【英语生活】别让你的员工太郁闷

The secretary of state for work and pensions could not have spoken more plainly. The time for mollycoddling was over. "If people . . . re-associate with the world of work, suddenly they come alive again," he said. "That will overcome depression and stress a lot more than people sitting at home watching daytime television." According to this cabinet minister, the disability benefits system was - he may now regret using the word - "crackers". And when asked about his own personal difficulties he replied stoutly: "I'm getting on with the job."

Except that, three weeks later, the secretary of state was not getting on with the job at all, for he had resigned - for the second time in a year. Now, in his newly published diaries, David Blunkett (the British politician in question) has conceded that his mental state was anything but robust during the tempestuous goings-on of the past two years.

Mr Blunkett now admits: "At one point I really did think I was going mad. I was under the most horrendous pressure. I was barely sleeping and yet I was being asked to sign government warrants in the middle of the night." Work does not appear to have offered any salvation. "I probably overdid it, compared with colleagues. My physical and emotional health had cracked . . . In the early part of last year [2005], after my resignation as home secretary, I was probably clinically depressed."

Leaders are not in the habit of discussing their mental health problems in public, at least not while still exercising power. There may be jokes in the CEO's podcast about going to the gym more often, or choosing a glass of orange juice instead of wine at evening events. But even to hint that the pressures of the job might be telling on health and general well-being is unthinkable. On the whole, bosses reject the candour of the out-of-office Mr Blunkett, and adopt instead the unflinching confidence of his former self.

But this could be dangerous, both for senior executives and the organisations that they lead. As Manfred Kets de Vries, a professor at Insead business school, shows in a new book, the psychological condition of leaders can have a profound impact on all those who work under them.

In The Leader on the Couch, Prof Kets de Vries quotes one CEO who was prepared to admit - within the confines of an Insead seminar room - "Every day when I go into the office I have the ability to make the lives of my 10,000 employees either miserable or positive. It doesn't take very much to go either way."

Depression in the boardroom may be hard to detect, especially for those colleagues who, unlike the professor, are not expert in psychoanalytical techniques. But according to Prof Kets de Vries, depressives tend to display a range of behaviour patterns that may reflect a deeper mental instability.

"At work, which they see as unpleasant drudgery, a duty to be fulfilled, their scepticism and cynicism create a downbeat, discouraging, destructive atmosphere," he writes. "They expect the people who work for them to take on a great deal of work, and they nag about getting things done while simultaneously criticising their subordinates' performance." Does that sound like a boss you know - or like one who stares back at you in the mirror?

If senior managers think that their mental health is suffering, they need to consider what things might be like for their more junior colleagues. The social scientist Sir Michael Marmot showed in his 2004 book Status Syndrome that the lack of autonomy and "social participation" enjoyed by middle and junior managers could do long-term harm to their health.

Mental health and well-being are not trivial concerns. Paying due attention may even have financial benefits. After all, businesses have tried just about everything else to boost productivity: training, quality, cross-functional teams, re-engineering. Perhaps the real missing link is poor health, especially mental health. BT recently suggested that as many as 500 of its global workforce of 104,000 employees were off sick every day with psychiatric problems.

Sixty years ago in Horsham in the south east of England, the Roffey Park Rehabilitation Centre opened for business. Radical for its day, the centre was developed by industrialists concerned at the damage that had been done to employees during wartime through overwork, nervous strain and depression.

In its first two years, the centre took in 1,700 people. The institute's holistic approach combined medical treatment, dietary supervision, physical education and occupational therapy, all designed to suit the individual. Restored to health, workers returned to their previous jobs better able to perform.

Today Roffey Park is a well-known management development and training institute. But as part of its 60th anniversary it has gone back to its roots to consider what "enlightened" management might look like at the start of the 21st century.

There is a clue in the course literature of Roffey Park's original training programme, which was called "Mental Health and Human Relations in Industry". Its author Thomas Ling wrote: "This book . . invites management to look at the whole man and to examine the total situation. It appeals for the greater understanding of basic human needs and of what exists below the surface. There is a relevant Chinese proverb - 'Better to light one's candle than to curse the darkness'. Managers everywhere are in a position where their individual illuminations are able to aid progress along the pathways described. Their efforts will most certainly help production, but they will contribute no less to the well-being of all."

