Bridging the Gap

If you are interested in learning about “Psychology at Work,” there are generally two paths you encounter: 

1) LinkedIn Leadership Bros (even the women are Bros in this space) who can regurgitate studies and metrics about productivity and other corporate buzzwords while completely disregarding the truth of their own experience (women are looked over for leadership roles, everyone hates their job, and the work economy thrives on exploitation). And AI. SO much AI (*heavy eyeroll*). 

OR

2) You drop the “At work” requirement and start to apply general psychology theories (clinical counseling, parenting, education) to the workplace, achieving mixed results which depend on your ability to read social cues and the patience of your co-workers. You can only label somebody “Anxious-Avoidant” using your inside voice, ok?

The problem with the former is that we are all. So. Over. IT! We’ve all heard the same “Rise and Grind” bullsh*t for YEARS at this point and by now we know that success requires a whole lot of privilege, a healthy dose of luck, and maybe some competence.* No amount of rising and grinding can make up for a failing social safety net, systemic economic downturn, and-checks notes- what do you MEAN healthcare is attached to employment?! The capitalist system is designed for exploitation and only the very lucky, very few do not ever have to experience life in its unforgiving shadow. 

And while you might go into the latter with the best of intentions… clinical psychologists do a lot of things (school, licensing, deep sighing) to become clinical psychologists and those who are not clinical psychologists need to stay in their lane, especially at work. Jim in accounting does not need his co-worker to tell him about the hallmarks of codependent relationships. But really, because capitalism makes everything worse, the reason home psychology doesn’t belong in the workplace is because somebody somewhere in some way will exploit it. It’s the old “this team is like my family” schtick that tries to use misplaced loyalty instead of a living wage to keep employees working. 

But here’s the thing, humans are deeply feeling beings. That part of us does not check out Severence style when we clock in. Despite what we’re told about being logical and rational, any decision made without considering the emotions of the people involved is ill-informed. Emotions aren’t facts, sure. But emotions are information and leaders who do not acknowledge the emotions in the room (including their own) are going to fail. Every time. 

This is where I come in. I can help you walk the line of leveraging the emotions of your employees without exploiting  them to create win-win situations for everyone. You get a car (productive employees)! You get a car (effective communication among team members)! You all get a car (a healthy and safe workplace culture that doesn’t make you want to cry on Sunday night)!

*Unless your name is Luke and you were hired by your dudebro into an SVP role, where you get to bring your other bros along for the rampant-sexual-harassment-with-limited-results ride. In that case, no competence required!

The Nervous Nervous System

First things first… your nervous system is likely jacked up and it’s a problem. After YEARS of capitalist, white-supremacist, patriarchal conditioning, your brain probably hurts real bad. Those systems of supremacy promote a type of individualism that isn’t compatible with human nature. More specifically, those systems of supremacy are not compatible with our nervous systems. Our nervous systems were designed for us to live communally, to sense threats to the group and face them together. Corporate capitalism is… not that. 

When a company prioritizes profit for private equity, venture capital, or other shareholders, the employees always come second (or last, honestly). The construct of Reduction in Force or mass layoffs really became viral as a way for executives to demonstrate their willingness to save money by cutting people. As if the loss of income wasn’t bad enough, in America, losing your job usually means losing access to healthcare. Corporations literally treat people as though they are expendable and your nervous system knows it! The threat to your safety is real. And its made worse by the constant access to a 24/7 apocalyptic news cycle, among other common household stressors. 

And you might be aware gestures widely of your nervous system, but if you’re not a) actively tuned into your nervous system state of affairs and b) doing something about it on a regular basis, then chances are your nervous system is in charge of you and not the other way around. This applies at home and at work, where the threat is real. The good news: you can do something about it. Breathing exercises, touching grass, meditation… the methods are plentiful. But just because the solution is simple, doesn’t make it easy.

But why do you need to tend to your nervous system, you ask? Well, aside from the fact that it’s hard to be around a dysregulated nervous system, studies have linked illness to dysregulated nervous systems and longevity to regulation. But in the context of Industrial/Organizational Psychology, this is the number one way to make your work, your team, and your company culture tolerable, if not actually enjoyable.