever again.

[@UltimateGattai]

@@DragonRiderShiru I'm sorry that happened to you, I was going to move up into a better position, but we change managers and now I can't progress because "He's too valuable where he is". I've given up too, I can't see myself working there within the next 6 months, I've already put in for 3 months of holidays and long service in a row starting January, seems like a waste of holidays when I haven't made plans, but I need to get out of the place.

[@monopackz5343]

I agree, my company is the same, they sent me a link for outsource help etc and they scheduled meetings to talk about my well-being every week, they then cut these meetings out without warning or notification. I spoke up about how it made me feel and they put it on me like I should of taken control more. Long story short you’re just a figure on a piece of paper that only gets noticed when the productivity drops.

[@caitlinhogan5258]

It’s really refreshing to see a psychiatrist/therapist actually acknowledge that systemic issues can affect your mental health. Especially around work (even though he didn’t mention the C word) and not just say it’s all up to our mindset. Or we have to “make the time” etc. This a larger problem in our hyper individualist culture where external stressors that are shared by many are ignored or dismissed and only internal ones are acknowledged despite them often being symptoms not causes. My work used to have seats in every front of house position and then they took them away and now our backs and feet hurt but we are never listened to but I’ll never not be mad about it!

[@xCalathra]

High school education here; I’ve been the guy on the phone telling doctors that certain things were deemed not medically necessary and won’t be paid. It’s not fun for reps on the phone either.

[@nenmaster5218]

'Belief it Or Not' made a great video about Mental Health.

[@dannacht6827]

Thats stupid. The best and most appropriate healthcare, treatment, etc. is entitled to everyone! Not just to those that can afford it! Americans demand universal healthcare!!!

[@ramireini]

Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. While being so anxious about the future that he never enjoys the present. Eventually dying having never really lived life.

[@hilarydirks715]

The worst wellness initiative I've ever had to do as a medical student/resident was when I had to go to a "wellness experience" after a 12 hour overnight call. It just proved that the hospital didn't care about actual wellness

[@tomaszwida]

that like a slap in a face, why hospitals are structured this way? why not have more staff so people aren't overworked. I know from experience (different industry) when u overworked u tend to do mistakes, with health its very price to pay for a mistake. is there a shortage in this profession or does it always comes down to bottom line? or there is a corporate system structure involved as well that is unwilling to change?

[@wolfafe]

This is very relatable, i left my job of 6 years this year. A combination of burnout, unhappiness and stress pushed me over the edge and the management and bosses didn't give 2 shits. I would have direct communication and work with my boss and i have at some times told him that im stressed or unhappy or not feeling mentally well and his response would normally be "just put yourself on my place if you think your position is hard"... bruh. I've had to deal with tons of stress and realistically situations that i don't think many experience at work like physical and mental threats from higher ups, abuse of power, breach of contracts, gaslighting and so on. Quite honestly i would compare my experience as an abusive relationship and i am quite possibly a changed man after this experience and probably not for the best, doesn't help that my family doesn't support me and just says i should've kept eating the shit at work.

[@Fallenpack]

I relate to what you're saying so much. I currently had to accept a job for a huge retail chain in desperation. I should have kept searching, but I was scared and just jumped to the first place that offered me a job. I've only been there for seven months and I've been more depressed then I ever have in my life. Abusive bosses, Useless HR, and just in general a toxic work enviornment that is letting people go for the smallest mistakes has been causing a lot of issues. I've been coming home as of late drained and at some points crying. I've tried to explain to my family about quitting and I am just told "That's life" or "Just deal with it, everybody works a shitty job" Honestly I'm at a point I don't know what to do anymore and I've been calling out sick a lot just to get away.

[@nailuj100]

Let's remember the anti-work tradition (and the subreddit) started with post-left anarchists and was about how the concept "work" has come to affect *all* areas of life. We come to structure our entire being through the concept of work (or the feeling of "having" to do something, for example, the feeling of "having" to enjoy your free time. That is just work infesting itself into your free time). The "work" of relationships, the "work" of getting good at your passions, the "work" of self-improvement; the point was that, in today's world, we can't get outside of thinking and living in terms of work, and it's precisely that which alienates us and makes us suffer. It doesn't matter whether mental health initiatives are beneficial to employers or not. Increases in productivity don't matter. Thinking in those terms doesn't get us out of the concept of work.

