The deterioration of the mental health of French employees has become a major issue for companies. Olivier Bas, author of a book entitled “La Has Been Compagnie”, points out the gap between the functioning of most companies and the expectations or needs of employees.
- The mental health of employees is a major issue for companies.
- Olivier Bas, author of the book “La Has Been Compagnie” points out the gap between the organization of most companies and the expectations or needs of employees.
- He underlines the importance of a clear framework for everyone’s missions, good communication and demonstration of the usefulness of the work carried out.
What if the usual functioning of companies, their most often vertical management mode, was at the origin of the unhappiness at work that many employees feel? While the law of August 2, 2021 known as the “occupational health law” provides that employers are now required to monitor the state of health of their employees and preserve their physical and mental health, nearly 4 out of 4 French people 10 believe that their professional practice deteriorates their state of health and the proportion of those who declare themselves in “psychological distress” due to their work is even higher! As a result, mental health disorders now represent 50% of long-term work stoppages.
Negative emotions linked to change
For Olivier Bas, author of the book “La Has Been Compagnie”, three factors explain the malaise which exists in many companies and which has effects on the mental health of employees. The first factor, according to him, is the uncertainty linked to a difficult economic situation and the significant developments that the world of work is experiencing. “Employees must face a lack of knowledge of what will happen and fear of what they will become, this generates worry and stress in them”he emphasizes. Add to this the negative emotions linked to changes in production and organizational methods and fear, nostalgia or anger can set in among staff, which is obviously harmful to the mental health of employees.
Know how to communicate within the company
So much for the observation. But Olivier Bas, very critical of the lack of evolution in business management, offers his solutions. According to him, it is important to give employees room to maneuver in the organization of their work. “Everyone must be able to act as close as possible to the field.” he specifies. But that is not enough. He also recalls the need for a clear framework for everyone’s missions and underlines what good communication within a company should be: “Communication is the art and way of doing things together, allowing everyone to stop and talk so that daily operational difficulties can be taken into account.”
The meaning of work? Its usefulness!
But his remarks do not ignore a real question which has very negative effects on mental health at work: the meaning that employees can give to it. “Where mental health problems are least frequent, even if it is the sector where there are the most health problems due to musculoskeletal disorders, it is in the building: the work that everyone does is immediately and concretely visible and this settles the question of the usefulness of the work. To find meaning in it, employees wait for their work to have a concrete usefulness!”
