Why work is making us miserable—and what needs to change

How do you feel about your work? Do its daily demands leave you burned out and drained of energy?

Do you find yourself reducing how much effort you make to engage in some “quiet” or “soft” quitting? Or maybe you dream of taking a more decisive step and joining the “great resignation.”

The prevalence—and popularity—of these responses suggest that there has been quite a change in many people’s attitudes to the way they earn a living. Some think that this change stems from a post-COVID evaluation of work-life balance. Others say it’s an individual form of industrial action.

However, these explanations keep the spotlight firmly on workers rather than the work itself. Perhaps the truth lies in a fundamental deterioration in people’s relationship with their work and maybe the work needs to shoulder some of the responsibility.

Our experience of working, and its impact on our lives, is about more than what goes on within the office or school or hospital or factory that pays our wages. Even something as simple (yet important) as the number of hours someone works might be the result of a complex combination of national law, professional expectations, and an organization’s resources.

This is where something known as the “psychosocial work environment” comes in—an approach (especially popular in Scandinavia) that examines the various structures, conditions, and experiences that affect an employee’s psychological and emotional well-being.

Research in this field suggests that there are three conditions vital to the modern work experience: autonomy, boundary management, and “precarity.”

Autonomy is about how much control and influence you have when it comes to doing your job and is key to how most employees feel about their work.

Low levels of autonomy can leave people feeling overwhelmed and powerless. But high levels can also be detrimental, leading to excessive levels of individual responsibility and overwhelming hours.

Ideally, you should have enough autonomy to feel a sense of flexibility and self-determination—but not so much that you feel you need to always be available and constantly on the clock.

Setting boundaries

Boundary management is the ability to manage the physical and mental boundaries between work and nonwork lives. Achieving a suitable work-life balance has become even more important in a world of hybrid working.

But in jobs with high levels of autonomy and responsibility, boundaries can become blurred and unpredictable. Phones ping with work-related notifications, and leisure becomes work at the swipe of a screen.

All of this can lead to feelings of anxiety and exhaustion. The goal here is to set clear boundaries that bring predictability and clarity around work time and demands. This provides flexibility that is empowering rather than exploitative.

Finally, “precarity” refers to a lack of stability and security in life. It refers specifically to a harmful state of uncertainty that is typically associated with job insecurity (zero-hour contracts, for example).

This uncertainty and insecurity can dominate daily work time (and free time), leading to feelings of stress and anxiety. It can also have a negative impact on personal finances and career plans.

Income and contract security can help here, although people working in insecure jobs often have little power when it comes to persuading their employers to make the necessary changes.

But addressing the deteriorating relationship between employees and their work means confronting certain core conditions. Reflecting on the psychosocial elements of employment can help to identify the gap between expectation and actual experience.

Before experiencing burnout or resorting to quitting (in any of its forms), this approach encourages employees and employers to reflect on two key questions. How does work make you feel? And what are the things that cause those feelings?

Research on psychosocial work environments provides some guidance. It suggests that workers are more likely to thrive when they have autonomy that feels like control rather than abandonment, and flexibility and clarity that allows for a good work-life balance. They also need security that offers certainty in the present—and confidence in the future.

John-Paul Byrne is a lecturer at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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