Achieving a Healthy Work/life balance & the impact of Gender on Mental Health

Achieving a Healthy Work/life balance & the impact of

Gender on Mental Health

John Foster2014

Carecall

Queen’s University Belfast

Course Objectives:Learning Outcomes

• Develop strategies to manage work/life balance

• Balance in personal lifestyles

• Planning for success in work and life

• Develop self-confidence in a pressurised world

• Identify sources of support

The Power of Emotions

1. Fear of the Unknown

2. ‘People don’t know me’

3. Challenging NEGATIVE self-talk

4. ‘Men are from Mars and Women are from

Venus’

TRUST vs. MISTRUST

Bombarded by Life Choices

• Work relationships• Family relationships• Friendships • Managing pressure to be “all

things to all people”• Alcohol, drugs, technology,

gambling, sex• Self-doubt, self-criticism• Emotional Intelligence

Introduction to mental health

Emotional Health and Mental Wellbeing

Key elements as identified by World Health Organisation (WHO)

Subjective wellbeing - feeling good about yourself Self-efficacy - self-belief, able to tackle difficult tasks Autonomy - freedom and choice Resilience - the ability to cope with the stresses of life Emotional potential - recognition of the ability to realise one’s emotional potential Intellectual potential - recognition of the ability to realise one’s intellectual potentialWork productively and fruitfully - making a worthwhile contributionSocial wellbeing - Making a worthwhile contribution to the community Intergenerational dependence - connectedness and support

World Health Organisation (2003) {adapted}

The element of mental wellbeing

Flourishing Mental Health

Emotional wellbeing•Happiness•Confidence and,•The opposite of depression (diagnosis of a complete state of mental health)

Social wellbeing •Good relationships with others•When neglected, is shown to manifest conversely in conduct disordered behaviour, delinquency, interpersonal violence and bullying

Psychological wellbeing•Autonomy and control •Problem solving•Attentiveness or involvement•A sense of coherent identity

Aim for flourishing Mental Health

Mental health is more than the absence of illness

What are you going to do to protect and promoting your

emotional health and mental wellbeing in the workplace?

Are you working to live or living to work?

Common Thinking Errors

Challenging Questions

• How do you do your reality testing?

• What are alternative explanations?

• How do you achieve perspective?

• How does goal-directed thinking help?

•To address gender inequalities requires commitment and action from everyone, at all

levels of the organisation

•To tackle the unequal representation of women in science requires changing cultures and

attitudes across the organisation

•The absence of diversity at management and policy-making levels has broad implications

which the organisation will examine

•The high loss rate of women in science is an urgent concern which the organisation will

address

•The system of short-term contracts has particularly negative consequences for the

retention and progression of women in science, which the organisation recognises

•There are both personal and structural obstacles to women making the transition from PhD

into a sustainable academic career in science, which require the active consideration of the

organisation

The Vitruvian Man

This image provides the

perfect example of

Leonardo da Vinci’s keen

interest in proportion.

Virginia Satir, founding member of Mental Research Institute (MRI)

Carol Gilligan

• Gender Differences

• Images of Self

• The Masculine Ascent Up the Steps of Justice

• Not All People Are Men

• For Whom Do You Care?

In a Different Voice, 1982. Harvard University Press

Carol Gilligan, Professor of Psychology, New York University.

The five truths of manhood

1. You are going to die.

2. Life is hard.

3. You are not that important.

4. Your life is not about you.

5. You are not in control of the outcome.

Steve Biddulph

Steve Biddulph, Professor of Psychology, Melbourne and Author