[@Lyndizi]

YASSS ❤

[@saberspeed77]

broo I hate it when schools and teachers say they care about mental health and all that and proceed to bombard us with work

[@jackyvalencia77]

This is the reason why so many jobs are understaffed. People don’t wanna deal with the stress and extra work you gotta deal with and managers just don’t give a shit

[@trashcatlinol]

I had a bout of burn out after a crappy job. Not only was I responsible for two departments, i was constantly being scolded for not doing more. I was exceeding their numbers for one person in BOTH departments each night. I didn't want recognition. I just wanted them off my back. Eventually I was fired after having a mental breakdown due to anxiety from all the 'get better or get fired' talk from managers. They tried to call me back after 2 weeks and I politely told them where to go.

[@wildeskompositum9556]

I had a burnout after working my ass off and some other dude got the higher position i applied for bc of nepotism. I just hated the job afterwards

[@nenmaster5218]

'Belief it Or Not' made a great video about Mental Health.

[@Tallonest]

@@nenmaster5218 link?

[@nenmaster5218]

@@Tallonest The channel is findable unter the name i gave.

[@MegaSalami]

It's infuriating whenever people tell me that you have to work to make a living when I tell them that I hate my job and that I'm tired of working 80 hour work weeks. I got a job elsewhere to work less hours and the first thing my family says is "Why so little hours? You have to make a living somehow.". If it was my choice, I'd go live in the woods and have my own ranch, and only buy things I need using a barter system of goods that I produce, but that's illegal.

[@isthisajojoreference]

That last part about the chairs triggers me so much, my boss made me stop sitting while doing my job because he doesn't want me to "look so comfortable", it's utter bullshit and actively makes me worse at doing my job

[@bluegobbie]

Got a survey at work asking how I felt about the way mental health was addressed. I absolutely blasted them for the reasons you described. You want to know how I feel about your handling of mental health in the work place? It's absolutely horrible. No matter how much they say they care, it's obvious they don't. Their solution as a whole, is to toss more money at people. My team was alone in an office building for a year, because we were told our job wasn't possible from home (70% of it is). Now people are coming back, but are still allowed to work 2 days from home...whatever days they want. Everyone on my team is looking for a new job.

[@Balloonbot]

What I like about working from home is that if im not working or If i need 5 minutes to lie down or just head-desk during a meeting, or fuck it - play a few rounds of a game during the day I can do it. There are social benefits to working from an office for sure, but not sure I want to go back.

[@anthonyskrzypczak9437]

I'm never going back ^_^

[@TheGaryAir]

This is why I've personally enjoyed the hybrid of the two

[@Shodanrua]

Thing is the world is run mostly by sociopaths so they don't and won't ever care. People should be more aware of this and not let non empathetic people get into positions of power.

[@RFLCPTR]

Capitalism is designed to make sociopaths rise to the top as they are the most ruthless in reaching the only goal that matters to the system: profit.

[@hgzmatt]

Wasn't there a study where they found people with dark triad traits were only equally likely to reach those positions? So it's not like evil wins the race.

[@rainsilent]

@@RFLCPTR You are missing something critical. You are blaming capitalism specifically for the universal problem with every economic system. In every economic system the only thing that ultimately matters is profit. Capitalism is just one specific variation of an economical system. To remind you: capitalism is designed to be an economic system in which the means of production can be privately run. State run or privately run production control you are going to have the same ultimate problem of the economic system where the only thing that matters is profit. The only way out of that truth is to be rid of any economic system altogether and most humans on the planet at this moment can't even fathom how such a system could even work. I think the true problem was best summed up by Frank Herbert with this quote from his book series Dune; "All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible." This very quote holds true in the business world too. Power universally attracts pathological people. At the same time those that aren't pathological don't have the interest to chase positions of power. Thus what Antonis Lab said to start this in that people should be more aware and not let such people into positions of power is quite a difficult thing to do.

