Signs You Are Languishing

Uncertainty Prevails

From a leadership and human resources perspective, the emphasis on employee mental well-being has never been more intense. Perhaps weighing on their minds is the knowledge that workplaces who take effective action to create mentally healthy workplaces can expect a return on investment of $2.30 for every dollar spent (PWC, 2014). 

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 led many to believe that the lockdown, remote work arrangements, and business interruptions would be short-lived.

Fast forward to today and although vaccines are becoming available to greater numbers of our population, the uncertainty about the future of where, how, if, and when people work, remains unclear.

Mental Health Week (May 3-9)

With Mental Health Week upon us, it is an important time to reflect on what leaders and HR practitioners can do to address a newly surfacing mental health concern called languishing.

What is Languishing?

Languishing was first written about by sociologist and psychologist, Corey Keyes. He described it as a “state in which an individual is devoid of positive emotion toward life, and is not functioning well either psychologically or socially, and has not been depressed during the past year.”

A recent article in The Atlantic also describes symptoms of languishing particularly as it relates to forgetfulness, the loss of daily routine, and a sense of fogginess in the mind. 

Signs of Languishing

An employee is languishing when they are not depressed, but also not flourishing. They are somewhere in between. 

Common signs of languishing include

• A lack of motivation
• A sense of forgetfulness, brain fog, or aimlessness
• Missing deadlines or taking much longer to complete a task or assignment
• Not engaged in their work, which seems out of the ordinary
• Trouble concentrating
• Feeling indifferent and/or not feeling excited about the present or future

These signs provide indicators of languishing, but there may be other health, socio-economic or familial co-factors to consider. This list is intended to provide examples of what to look for as it relates to languishing.

Tips to Avoid Languishing

If you sense that languishing is apparent in your organization, consider the following tips to bring greater awareness to this modern mental health challenge.

1. Provide a checklist with signs of languishing as well as the spectrum of symptoms that describe the range of mental health states from depression to flourishing. Doing so may help employees give a name to how they are feeling.
   
   Additionally, it is helpful to remind employees that they are not alone and that there are confidential, free resources available to help them including Prime Benefits Remote Care Wellness Toolkit. To access a digital copy, please email us at info@primebenefitsgroup.com.
   
2. Address attention disruption challenges by providing resources and examples of time management and healthy habit approaches such as The Pomodoro Technique, Time-blocking templates and apps, The Eisenhower Matrix of Prioritization and books like Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy.
   
   Offer employees ways to manage work-life boundaries and free tools to help them rekindle their motivation and lift the brain fog through tried and true time management techniques.
   
3. Provide frequent reminders of employee benefit services available including Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) services.
   
4. Showcase the value of short-term mentorship, accountability buddies and coaches. Having access to someone who is an impartial and trusted confidant can help reset, reframe, and refocus one’s attention and energy.

These are just some of the many tips and resources available to promote a healthy workforce.

We are pleased to offer additional resources including our Remote Care Wellness Toolkit. If you would like a digital copy of this toolkit or other employee benefits-related information, please contact us at info@primebenefitsgroup.com. Let’s work together and create solutions that work best for you and your organization.