Mental Health: Happiness at job still far away

Health
Education
Awareness
Subodh Kumar
December 7th 2020

Have you ever wondered why parents and students are so worried about choosing the right career? Is it only for a stable financially secure future or is there any other factor too? If you ask, one of the answers will be ‘to be happy in life’. Yes, happiness is the ultimate pursuit, and finances in terms of a secure career are the means to the end! Voila! Soit turns out everything is related to mental well-being, as happiness is an ultimate state of mental well-being. Therefore, it is very important that while choosing a career, one has to pay attention to being ‘happy’ in it rather than choosing it for the sake of good money, fame, or both.

Mental well-being: is it a problem?

Mental health is indicative of how we think, feel, and behave not to mention that it is an impermanent state of mind since it keeps changing with the environment of individuals.

Around 264 million people suffer from depression globally, which is one of the leading causes of disability, with many of these people also suffering from symptoms of anxiety (WHO, 2019). In line with a recent World Health Organization led study, depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy US$1 trillion each year in lost productivity.

Another report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that 7.5 percent of the Indian population suffers from some form of mental disorder. As per the prediction by WHO, roughly 20 percent of India will suffer from mental illnesses by 2020. Unemployment is a well-recognized risk factor for mental health problems and 1 out of every 5 employees in Corporate India is suffering from workplace depression due to a lack of support systems (Economic Times, 2019).

How and when does mental health turn into a disorder?

Mental well-being is a gradual process that starts from the womb-nature of the child, the environment where the child grows influences his/her mental health. As the child grows and reaches the career decision phase of life, stress and anxiety are at peak, both for the child and the parents as factors including the child’s aptitude, attitude, inclination, financial considerations, etc., affect this most important phase of life. The students and professionals largely choose their stream/career due to factors such as influence by peer group, family background, and parental pressure. Ironically, at this most important decision-making stage, there are no reliable tools available to gain insight into their core interest areas. This decision stays for the rest of life and if the choice of career does not synchronize with the talent, there is a gradual onset of personal and professional dissatisfaction that affects the overall mental health and well-being. Since people may not be able to cope with their failures/ shortcomings at the workplace, the performance further declines and the stress culminates into full-blown mental health disorders.

Factors at the workplace that affect mental well-being?

You read it correctly and here is why is it so?

Changes in the work environment are happening swiftly due to the application of modern technology leading to psychological and emotional problems in employees due to the inability to cope. Individuals are facing problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, negative attitude, and interpersonal relation issues in offices. Employee performance is consequently affected due to stress in a competitive environment in organizations and it may hamper the overall growth of an organization. This explains the development of psychosomatic disorders like Hypertension, Diabetes, Hyperacidity, Peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome in office goers as compared to manual workers!

Is there a solution to optimize performance?

Yes, there is a solution and it is WITHIN OUR REACH.

Studies suggest that job satisfaction (right person at the right place doing the right job) increases the productivity of an employee as well as the organization. Employees are satisfied in their jobs, work towards integrating and upgrading procedural changes to enhance the growth of the company.

Job satisfaction is a positive emotional state resulting from the pleasure an employee derives from doing a job (Locke, 1976; Spector, 1997). Job satisfaction is measurable, having cognitive (evaluative), affective (or emotional), and behavioral components. In several studies, researchers have elicited that job satisfaction measures vary within the extent to which they measure feelings about the job (affective job satisfaction) or cognitions about the job (cognitive job satisfaction).

It is imperative, therefore, that the youth must be given proper career guidance at the appropriate stage so that all their energy could be used in strengthening the innate potential and enhancing productivity. Evidence-based career guidance results in highly focused thinking that further increases the aura energy as well as the power of the unconscious mind.

The role of parents in creating positive mental health of children?

The onus is on the parents for obvious reasons, to create a positive reinforcing environment for children by understanding the psycho-social development/ basic needs in different stages of life be it infancy, toddler, childhood, teenage, early adulthood as per Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of development Children learn by observing parental behavior and attitude.

Encouragement and positive reinforcement are capable of changing anyone. Besides, the existence of certain common traits among children, each child is unique. How best children can develop an understanding of their strengths may be assigned to the quality education imparted right at the pre-nursery school level.

To encourage positive and healthy cognitive growth in the adolescent child, parents should include them in engaging discussions on a variety of topics, issues, and current events; encourage sharing ideas, thoughts, to think independently and develop their ideas; assisting them in setting goals after knowing their talent; compliment and praise for well-thought-out decisions.