[@RFLCPTR]

@@rainsilent But we can both agree that a libertarian socialism that would enforce workplace democracy and ownership of the means of production in the hands of all workers working at these given means would produce way better results in keeping the sociopathic from running the economy (at least for long, until they are voted out)

[@RyanOManchester]

@@RFLCPTR we can also agree that giving everyone free candy and drugs forever would be more fun than having no free drugs and candy. Stop with the head in the clouds nonsense and stop confusing problems caused by capitalism (which mostly tend to involve profit incentives) with problems caused by industrialization (i.e. the social stratification of "skilled/non-skilled" and exploitation of those in those who can not advocate for themselves).

[@Kosen66]

This is probably the most validating thing I've seen since going into mental health. Im so tired of wellness emails and fake ass check ins from supervisors knowing full well nothing about the work burning us out will change.

[@BlackKakarifer]

thank you so much Dr. K. this has been something i've been thinking a lot about at work and i couldn't quite put my finger on why the way my company does wellness bothers me so much. This really clarified a exactly why, and makes me feel a bit better about the situation.

[@justwhistlinpixie]

The last part about not letting employees have chairs really hit a nerve with me. My former employer (about a decade ago) wouldn't let me have a stool to sit on at the checkout counter when my kneecap was partially dislocated and I couldn't straighten out my leg. I told them that I would have to call in sick since I can't stand on one foot all day and further irritate my knee. I called in 3 days straight because they wouldn't give me a fucking stool. I've since had multiple bank teller jobs where I got to sit while working and no one ever thinks of a sitting teller as "lazy".

[@RhianKristen]

I knew this already, but it's nice to be validated. One thing that wasn't spoken about, is accommodations. If someone is injured, mentally ill, mentally/physically disabled, going through personal issues, couldn't get enough sleep, etc then it should be taken into account and people should be allowed to be human and sit down, or take more breaks, or have other accommodations given to them to improve their workplace and their wellbeing. Also, I will die on the hill of the work week should be no longer than 20 hours a week.

[@anonymone453]

Same thing is happening with climate change re: burden of responsibility being placed on the individuals vs the companies who are causing it

[@drewmandan]

Watch out now, your comment is going to be extremely triggering for certain people...Can I use it?

[@AmyMcLean]

OMG this is speaking to me directly. I own my company. It's a little garden maintenance business, we pull weeds, it's literally the most chill, zen job ever. But this year just sucked, all around, one catastrophe after another. I have never felt like I felt this year and I honestly thought I was experiencing depression, or something like it. I didn't realize burnout was it's own thing!

[@christopherstack176]

I am a physician (neurologist) and everything you said about physician burnout is true. My admins suggested a scribe which I scoffed at, but I may reconsider if I find my burnout to be documentation-centric. I am also going to look into some of the Benson Henry Institute approach. I am 3 years into being an attending and the prospect of doing this for the rest of my career is daunting to say the least. I find your content fascinating. Thank you.

[@platypusputin8067]

The part about Dr K saying that there is a shift of responsibility from the employer to the employee is so true. This should not be the case. In terms of the physical wellbeing of employees, employers are largely responsible for ensuring that employees work in a safe environment that is conducive to the physical wellbeing of employees. Why should this not be the case for mental and psychological wellbeing as well? Shouldn't employers ensure that the workplace is conducive to the employees' mental wellbeing. I'm so sick of management telling me to be mindful of my mental health when they refuse to hire people to lighten my workload when that is the cause of damage to my mental wellbeing.

[@TheMadde89]

I wholeheartedly agree! I would also like to add though that burn out isn't tied to work, at the core its being stressed more than you're relaxed (the sympathetic nervous system is active more than the parasympathetic) and you don't recharge enough so your body forces you to slow down. And this can happen with work, chronic illness (yours or a loved ones), unemployment (constantly stressing about money), Adhd and autism (autistic burn out is a bit different than "regular" burn out but still a burn out) etc. The idea that it happens due to work is why I was never heared growing up constantly feeling burned out. But since I was too young to be burned out according to those around me noone listened and they said I was depressed. So now I've pushed myself so many times throughout my life, and I've broken down so many times cause "it was only depression and anxiety, keep pushing" that I can barely function today cause I'm so sensitive to any type of stressor. I haven't been able to work for many years. It's not to be played with. I'm so far self-diagnosed autistic with adhd though, waiting on assessment so that might cause me to be extra sensitive but... Be careful and take care of yourselves, it's not just due to work and it's not worth not to listen to your needs ❤️

