Pop Quiz: The research organization Gallup regularly polls workers about their level of stress at work. When did Gallup polls show that our collective stress levels are at an all-time high? If you said at the height of the pandemic, when so many of us were locked down, we were dealing with childcare issues, risking infection to provide basic services, or worried about losing our jobs, that’s completely understandable. This is also a wrong answer.
The highest levels of workplace stress ever recorded by Gallup were in June 2022.
Even though the situation with Covid is now objectively better, the cumulative stress of the last two years, constant disruption and inflation, and a perceived decline in employer interest in employee well-being have actually made employees even more stressed. In short, there are a lot of demoralized people out there.
What is medicine? The experts offered about a million and one exercises and suggestions. But one neuroscientist has an appealingly simple suggestion: Why not read up on how to get over your post-pandemic jitters?
“We all experience the occasional slump at work when everything seems to drag on. Fortunately, there are some books that can offer insight and advice to get you out of this rut,” neuroscientist Joe Bathelt writes on Medium before prescribing five addresses for help exhausted professionals break through their current aimlessness and brain fog and detach.
1. The myth of Jeff Haden’s motivation
1. The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden
I was thrilled to see The Motivation Myth by my ever-astute Inc.com colleague Jeff Haden at the top of Bathelt’s list. “The main idea of the book is that motivation is not the main driver of productivity, nor is it necessary,” Bathelt writes. Haden interviews successful athletes, businesspeople, and creatives to uncover the real drivers of productivity and offer readers practical advice on how to get your butt going, even when motivation is lacking.
2. Grit by Angela Duckworth
“Determination has become a hot topic in psychology and education,” Bathelt writes, acknowledging that there has been some recent opposition to the trendy concept. But Bathelt is still a fan of this groundbreaking title on the subject. “For those of us who may be feeling a bit in crisis, the book can help gain a new perspective,” he insists, including “illustrating that almost everyone encounters obstacles from time to time” and illustrating how “highly successful people deal with these.”
3. Expert by Roger Kneebone
“This book shows the evolution of expertise and draws heavily on the experience of the author, who has worked as a surgeon, general practitioner and academic,” explains Expert’s Bathelt. On the same subject : Neil Gaiman’s Books Have Enchanted Millions. Finally, Hollywood is on the Board.. What does this have to do with getting out of the crisis?
Through interviews with a variety of professionals (from an experienced tailor to a leading hairdresser), the book details the up-and-down process through which true expertise is developed and “illustrates the obstacles that must be overcome to progress through each stage and highlights the reasons, why people can get stuck at a certain level.” Batheit reports that after reading it, “I looked at my problems in a different light . . . than is characteristic of my increasing level of knowledge.”
4. The flow of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
4. Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Another class in the psychology genre for a popular audience, Flow is one of the seminal texts of the positive psychology movement. “I came across the central concept of flow many times when reading books on a variety of topics, including education, game design, and mindfulness,” reports Bathelt. To see also : Woodstock coffee business works to give formerly incarcerated people of color a “second chance”. Reading the original source for the idea “helped clarify the core concept,” he says, and find a flow in his work. “I expect that many readers will find a lot of food for thought and perhaps incorporate it into their own lives,” he concludes.
5. Happiness by Design by Paul Dolan
5. Happiness by Design by Paul Dolan
“While other books on this list may reinvigorate your determination to work, this book may make you rethink your attitude toward work,” Bathelt claims of this title. “One of the central messages I got from the book is that we all need some balance between purpose and pleasure. For some people there is a lot of purpose and some pleasure, while others lean more towards the pleasure side. See the article : The California Governor’s mental health court plan is progressing due to concerns. If you force yourself to tip the scales towards a balance that doesn’t suit you, you’ll feel miserable.” Looking at the continuation of the Great Recession, I think this is an idea that could benefit many workers right now.
Good luck reading your way out of the doldrums!