Parents should also avoid basic evil- an undesirable form of parental behavior so that the child can identify and work on his/ her potential and perform up to the optimum level. Basic evil refers to poor parenting to the purpose during which it is child abuse. It incorporates various inappropriate behaviors parents exhibit towards children such as indifference towards the child, rejection of the child, hostility towards the child, obvious preferences for a sibling, erratic behavior, un-kept promises, unfair punishment, ridicule, humiliation, and isolation of the child from others.

Is there any way of getting scientific guidance for identifying the TALENT of children?

Brain Behaviour Research Foundation of India (BBRFI), a leading research trust, has been working since 2014 in the field of positive mental health and wellbeing and has developed 4D (Four-dimensional) Brain Analysis, also known as Brainoscope, to promote mental health well - being and performance enhancement. Brainoscope is a holistic diagnostic method that is objective and can help in every aspect of life be it social, educational, conflict resolution with parents/ teachers/ co-workers, physical growth, cognitive development, psychosomatic disorders treatment, personality development, behavioral/ attitude change, and decreasing crime rate.

The process of the Brainoscope is scientific because it puts the mind of the individual under extensive study. It provides evidence-based scientific information through ‘DNA Brain Mapping and Psycho-Neuro-Bio-Behaviour Analysis’. It is a holistic analysis of the brain that helps in guidance and giving the right direction by channelizing the energy of children as per potential, attitude, aptitude, and intelligence.

How can 4D brain analysis (Brainoscope) be useful for the employees?

The benefits of this diagnostic method on the prediction of behavior results in increased productivity and affirmation of loyalty of employees to the organization as the level of discipline are enhanced. The analysis helps employees develop as a purposeful contributor for the all-round development of the organization. It helps individuals at the workplace by enhancing their potential and productivity, increases their effectiveness and strengthens their determination, aids in developing leadership qualities, induces a strong sense of professionalism and ownership, enhances their personality and teamwork skills together with the holistic development of all employees at an individual level. Brainoscope, when done on employees, empowers them towards becoming a satisfied employee. It can help in effective team building, self-management, stress management, overall performance enhancement, and increasing the happiness index of employees. As people focus on horoscope, likewise they must focus on Brainoscope in this scientific era to know their strength at the right time, which can lead them to achieve their goal.

How can brainoscope reports be useful for teachers/ parents?

A teacher/ parent can be benefited from the Brainoscope in various ways. The report helps them in knowing how to deal with the child by understanding his/ her learning pattern and ways to maximize each child’s potential. They get to know about the attitude of the child towards approaching problems along with his/ her current level of functioning, potential in academic and work-related settings, and the need for special attention in different areas of work. This test also helps in adopting innovative methods to enhance the classroom/ living environment of the children.

Brainoscope can play a vital role in addressing positive mental health and well-being among children, adolescents, and adults in their education as well as professional career to increase their productivity and help achieve life goals.

References:

Mental health in the workplace (2019). https://www.who.int/mental_health/in_the_workplace/en/.Retrieved on 8 Sept 2020.
Birla, N. (2019).Mental health in India: 7.5% of country affected; less than 4,000 experts available.https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/mental-health-in- india-7-5-of-country-affected-less-than-4000-experts- available/article show/71500130.cms. Retrieved on 8 Sept, 2020.
Verma, P. (2019).Workplace depression taking a toll on India Inc employees, ET Bureau.https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/workplace-depression-taking-a-toll- on-India-inc-employees/article show/67633549.cms.Retrieved on 8 Sept 2020.
Wikipedia.Job satisfaction.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_satisfaction.Retrieved on 8 Sept 2020.
Hulin, C. L.; Judge, T. A. (2003). Job attitUdes. In W. C. Borman, D. R. Teigen, & R. J. Klimoski (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 255-276). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Thompson, E.R.; Phua F.T.T. (2012). A Brief Index of Affective Job satisfaction. Group & Organization Management. 37 (3): 275–307. DOI:10.1177/1059601111434201.
Moorman, R.H. (1993). The influence of cognitive and affective based job satisfaction measures on the relationship between satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior. Human Relations. 46 (6): 759–776. DOI:10.1177/001872679304600604.
Brain Behaviour Research Foundation of India.4D Brain Analysis (Scientific method to know your potential and choose the CAREER according to your BRAIN TYPE). https://www.bbrfi.org/4D-Brain-Analysis.html.Retrieved on 8 Sept 2020.