[@BlackMarilynMonroe33]

I agree with you so much. I’m definitely being overworked at my job, but it’s literally everything about the world we live in today that’s pushed me over the edge. Added to all of this is the fact that I couldn’t have picked a worse time to begin perimenopause. I have ADHD and finally developed full-blown adrenal fatigue from burnout last year. I healed myself physically with adrenal supplements, but regaining my mental health has proven to be 10x harder.

[@TheMadde89]

@@BlackMarilynMonroe33 I'm so sorry to hear that, that really sucks ❤️ Maybe the primenopause is a blessing in disguise? I can only imagine what you're going through, I just think the body sometimes works in mysterious ways. And usually tries to tell us stuff, maybe this is something being told to you in a cryptic way? I understand if that's way too woo woo, I just had a feeling I felt I should share it for some reason 🌷 I'm really impressed that you healed so much with supplements, great job!! I'm confident that you can heal the mental and emotional part aswell. And just a reminder (that I've needed often) not everything can, will or even should be "fixed" ❤️ Some things that feel like a curse are actually beautiful things about you others (and perhaps yourself) just don't know how to appreciate yet 🌷🙏🏼 (I also know how frustrating some things are and I totally get wanting to punch a wall or cry in a ball on your bed. Which is also 100% valid and part of the journey, it's actually part of the beauty at times ❤️)

[@hellonursekitty]

Nurse here 🙋‍♀️ Totally feeling this video.... thanks for continuing to keep it real Dr. K!

[@jbjefe]

I'm going to argue that ADHD with burnout creates a positive feedback loop of depression. It's like a negative synergy.

[@oConshien]

Also the fact that we tend to thrive in chaotic situations of high stress, but it's not sustainable and works against helping us learn better habits, which yup then feeds back into the loop of feeling like we will fail regardless of an incredible amount of effort.

[@lifeiswonderful22]

I lost a lot of respect for my boss lately. I've known her since I was in elementary school, but it's clear she cares more about what I provide her business than me. She didn't let me take days off when I was sick or for my best friend's dad's funeral.

[@frosty3767]

yeah amazon started this whole work wellness "class", and today we watched a 8 minute video on how to stand properly... gotta say i think it cured my depression. *starts to tie noose*

[@Fuzzira]

Video ended with something that struck a cord with my own work situation, working in a service job with a reception but with a lot of downtime, they refuse to allow chairs because it would look "unprofessional" in front of customers. Things like that make me want to bash my own head in, and the only result is that you end up tired enough from just standing around that you do what is really unprofessional and that is leaning against or sitting ontop of tables etc waiting for the time to go by.

[@americandingo311]

I needed this. I'm working in a position that the last 2 employees resigned from due to the workload. Thanks for reminding me that it's not my issue if I'm actually working towards the end goal.

[@db1777]

Perfect timing for this video as I just took a leave of absence from work to care of my mental health for the next month.

[@greeeneyes91]

omg this video is pure gold. finally somebody put it into words what i was not able to and confirmed my feelings. this makes me so angry .. colleagues were complaining about feeling signs of burnout and what did HR do? offered a burnout prevention training IN THE MOST STRESSFUL TIME OF THE YEAR in which you have to make the most overtime and the stupid course took 4h during normal working hours. i was told by management that sure i can take part in it, just work longer hours then afterwards if necessary… 👏 needless to say, maybe 20 people out of thousands in the company took part in it. the only solution i have found was given to me by my psychologist, who had to allow me to just leave work undone when i have worked off my hours and she had to allow me to take breaks during my work. my mental health improved so much just doing this and a psychologist had to tell me that i am allowed to do this. the time we are living in is just messed up. and bc i saw this in the comment section a lot of times, i live and work in Europe, this is not solely an American problem.

[@GeekEKittenGaming]

Wow this hit on so many issues I feel every day, as well as issues I have spoken out about at work (mental health associated with work from home vs. In office).

