Only for a short time: Register now for the Workplace Wellbeing Program by Marlene A. Magerl
For more than 2.5 years I have been working as a systemic consultant and business coach. During this time, I have helped various individuals, businesses, and organizations solve acute problems, understand mental health a little better, and develop systemic strategies that make a lasting contribution to mental health.
I continue to be absolutely buoyed by the idea that mental health, above all else, is a huge, underappreciated resource just waiting to be discovered. This conviction does not come from nowhere, but is fed by my knowledge from science and the sometimes really fantastic results of my clients. And at the same time I notice again and again that professionals in particular do not deal with themselves and their psyche in a resource-oriented way at all, let alone in a loving way.
One pattern in particular causes problems here: our perfectionism, which drives us as an inner driver to perpetual actionism.
In doing so, the same pattern that accompanies many overworked, highly qualified professionals for a long time before they engage in systemic approaches shows itself to me again and again in coaching. In fact, I’d say it’s THE mistake I keep re-watching. This mistake is investing in individual interventions to improve mental health. Many overworked professionals find themselves in a perpetual state of working through a never-ending to-do list, with tons of commitments at work and in their personal lives, not knowing where to start and where to stop. To be honest, most of us could probably work 24/7, right? This leads us to slowly burn out and sacrifice our well-being for supposed productivity.
These individual measures seem to make total sense to us for the time being. Do something to improve the situation. As a rule, these quick fixes help quite well in the short term. It feels great to keep up the running routine well for a few weeks. Reading a book every month. To go through with the meditation. Taking a Mental Health Day every now and then and going for a massage. What is missing, however, is the change in the system: everything else remains the same for now. The behavior is not adjusted elsewhere. Our beliefs (do more to achieve more) do not change. We are still notorious perfectionists. In our identity we remain the same.
As soon as the initial euphoria subsides, the following usually happens: We pull it off for a while longer, forcing ourselves to “hang in there,” pushing ourselves to “overcome the inner bastard. However, this bastard gets bigger and bigger the more we push ourselves. We’re all familiar with this phenomenon from New Year’s resolutions: the gym is full, so are the running tracks, and no one smokes or drinks. Until the enthusiasm dies down. Until everyday life catches up with us again. Until the old habits creep back in. And so the new routine quickly becomes another To Do on the already far too long list. This leads to even more frustration because you’ve wasted money and energy, feel even more overwhelmed and burnt out, and feel like you’re losing your grip once again.
As a systemic mental health consultant and researcher, I know that mental health is a complex system that cannot be addressed with single measures. Over the past few years, my coaching and consulting clients have provided living proof that a sustainable system for well-being yields more results than those quick fixes.
The solution lies in building solid knowledge, new thought patterns, and ultimately, actionable routines that really suit you.
This is real work, mind you. It’s not enough to take out a subscription and add a new activity to the to-do list. In my work, I use a Mental Health Framework that illuminates all facets of my clients’ lives and empowers them to question the old and allow for the new. Develop and implement a truly functioning system, or strategy around mental health.
In this framework, the first step to sustainable well-being is to truly understand what mental health is and what factors influence our well-being. This knowledge ensures that mental health becomes tangible, measurable and thus controllable. In the second step, I directly start asking my clients the big questions: Why did a problem arise? What are the underlying patterns? What beliefs and ideas does someone have about themselves and the world? Once this is clear, it is possible to separate the useful from the useless or even harmful and to create a new vision. Building on this is often about learning how to set inspiring goals for yourself that are truly achievable and encourage constructive behavior. Another major focus area is the issue of professional and personal commitments. It never ceases to amaze me how few of my coachees are aware of what they actually carry on their shoulders, who all has access to them and has a say over them and their energy. We then re-sort this conscious and unconscious workload in coaching. The next step is to prioritize and set boundaries. Only when these steps have all been completed do we finally move on to the routines: Because these are built on our visions, goals, responsibilities, priorities and boundaries. Routines are there to empower us in achieving our goals, to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to ensure that we are working on the things that will bring us closer to our vision.
Learn to manage your everyday stress like a pro, use your skills to the fullest and feel completely at ease!
I have now combined my Mental Health System into a brand new group coaching program around mental toughness in the workplace, to help as many people as possible with these core issues. As a founding member of the Workplace Wellbeing Program, we work closely together for about 8 weeks to build a system around mental health in the workplace that works for the long term.
In the future, the program will cost 999 EUR. Since this offer is brand new, it is now offered for half at EUR 499. PLUS: For all FemalExperts Newsletter subscribers there is another 20% discount on the price (just under 100 EUR)! More information about the program can be found under this link, you can subscribe to the newsletter here.
In addition, on September 5 and 12, I will hold a free online training on mental strength in the workplace, in which I will share a lot of basic knowledge and directly applicable tools with the participants: Link to registration.
I am very happy to meet you!
About the author
Marlene firmly believes that a human, inclusive economy is more productive and profitable. If you want to revolutionise your industry today, you will have to look after your greatest resource: Employees! She approaches this topic from different perspectives: Marlene is a certified systemic consultant and business coach with an additional focus on systemic organisational consulting and organisational development. She studied business and medicine at renowned universities, including the University of Groningen and Cambridge. She is also part of the management team in the family business Koamed, a service provider for occupational medicine and occupational safety. In addition to her entrepreneurial activities, Marlene conducts research on work and mental health in young adults at the University of Groningen and is a doctor-to-be. Marlene wants to make the economy more human and prepare her clients for the working world of the future!