英国就业和养老金大臣戴维•布伦基特(David Blunkett)讲得再明白不过了。娇生惯养的时代已经结束。“如果人们重新与职场发生关系，就会突然充满活力。”他说道。“那样比白天坐在家里看电视更能克服沮丧和压力。”这位内阁大臣认为，残疾人福利是一个搞垮人的制度。现在，他也许后悔这一说法。当被问及自己的个人困难时，他坚定地答道：“我在工作。”只可惜，三周之后，这位英国大臣就彻底不工作了，因为他辞职了——一年中的第二次。现在，布伦基特（英国政界的话题人物）在自己新出版的日记里承认，在过去两年的多事之秋，他的精神状态糟透了。

布伦基特现在承认：“我一度真的以为自己要疯了。我处在最可怕的压力下。几乎没有睡眠，还常常有人在午夜要我签署政府文件。”工作似乎没有带来任何救助。“跟同事相比，也许我做过了头。我的身心健康都垮了……去年（2005年）上半年，在辞去内政部长后，我可能已经患上了抑郁症。”

领导者没有公开讨论心理健康问题的习惯，至少在当权时不会这样做。在播客中，首席执行官也许会开玩笑说，要更经常地去健身，或是在晚宴上选择橙汁而非葡萄酒。然而，对于工作压力也许已影响到健康和幸福，哪怕是稍作暗示也是不可想象的。总体而言，老板们拒绝像已下台的布伦基特那样直率，反而采用了以前的他那种无所畏惧的自信态度。

但是，无论是对于企业高管还是他们领导的组织，这可能都是危险的。就像欧洲工商管理学院(Insead)教授曼弗雷德•凯茨•德•弗里斯(Manfred Kets de Vries)在其新书中所展示的，领导者的心理状况能够对所有下属产生深远影响。

在《沙发上的领导》(The Leader on the Couch)一书中，凯茨•德•弗里斯教授引用了一位首席执行官的例子。这位首席执行官准备承认——仅限于在欧洲工商管理学院的会议室中——“每天走进办公室时，我既能让手下1万名员工的生活变得悲惨，也能让他们变得积极。做到这两点都不难。”

董事会会议室中的沮丧情绪可能难以觉察到，那些和这位教授不同、不熟悉心理分析技巧的同事更是如此。但凯茨•德•弗里斯教授表示，沮丧往往会表现为一系列行为模式，反映出较深层次的心理不稳定。

“工作意味着履行职责，他们都把它看成令人生厌的苦差事。他们的怀疑主义和玩世不恭催生出一种令人消极、沮丧和有害的氛围。”他写道。“他们希望为自己工作的人承担大量工作任务，他们不断唠叨着让别人完成任务，同时却又批评着下属的表现。”这是否像是你认识的某位老板——或是在镜子里回视着你的那个人？

如果高级经理认为自己的精神健康受到摧残，他们需要考虑一下那些级别更低的同事所处的境地。社会科学家迈克尔•马莫爵士(Sir Michael Marmot)在2004年的著作《地位综合症》(Status Syndrome)中描述道，中低层经理缺乏自主权和“社会参与度”，可能对他们的健康造成长期危害。

心理健康和幸福并非无足轻重的小事。给予应有的关注甚至可能产生经济效益。毕竟，企业已尝试过其它各种方法来提升生产率：培训、质量、跨职能团队、重新规划。或许链条中真正缺失的一环是不良的健康状态，尤其是精神健康。英国电信(BT)最近表示，在其10.4万名全球雇员中，每天有多达500名员工因精神问题请病假。

60年前，罗菲帕克康复中心(Roffey Park Rehabilitation Centre)在英格兰东南部的霍舍姆开业。在当时颇为激进的这家康复中心，由数位实业家创办，他们对战争期间的加班、精神紧张和抑郁对员工造成的伤害感到担忧。

在建立的头两年，该中心接待了1700人。这个机构的整套方法集医学治疗、饮食监控、体育和职业疗法于一体，全部都因人而异。恢复健康后，员工回到从前的工作岗位，能有更好的表现。

如今，罗菲帕克康复中心是一个知名的管理发展和培训机构。但作为60周年纪念的一部分，它回本归根，考虑21世纪初的“开明”管理可能是什么样子。

在罗菲帕克最初培训计划《产业精神健康和人类关系》(Mental Health and Human Relations in Industry)的课程文献中有一条线索。作者托马斯•林(Thomas Ling)写道：“本书……希望管理层着眼于人的各个方面，考察整体状况。它呼吁更深刻地理解人类的基本需求以及表象下的内涵。中国有一句谚语——‘与其诅咒黑暗，不如点亮蜡烛'。各地的经理人都处在这样一个位置：他们个人的光辉能帮助人们沿着所述的道路取得进步。他们的努力当然会有助于生产，但他们对所有人幸福的贡献也不会少。”

译者/何黎