[@Simrasil_]

I'd love to see the antiwork community have actual impact on work "culture". I just really hope that all of this leads to actual change and not just big corporations shifting the losses that they make because of employees leaving onto the shoulders of everyone else.

[@dannacht6827]

What do you mean anti work community? The 99% must actively participate in this because we're the ones not getting the proportionate piece of the pie we god damn made!!! Don't freeload off them.

[@Mikinaak2023]

Someone else will take those jobs. Seen the migrants pouring in?

[@BknMoonStudios]

The problem isn't working. It's working for long hours under grueling conditions. If most people could work 6 hours a day, 5 days of the week, without being berated by customers and superiors, the world would be an entirely different place.

[@algammond]

One of the things that burned me out was realizing after working at a restaurant for a year I had only made enough money to pay some of my bills.

[@imaginaryguide1895]

"This has happened before." "The burden of fixing that problem falls to the individual." Yes yes YES! I've done ethics (character ethics) research and it happens there as well.

[@Myst165]

Also, recycling.

[@shimmerysun]

Omg thank you for validating my desire to work from home. I always thought I was just being a lazy overly sensitive person! Deep down I knew that there was nothing wrong with wanting to work in the comfort of my own house. There's nothing wrong with not wearing down my car as much, avoiding traveling in dangerous weather, and not needing to get up early. There's nothing wrong with eating food as it suits me. There's nothing wrong with wanting a PRIVATE ON DEMAND BATHROOM. There's so many other benefits I could list. And you're right, there is no company culture lol. Sure I miss seeing people sometimes, but I can just stop by and visit then. Beats the "culture" of falling asleep in a boring, grey, dark, windowless room with tired people.

[@heretic.137]

To improve morale my work gave every employee a t-shirt to wear on casual fridays that literally says “I love what I do” and when I first saw it I didn’t know whether to laugh or break something

[@Colby00]

Where do u work?

[@heretic.137]

@@Colby00 in the accounting department.

[@sleepydruid100]

A couple of years back i worked at the grocery store in the village where I live in. Overall the work can be very stressful but I loved it. It was a lot of work, sometimes hard/long working hours (before hollidays especially), My collegues and my boss were great. We could banter, laugh while working etc. But most importnantly even though I was essentially a unlearned worker after a year or so I was trusted to just do my work and no one would try to "correct" me unless I forgot something or so. I never experienced real exhausting stress (if that makes sense) until upper management decided to start messing with how much "freedom" each store had and how we were "supposed" to do our job for the sake of efficiency. Long story short instead of doing all the workrelated stuff in about 4-5 hours (6 hour shift) we ended up needing way more and sometimes (especially on Saturdays) had to stay in longer which then again was seen as "unefficient". Even though we told upper management repeatedly that the way they imagine us working just doesn not work that way in this particular store. (mostly because the next person older than me was like 45-50 ish if not older, meaning I would do the heavy stuff). After starting a education, with that same company, I got let go by upper management due to "a lack of motivation". (I have to say I was sick about half week of those 4 months due to catching the flu and one week because I jammed a nerve in my back. First time I injured myself in working there for about 4 1/2 years in which we properly did not follow security protocol to a tee. After the changes by upper management (and my leave) burnout because apperently prevelent according to my former co-workers.

[@reiiifps2923]

Literally uploaded on the day I quit my job ahahah. Been burned out for so long, been trying my best to do the best I can but to no results. Pulled the plug and already feel so much better and watching this, even more :)

[@alone-vf4vy]

AOE healing actually hurts when you're the one getting healed

[@OfficialCANVAS]

But feels soooo good when full health

[@johannhowitzer]

I mean, yeah. It's not sparkly green plus signs and magic, it's bandages and alcohol swabs. That shit stings. You ever try to pop a dislocated shoulder back in?

[@hansonel]

Glad Dr. K is speaking about The Great Resignation, workplace mental health and systemic burnout - this is such an important issue. Especially for those who have had abusive bosses/toxic workplaces that have caused depression, burnout and even CPTSD *raises hand "The burden of responsibility for workplace mental health is being placed on the individual. And that is a huge problem. Burnout is caused by workplace related factors." So true. This is not just a mental health issue, it is also a systemic (and in America a political) issue.

