28 June Newsletter #5 – Let’s Finally Debunk the Myth of Almighty Leaders and Invulnerable Employees
With Nykøbing Falster Hospital currently leading the way, we need more organisations and businesses in Denmark to make improving the psychological working environment a team effort, thereby dispelling the myths about invulnerable carers and all-powerful managers.
In May, Nykøbing Falster Hospital was named the winner of the 2022 Working Environment Award in the ’psychological working environment’ category, in recognition of its extensive efforts to tackle psychological stress. I am, to say the least, delighted about this. For one thing, we at the Department of Occupational Psychology have designed, planned and facilitated the project, which aims to tackle the problems that Nykøbing Falster Hospital has been struggling with due to high sickness absence, the backlog of cases, the coronavirus pandemic and staff shortages.
But just as important is the fact that Nykøbing Falster Hospital, through its massive efforts, is leading the way with an approach that turns work on the psychological working environment and the prevention of mental strain into a team effort. An approach in which all levels of the organisation work together and understand their roles, responsibilities and options for action. Under the slogan ”We are each other’s working environment”, Nykøbing Falster Hospital has, since the project’s inception in 2020, implemented initiatives at all levels – simultaneously – so that both individuals, groups and management have developed a shared understanding of the warning signs of mental overload, as well as a common body of knowledge and language for how to work together to ensure a healthy mental working environment.
Invincible helpers and all-powerful leaders do not exist
Nykøbing Falster Hospital’s holistic approach represents a significant departure from the widespread tendency to treat the psychological working environment as an individual issue. Almost everywhere, only individual solutions tailored to the individual are offered, which, in my view, at best provide only very short-term relief and, at worst, exacerbate the situation and the psychological working environment.
The individual solution model insinuates and conveys that it is the individual who is ”the problem”. It is YOU, dear employee, or YOU, dear manager, who cannot cope, and who therefore needs to be ”rebooted” when the pressures become too great. What is even worse is that this fuels the myth of the ”invulnerable” professionals, who simply never break down and continue to withstand the pressure – and the myth of the all-powerful managers, who, as well as never breaking down themselves, must always be able to wield their power so elegantly that – despite any budget cuts and staff shortages – they can perform their core tasks perfectly, backed by a team that is perpetually content.
An individualised approach can lead to victim blaming
Deep down, of course, we know full well that these are merely myths, but nevertheless, the individualised approach means that we easily end up mistaking them for truths. This means that we end up with staff and managers in mentally demanding jobs who take the blame and shoulder all the responsibility when they are under pressure and unable to do a good job. And we end up with employees and managers who fail to tell one another how they’re feeling. This can give rise to feelings of powerlessness that are so painful to bear that one would rather feel guilty for not being up to the task. And with guilt often comes another feeling – one that, for most people, is even more unpleasant to bear – namely shame.
By tailoring our approach to the psychological working environment through a focus on individual solutions, we often unwittingly end up ”blaming the victim” the mentally distressed or traumatised employee, who, deep down, was often simply unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man who happened to drive over the roadside bomb. The woman who was on the receiving end of the psychotic resident’s violence. Or the newly qualified staff member who, by chance, was assigned a case that turned out to involve a serious failure of care, whilst the experienced colleague who was otherwise supposed to help and support him was on sick leave.
Collective prevention – like an orchestra playing in harmony
Fortunately, we are seeing a trend whereby more and more organisations are adopting a collective approach to addressing the psychological working environment. Myths have been replaced by knowledge and practical solutions, in recognition of the fact that we all have a ”breaking point” and that chance also plays a part.
Working to create a positive psychological working environment is like being part of an orchestra, where we all have to function as part of the whole, each playing our own instrument. Where we can only succeed – together – and where no one can stand alone.
So let’s spread the good stories and draw inspiration from Nykøbing Falster Hospital and other pioneering organisations and businesses that have found their stride!
Crisis psychologist Rikke Høgsted
Founder and Director of the Institute of Occupational Psychology
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