An anxious workforce is not a productive workplace. Which is to say, employees need - and employers need to promote - credible resources for information and answers regarding stress and anxiety, for help regarding feelings of dread and depression.
I know of what I write because I have personal experience with the potentially crippling effects of anxiety, including the physical toll this psychological trauma exacts. I more than sympathize with workers suffering from this condition.
I empathize with their plight because no one should have to endure the solitude of this agony; no one should have to silently accept the pain of this psychiatric condition; no one should have to pretend to be healthy when they are not well; no one should fear being an outcast when we should do everything to send this problem into extended exile.
The good news is that there is a site, Open Forest, whose very mission is to create a destination for people who want answers concerning these challenges, who want a community they can join to discuss these issues, who want an environment - a place of respect and camaraderie - where they address these matters, who want a credible source - and an authoritative figure - to further their goals of personal health and collective wellness.
Companies need to pay more attention to this subject since professional success is almost impossible without personal contentment: Each worker deserves the peace of mind necessary to do his job with confidence, free of the worries that can sideline even the most stoic of employees. We must have an open dialogue about these topics, given the character - the defiant nature - of this condition.
Employers must acknowledge these truths not because I say so, but because a majority of employees seek relief from this burden; a multitude of workers hope to enjoy a respite from this illness; millions of people nationwide crave more intelligence - from the wisest experts - about achieving remission from this malady; tens of millions of Americans have a right to enjoy better lives, without their current sense of resignation that things cannot change.
A campaign of this kind would make the workplace more inviting and compassionate, which would inspire greater loyalty and enhance employee morale. Those benefits are too many to dismiss. Those rewards are too bountiful to ignore.
By highlighting this journey to better health, companies have a stronger likelihood of securing the ideals involving corporate wellness. There should be no anxiety about that statement, ambitious though it is; expansive though it must be, because of the status quo - with its sick days and financial losses, with its low energy and acute feelings of worry - is neither sustainable nor successful.
We have to approach this issue with innovative ideas, which are now available on the Web. We have to support this movement, so we reverse the plague of anxiety and the problems that plague the anxious. Together, we can do this - and more - for a cause as noble as it is just.
About the Author
Lewis Fein writes about a variety of health and wellness issues, in addition to pieces about technology, business and management. Based in Southern California, you may email him at feinlewis@gmail.com.