[@servicetosociety20]

You are amazing Dr K!

[@utopiaisnow]

Highly recommend Byung Chul-Han's book "The Burnout Society" if anyone is looking for a philosophical take on similar ideas!

[@StelmachsWorld]

This is one of my main debilitating problems living with severe diagnosed adhd ever since i was like 6 years old … i try to avoid boredom at all costs even if it means leaving a job that ive had only for a week because eventually the burnout leads to anxiety attacks every day before work and even anxiety when im trying to sleep about having to wake up and do it all again… It affected my school attendance as well, P.s i wish we all had a therapist like you who actually questions modern mental health practices… i’ve been thinking to myself about how if employers started treating it differently it would benefit them in the longrun, im happy to hear a doctor has the same opinion

[@OligoST]

I work in IT for a large corporation. For my job, I basically sit at a desk and swap out people's laptops when they spill coffee on them. Unfortunately, as Dr. K describes, it takes 2 hours to do the paperwork for one of these incidents, because of asset management and a lot of other factors. Having to do 3-4 a day is impossible within an 8 hour workday. Again, the ticketing is just a tool for billing and nobody reads the notes anyways. Instead of helping more people, they prefer I run out of time to work each day or to work overtime to catch up. Absolutely mind boggling. End result is me being burntout trying to keep up.

[@ShazySoft]

I think an often overlooked component of workplace burnout, is the utter powerlessness associated with depending upon a completely totalitarian institution for earnings. We're taught to value freedom and rugged individualism, taught about how totalitarianism and bureaucracy are repositories for human misery, told to "live free or die"... and then we're forced into totalitarian, bureaucratic institutions under threat of financial ruin and poverty. Managing the cognitive dissonance associated with this is a full time job in and of itself, I think. I say all of this as someone who is starting their own business, by the way. I easily and regularly pull off 60-80 hour work weeks on my own projects, where I have control over what work I do and how I do it. On the contrary, 40 hours a week of regimented, proceduralized, micromanaged office work left me completely exhausted back when I had a 9 to 5.

[@hungrymusicwolf]

18:27 Obedient worker culture where nobody dares to say no to stupid ideas egoistic guys at the top come up with even if they know it will fail miserably.

[@ravenRedwake]

I guess where I worked third shift for so many years at a grocery store, I just expect nothing but indifference or contempt from companies.

[@paigelego4027]

6:57 As a pharmacy intern I feel this is my goddamn core. I understand having measures in place to not overprescribe unnecessary meds. But tell me how an injection that will prevent mom and baby’s immune system from destroying one another is an optional expense? (Real life example I had to argue with multiple times and make mom fork over $120 for an essential med) Insurance companies have too much power to dictate decisions and are based on SHORT TERM profit above patient health (aka long term profit)

[@arkainin4638]

This resonates so hard with me. I just quit my job 2 weeks ago with nothing else lined up. I am willing to work, I even enjoy it yo sn extent, but this job was dirt pay, awful hours, and they treated us all like slacker losers needing to be watched every moment. And yes, they sent out those cheesy mental health emails. Worse though, is that all the benefits they offered were not even for us, it was for managers and L4+ employees - This is an Amazon job. It got to the point where I was not actively suicidal, but I would have rather just not woken up most days. It is scary being jobless, but I am so much happier. Definitely going to try to find a job that is a higher rung.

[@MolecularKangaroo]

This is not an issue of incompetence of corporates, it's a deliberate malice. They seek to destroy people's health as well as deprive them of any form of financial stability. That's not something you fix by diplomatic approach.

[@shinkamui]

malice and incompetence go hand in hand really. As dr K says, having healthier employees work in favor of productivity. But people fail to see that, as a product we don't have competent leaders, we have petty fearful little a-holes in suits that can't even see what's best for them in the long term

[@SatanicDoge]

This is literally why unions are a thing.

[@Opethfeldt]

I think they just care about the bottom line, period. The thing is, they don't seem to realize that happy employees work better. Not just harder, but better.

[@caitlinhogan5258]

Uh-huh. They would rather sacrifice the extra productivity provided by healthier, happier workers, and keep workers run down, burnt out, and disconnected than risk workers having more time and energy to join forces and fight for more rights.

