Advocate for YOU at work

Hello, and welcome back to another Center Street Psychology blog! We hope that you were able to take some time this past week to reflect on mental health in the workplace in observance of World Mental Health Day on October 10th. Since this month’s theme is mental health in the workplace, we will be continuing our discussion of workplace mental health, this week focusing on setting boundaries and advocating for yourself. Make sure to read last week’s post on bullying in the workplace if you haven’t yet!

Most people need to have work out of financial necessity. However, this does not mean that we all do the bare minimum and go home, we want to enjoy and take pride in what we do! Some of us might also strive to go above and beyond for our employers, both to show our worth, and to be consistent with our own values of doing the best we can. In an ideal world, we can do this out of our own free will and our bosses and supervisors will respect and understand what our limits are. Unfortunately, this is often not the case for many employees.

Many of us can experience workplace dissatisfaction due to factors such as feeling burnt out, having more tasks than you can finish in a day, not being fairly compensated, and I am sure you can fill in the rest based on your own experiences. Having to work a job that you are unhappy at can absolutely have a negative impact on our mental health and this can affect us beyond the workplace. Stats Canada reported in 2018 that up to 30% of disability leave was related to mental illness!

To avoid this, we need to have an open dialogue around what can fairly be expected from employees and be able to express when there are concerns within an employee’s role or workplace environment. It is in an employer’s best interest to make sure that employees are satisfied in their job, otherwise nobody wants to stick around! Advocating for yourself might not be as scary as you think if it means that a workplace will be more successful. Remember that it is not selfish to state what is important to us and set limits with our employers. We can think of it as a practical way to ensure safety for ourselves and our environment, as well as set the path for better and more consistent outcomes with our productivity (Castrillon, 2024).

Some of us might have a hard time saying no, or feel like we are letting people down by not agreeing to everything asked of us. We don’t have to suddenly become strict with other people, but it is helpful to try our hand at saying no to small things when we can (Castrillon, 2024). This helps us to learn that saying no isn’t always a bad thing, and if we can even free up some of our time by saying no to small commitments, that can add a lot of breathing room that we might really need!

“But what if my boss doesn’t take me seriously?” That is where we can escalate our concerns to either senior management or human resources if these are available. It is more difficult when these are not available because this means that we may have to choose between putting up with mistreatment or quitting, neither of which put us in a good position. We may need to reflect upon whether the challenges we face in our workplace are worth the paycheque, or if we may have a healthier experience in another workplace.

Make sure to check out this cool Ted Talk about workplace mental health and maybe even be bold enough to share it with your workplace!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0XUimJbz44&t

Please reach out to us at Center Street Psychology if you would like to discuss more about our services. We provide support to a variety of populations and are able to support those experiencing difficulties in the workplace. We provide a collaborative approach and are happy to provide you with a complimentary consultation to help potential “fit” with one of our counsellors. We are an inclusive clinic, located in Calgary, Alberta, providing in-person, virtual or hybrid services within Alberta and across Canada. Please call 403-399-5120 to speak with our Director of Client Care, Amy, who will gently guide you through the counselling process.

References 

Castrillon, C. (2024). How to set boundaries at work without jeopardizing your career. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2024/02/11/how-to-set-boundaries-at-work-without-jeopardizing-your-career/

Government of Canada (2018). Mental health in the workplace. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/health-safety/mental-health.html