Take action now against burnout with Adrien Chignard, occupational psychologist.
What is your definition of psychosocial risks?
Psychosocial risks are all the risks we take for our mental health, depending on the working conditions to which we are exposed. More precisely, being exposed to stress factors at work that can then trigger psychosocial disorders and can have consequences on physical and mental health. This can start with anxiety, addictions, then depression, or even burnout which is one of the most serious conditions.
What is the interest today for QVT* managers in working with occupational psychologists?
You need skills to work on psychosocial risks. Psychosocial risk is the interaction between working conditions and the individual's mental functioning. As occupational psychologists are experts in the individual's mental functioning in a production or work situation, they will be the preferred partners to talk about psychosocial risks. We also work with nurses and occupational physicians to understand other types of risks. But on psychosocial risks, the psychologist is the dedicated contact because he has this skill, which he will have developed during his university training.
You created Sens et Cohérence , a firm specializing in innovative approaches to preventing psychosocial risks at work. Can you give us some examples of innovative approaches that you have developed?
Today, 80% of the transformations that companies implement do not have the expected effects, the changes are rather disappointing. From this observation, I work on the human determinants of the success of change. How can the person adhere to this change? This idea came from a study by a university research team, and allows us to work on the determinants of adherence and success to change, on two axes: organizational performance, and individual and collective health. Which is something resolutely new.
I work on psychosocial risks with a completely new methodology. We set up studies to support major transformations in companies. I support managers a lot, for example in the form of a hotline reserved for managers, to help them in their daily lives to decipher complicated situations. I like the principle of demanding popularization, that is to say that the goal of the game is not to help the manager in a problem, but to educate the manager to understand his problem differently and give him the cultural elements and the theory to better understand and decipher. I do a lot of transfers, not of skills, but of knowledge on the subjects.
Today, more than 2.5 million French people are said to be suffering from burnout. Can you explain to us how we can detect if we are suffering from burnout and what the symptoms are?
We know we are burnt out when a medical or psychological professional gives you the term. Burnout is a collection of symptoms, it is not a big fatigue, it is the result of a long exposure to stress factors. Before being burnt out, you are in “ burn in ”, which is the first phase. That is to say, you are already exhausted but you continue to work. It is as if you were on the highway, and the light on your gas tank came on, and instead of stopping, you accelerated. If you break down, you are burnt out. You will therefore have the triad of burnout: emotional, physical and emotional exhaustion. A distance from work, a disengagement to protect yourself and a deterioration of self-image then set in. Some people say that burnout is one of the advanced forms of depressive state related to work situations. The first thing to do is to go see your doctor and take time off, because there is no remission possible if there is no time off. But rest is not enough, you also have to work on these working conditions with a support professional, whether it is a psychiatrist or a psychologist, to help us understand what brought us to this point. Then you have to work to find a balance and a healthy lifestyle that will allow you to return to work more serenely. You have to give work its rightful place, and not all the place.
What are the factors to prevent burnout?
I am in favor of preventing psychosocial risks in the broad sense. Before reaching burnout, there is a whole range of issues that need to be addressed. For example, we need to prevent stress at work. We need to talk about the conditions that lead to burnout. We should not wait until the person is burned out to take action.
In international literature, there are about 35 factors of stress at work. We must look at all these factors and diagnose them one by one to see if employees are exposed to them and see how to solve them.
Today, we still have a good idea of the factors of burnout. Christina Maslach, the great international specialist on this subject, has defined factors that are the precipitants of burnout: a heavy workload, lack of control and/or predictability over work, ethical conflicts, feeling of lack of recognition, strained professional relationships. When these factors coexist, they increase the probability of generating professional exhaustion.
Is workplace bullying a psychosocial risk? What is your “inside” perspective?
We are asked a lot about this subject and I think it is linked to the pandemic situation. For almost 2 years, we have been in this situation, and it has ended up generating a form of abrasion of tolerance to the frustration of each other. Which generates a much stronger conflict, which is difficult to regulate because we don't see each other much. It is also more complicated to know if someone is being harassed if they are teleworking.
To identify whether you are in a situation of harassment, a first essential notion is the notion of repetition. That is to say that if there is a repetition of conduct, linked to your health, your integrity, your career path, we are on something that constitutes harassment. A manager who asks you each time to reread your emails, because you make lots of spelling mistakes, that is not harassment. On the other hand, a manager who regularly tells you, out loud, "It is obvious that you did not go to school for long, you"... There, we enter into a practice that can be harassment. Repetition has harmful consequences.
At the start of any harassment situation, the employee is put in a state of guilt. It is a very clear thought mechanism: if something bad happens to me, it is because I must have done something wrong. The psychological process of harassment is up to us, occupational psychologists, to explain to the victims. Clinical psychologists will intervene to undo this psychological state.
What are your main tips for victims of harassment?
We must talk about it at all costs, lift the veil on what is hidden. Because the harasser will do everything to hide his actions. To talk about it, you have to write. I recommend writing a letter with the term harassment in your letter and sending it to your employer or to the labor inspectorate. Because the fact that the employer receives a document with the word harassment, this will allow an investigation to be opened on the subject.
Co-workers can also help. Another tip is to never give up on someone. When you see something that is problematic, let your HR know and pass the information on so that actions can be put in place as soon as possible.
With the Covid-19 crisis, you have seen more and more psychological distress among employees working from home. What can we do today to stop this deterioration?
First of all, we need to realize that this is a difficult situation. We can't always ask more of people who are tired, it's not possible. Secondly, it is essential to give the collective the opportunity to exist, that is to say that people who return to face-to-face meetings from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., that's not possible either. We need to leave time for people to get together. It is these moments between people to discuss, to resolve difficulties, but also to rediscover each other, which are necessary to reestablish social ties. It is about having time, space, shared projects, to relearn how to cooperate. Social ties are the first line of defense against psychological distress. So, for companies that want to make it work better, I can only advise them to promote everything that will restore the quality of social relationships.
*QVT = quality of life at work