[@littlegreenclementine]

boy do i have a story for you. Absolutely agree on deliberate malice for most situations. So I worked grocery retail for the opening year of one store, quit after a year cuz while my superiors were relatively good to me, my role wasn't well defined as I interacted and assisted multiple departments, even doing supervisor work without supervisor pay, and towards the end I was out when after asking for a raise forever I got a joke of a raise. More than a year after I quit, the store manager saw me shopping for coconut milk and asked me back for a new position with online orders at the start of pandemic, paying much better. So I accepted and came back but my former department manager left and the new one was hot gunning for climbing the ladder. She was horrible, didn't actually care about who was doing the real work or if the store was actually run well. Recruited mainly sycophants and kicked down anyone who criticized her or dare tattle on her to the store manager. I realized that my former dept manager was very much different than most people who would be trying to climb the corporate ladder and this new one was probably more run of the mill, self interested and completely malicious to people in the way of their goals even if they're the ones pulling their weight in labor running the business. I hope she gets what she wants and shows corporate what a miserable failure she is, but knowing her she'd probably weasel out a million excuses and blame it on the poor people who still work under her. Antiunion was already more or less company policy but that woman took it to another level (complaining about people talking/chatting during work). Online orders started slowing down after people got vaccinated and they slowly trimmed down who shared the workload until it was only me left. Completely intolerable on the weekends when I'd still have a ton of orders and it was all hands on deck so nobody else could assist me (and when they did I would still have to fix their mistakes, more time consuming). Needless to say I quit shortly after that.

[@theartistmusician9627]

I have a theory, in psychology social paths and narcissistic people love power. In corporate, when i worked in there it was all gossip, people sabotaging other employees and the pressure to do a high standard of work to keep your job so you dont become homeless in the real world. Knowing that they dont want to make strategies to fix this as they see us as numbers to be replaced when broken. To fix it is not allow them to do this to us, this is why workd wide we still have work shortages as well as inflation, biased hires and people in hr/recruitment/hiring department that are terrible at judgement of finding good employees. Im scared to go back as im a good worker but i was bullied so hard i went on sick leave for a month because my anxiety attacks almost put me in hospital. I had to quit one because it was so toxic and stressful that my back was in such bad shape that my chiro said if you dont quit i cant adjust your body to feel better. I wa that tense. So what should i do? Im also starting a few businesses, they seem promising.

[@StudioHannah]

I feel lucky, because mine actually does. When I’ve had mental issues they’ve really worked with me. I’m very grateful. My previous job did NOT do that, and made my mental health so much worse. It’s why I left them!

[@gelabuds9840]

finally! dr.k talking about systemic failures

[@aronseptianto8142]

i think many people actually want to be productive, while the people in subreddits like antiwork is probably more utilitarian than most, there's still a lot of people that do feel fulfilled when they're proud at what they're doing. when you have to deal with stupid rules that you don't understand and doesn't help your work I can see why people get burnt out

[@MrBluesRequiem]

I am doing a PhD in a lab where it is expected of us to work 6-7days/week from 8am to midnight. I have stopped meeting this expectation because after 2 years of this my mental and physical health was degrading quickly and I was less and less productive (too tired and intellectual was degrading). I am going to leave this lab after graduation and I cannot wait for it. Next time, I will be really specific about my needs in terms of resting time. Academia is full of burnt out students and Post-Docs who are drained by self-entitled PIs. But the only response we get from insitutions are meetings and talks about mental health. The PIs are never held accountable for this. Students not being considered workers in most countries outside of some European ones, it is even harder to defend their rights. And there is romantization of burn-out, overwork, depression, and lack of social life in Academia (STEM) that serves a narrative that benefits exploitative PIs and institutions. Laws need to change so hierarchical superiors are held accountable for the health of their subordinates on the work place.

[@Top10AnimeBetrayals]

Literally, my conversation with my assistant manager last night Me: I'm responsible for 7 different areas I have to keep track of all the time and each place has its own timer I have to keep up with and I work 82 weekly hours AM: I've done it before, you can keep doing it too I severely doubt he's ever worked >=60 hours in a week

[@iamusdamma2637]

this is what i needed to hear man

[@ThatLoudCockatoo]

My friend and I took different paths with out work after college. I went to a 9-5 that has deadlines, but work is flexible as long as it gets done. They went to a major company where they were basically living at work they were there so much. They got burned out in like less than a year, left the job, and went back to school.

