Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

Sadly, there is still a negative perception of mental weakness, and that prevents people from seeking the help they need to function well at work. Drugs and therapy are readily available and in right combinations ... these often help to jumpstart a person’s careers and make it easier for others to work with mentally unstable or moody people too. The problem is that some people refuse help.

Do you know a person who needs help but is afraid of being stupid, or looking mentally unstable? They often tolerate incredible pain and suffer broken relationships at times when they most need support.

When one manager … Steve … seemed to be at the center of morale problems with his department … supporters tried to convince him to get help by Steve refused. He gave excuses like: “his problems weren’t that bad… he didn’t have that kind of money to waste…he didn’t trust the counselors … and it went on.

Unfortunately Steve’s attitude and unpredictable moods ...  cost him his job and eventually his marriage…. The last time I saw Steve he was broke… bitter full of blame for those who let him go. Workplaces could help more people like Steve if they:

1. Draw them into conversations…  about practical tactics that could help. We now know the brain is tremendously resilient and that it’s plasticity allows it to learn new behaviors in ways that overcome old problems.
2. Suggest positive growth areas whenever the person makes genuine progress. The brain uses positive works and images to build a better way forward, and with it comes serotonin to help a person rewire.
3. Hire an expert who will talk to the person and take them both for lunch as you share the problem and suggest they meet to talk it over as part of the development plan at work.

Finally, we will all recognize that change comes from within and cannot be dictated by others. For that reason all the suggestions and helps you offer will do better as gifts held out in care – rather than as demands or dictates.

Have you ever helped a person who struggled with a mental weakness at work? What happened…?