International Worker's Day in NYC
May Day or International Workers Day commemorates the gains made by workers in the labor movement who advocated for safe working conditions and a livable wages. Workers today continue to face workplace stress, trauma and lack of support in 2023. This month alone writers, doctors, nurses, teachers, and others will advocate for their profession and their mental health by going on strike.What does mental health have to do with employment? Besides everything… It’s Mental Health Awareness month so let’s dig in!
Therapy for Work-Related Stress in NYC
Just surviving around here is stressful! No matter your job, many New Yorkers are feeling the financial crunch between rising cost of living and limited monetary resources. A number of my clients work multiple jobs to afford to stay living in the five boroughs. Fast paced environments, rude customers, sexual harassment, exploitation of all kinds tax our nervous system, cause hormonal imbalance and increase inflammation, weakening our immune systems. On the other hand, the monotony of commuting, repetitive tasks and being in an unfulfilling role takes a toll on our cognition as well. You’re not alone if uncooperative coworkers (to put it kindly) and unrealistic expectations from higher ups have you stressed AF!
Serving NYC’s healthcare heroes, educators, social justice and human rights workers, there is much to unpack related to vicarious trauma which is when a provider experiences traumatic stress through their serving another and witnessing their trauma with them. The last few years has asked much from these workers who too often get into their field knowing they’ll never accumulate wealth, but have passion for the work that asks them to put their financial needs on pause. Many with student loans, NYC rent to pay and the highest cost of living in the nation, maybe even the world. Helping professionals are often the last to strike, advocate for unsafe working conditions or leave a job due to lack of growth potential.
As Kerry Washington’s character points out so lovely in UnPrisoned on Hulu, “recreation compulsion” is a trauma response in which we recreate the familiar dysfunctional conditions we were raised in or became used to because we may not know what other options we have if we didn’t have someone to model healthier more sustainable options. This applies to relationships as much as it applies to the environments we spend our time, especially work.
Hear an Abbott Elementary writer speak about the writers strike:
Workplace trauma is sadly not uncommon in New York
Countless are the clients I’ve worked with who were hesitant to say they experienced trauma while at work. If your boss is constantly criticizing you, raising their voice, throwing things, cursing at staff or similar behavior, please be aware that while it may not feel super threatening based on your previous life experiences, your nervous system is likely holding on to all of it, especially if you don’t have adequate time and resources to care for yourself in all of the ways necessary.
Thinking about my own journey of employment and career lessons, what a road it has been! The inability to meet the needs of highly traumatized people in community mental health settings with very low funding, dilapidated buildings and burned-out staff who were all too used to being underappreciated is heartbreaking. Still, these buildings become second homes to workers staying late without compensation for another night to complete documentation for clients they truly love and an agency they so wanted to help succeed. In 2023 mental health and social programming budgets continue to be first to get cut amidst a citywide mental health crisis with more clinicians burning out now than ever before.
Don’t fall for the trap of hustle mentality!
If you have deep “good girl” or “good boy” conditioning from early years where you were only praised for doing what you’re told, following the rules and people pleasing, it might be harder for you to recognize what’s not working or what to do to feel more in control of your life and wellness.
Employers have been forced to deal with the international popularity and productivity of the four-day work week as well as hybrid and work-from-home schedules. They appear to compromise with offers like “unlimited PTO” which often sets workers up to compete for who is able to take the fewest days off. This leaves chronically ill staff, those with childcare needs and neurodiverse people at a disadvantage and can cause shame and lead to staff turnover.
Stop silently enabling broken systems! USE ALL OF YOUR PTO!!
One of my favorite parts of being in Private Practice today is not having anyone to silence my opinions. I take the ethical responsibility of being a Social Worker super seriously in that it is built in to the core of my profession that we must stand up for human rights, environmental justice and the dignity and worth of our clients.
I would love to help you become a better self-advocate at work and everywhere else. We’re going to increase your self-trust, assertiveness and confidence so you can communicate clearly and effectively. Anxiety, introversion, shyness and not knowing where to start can cause you to accept conditions that make your life harder and jeopardize your health and future security.