[@jordanolson11]

I just think it's because now that we can work from home, work is at home, our sacred place. We can be asked to get on to work by bosses, and sleeping where you work has in my experience ended up giving me anxiety just being where my computer is.

[@jordanolson11]

no sick days, no snow days, for a lot of people they end up having to work from home "at their consent" but often it's implied or heavily pushed by your boss to work.

[@velvet_nova]

This video came up at the right time. I'm currently thinking about leaving my retail job I'm currently burnt out and sleep deprived since I work the night shift. I want to quit so I can purse art for a living not retail 🙄

[@nenmaster5218]

'Belief it Or Not' made a great video about Mental Health.

[@Mikinaak2023]

​@@nenmaster5218my dad was an artist. He always said to be pragmatic with art. Get something that you enjoy and pays the bills. Focus on your art on your own time. Nothing glorious about starving artists.

[@rickicherry9073]

Lead HR Specialist here 👋 I burned out badly during Covid, my personal mission has been to help prevent that in others. I have been working on it, and I’m seeing a little progress now! :)

[@flawlix]

My whole industry (law) has been struggling with this for decades. The pandemic seems it to have pushed into a critical situation that we’re forced to deal with now, though. More people burning out and quitting than ever before. Edit: god, yeah, you are literally saying what I’ve been complaining about to my spouse and peers. The hours are terrible, but I don’t hate the work. Mostly I feel like I’m constantly put in a position where I’m not given the support or resources I need, and then blamed when things go wrong. Edit2: and if I get one more email about attending some wellness seminar at like 8 am my time, I might scream

[@thaflowie]

Im lucky that ive qualified for a program here because of my autism that help people get jobs adapted to work with whatever our issues are and they regularly meet up with the people and at the job to make sure things are good etc. So i can happily say my work place actually does care and i dont need to worry about forcing anything, just need to text and say im not coming in if i dont feel well or get close to autistic burnout. Hope this spreads to more places in the world in the future because its so massive for mental health!

[@richardluu8322]

Keeeeeeew! Dr. K the truth! What a beautiful diagnosis!

[@CastiellaXIV]

Probably unrelated but this reminds me of something that happened to me. I had a part time seasonal summer job in high school at an amusement park with borderline illegal hours for a child (regularly 55-60 hrs), but I loved it so much. It was mostly an escape for me to get away from my abusive home and save up money, but it worked. I only started getting really bad burnout my second (and last) season working there, I was promoted to supervisor in my area at the end of the year and was really excited. But then I started having panic attacks and imposter syndrome hit me about not being a good supervisor. Then covid hit and the park opening was delayed. On top of that half of the supers in my area quit (which fair enough) but management didn’t promote anyone to help us either. On top of working more hours than I ever did the year before, plus more responsibilities on top of that, I physically started feeling the effects of the awful working conditions. (Also because of covid my favorite position to work at was closed and it made me really really depressed too tbh) I started passing out regularly. I was sent to the safety and security office so many times they knew me by name. A lot of friends thought I might have undiagnosed narcolepsy it was so bad. If I stopped working even just for a bit, I would probably fall asleep or pass out. But after getting a new job with less work hours and more support I dont pass out at work like that anymore. It’s amazing. My new problem is my new office job is super boring and incredibly under stimulating so I fall asleep all the time anyway.

[@ambientlightofdarknesss4245]

"oh my company cares about MY mental health" first mistake right there.

[@drewb1263]

My god this is such an amazing analysis of burnout and how poorly companies think about mental health...they don't care

[@stoodmuffinpersonal3144]

Addiction. Littering. Pollution. And those are just the non SJW ones. I get personal responsibility is a thing. But pushing the responsibility on to the individual consumer/patient allows institutions (and the people running them) getting to avoid responsibility. It's frustrating.

[@Strange9952]

There is an element of personal responsibility of course! But if you're not treating your employees like actual human beings, what do you expect to happen?