Psychological News You Can Use

Written by PPA psychologists for everyone interested in 

how psychology impacts their everyday life.

Topics include issues related to business, parenting, education, mental health treatments, forensic information, addictions, prison concerns, legislative events, and much more!

Working Women, Continued...

• Take breaks - It is important to take short beaks during the day. Get up and take a short walk, speak with a co-worker, or do some relaxation exercises at your desk.
• Say no - It may be difficult to say no for fear that you will be negatively evaluated. However, if you take on too much you will not be able to give sufficient attention to anything.
• Take days off - It is important to take time away from the office to rest and regain your energy.
• Give adequate attention to your life outside the office. - If you are having problems in your personal life, your work may suffer.
• Work reasonable hours - Everybody needs to come in early or stay late sometimes, but avoid this becoming a patten.
• Communicate - It is important to communicate with your supervisors and co-workers so that they know what your needs are and when you may need extra support on a project. 
• Recognize signs of burnout - Know the symptoms of burning out, such as having a short attention span, getting annoyed easily, and feeling unmotivated. When you recognize that you are burning out, make some of the changes mentioned in this article. 

By taking some of these steps, you may find that you enjoy your job even more and have more energy at work. Taking care of yourself not only impacts you, it impacts those you work with as well. 

Rachel Millner, Psy.D., is a PA psychologist. In addition to her private practice, Dr. Millner has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and is currently teaching at Gwynedd Mercy College. 

Layoffs, continued...

often a natural first reaction to focus on self and blame themselves or the company for everything. Thinking such unhelpful thoughts as "this should not have happened at all," or "everything the organization did was wrong" needs to run its course.

Continuing to focus only on the negative can be destructive and, in fact, may impede finding a new position. Once the thoughts that support anger and "rejection of the company" dissipate, being laid off can then be viewed as a new transition period of positive thinking, as a change in employment status, as a time to move on.

There is actually much that can be done to help speed up the time to resilience or recovery. To arrive at this point, the individuals must create a new mental process by thinking differently about the event: 

• They can tell themselves that even though they are experiencing negative thoughts they also realize that they still have a great deal of talent.
• They can remind themselves that they have the confidence within themselves to be successful when they move on to a new position.
• They need to be aware of emotions, but shouldn't excessively indulge in those emotions.
• They need to look at the layoff as a learning process to help prepare them better for the next position. 

The emotions of anger and rejection, at this point, are replaced by a new healthier emotion of acceptance and a willingness to move on. Once the person reaches the acceptance stage, the commitment to find another job is the positive response to the negative situation of being laid off.

A layoff can be viewed as a painful and devastating period disguised as a great opportunity to advance. Look at the situation in a positive light and ask what has been learned through this work and layoff experience. Have the confidence within oneself to write a new resume, network effectively, present positively in an interview, and accept another position. Refocus on opportunities from past positions that can be used to best benefit in new positions. Review what training and certifications were attained in prior positions and list what opportunities are available through networking.

All of these thoughts help to correct and balance the emotional relationship within the individual. People in such situations must learn to accept where they are. Acceptance doesn't mean agreeing with the way people ran the organization, or agreeing with the involuntary termination. It means understanding emotional reactions, being ready to begin a new position with self-development thoughts, and then moving on to a positive and challenging new opportunity.

Here are actions that can be taken to begin the resilience process (the comeback). 

1. Buy a notebook and begin keeping a journal outlining all of the actions that you will take. Action topics to keep in a journal could include a list of networking organizations and identification of key people to network. Write dates, places and people in the journal,
2. In your journal, outline your emotions, how you are feeling, the situation that triggered each emotion, and best/worst-case outcomes.
3. Outline professional skills and knowledge, personal skills and abilities (such as presentation experience and PowerPoint abilities). 
4. Locate the appropriate professional organizations in which to network. Look, for example, at the Chamber of Commerce, the Lions or Rotary Clubs. Go to professional organization lunches at places such as engineer clubs, High Tech Council, or human resource management organizations.
5. Become more active: don't fall into disengagement during this emotionally chaotic time of being laid off. To keep active is most important at this juncture. Look at the newspapers or Business Times and identify various ways to professionally network and put this in the journal.
6. Challenge yourself to maintain a positive attitude about the present situation and the future. Finding a job is a job in itself. It is vital to create a positive attitude about yourself, the future, your family, and the workplace, and to maintain confidence within to find a new position.
7. To begin the actual job search process, write in the journal all the talents that you have demonstrated in past positions. Many people do not realize that their job title - for example, engineer, administrator or salesperson - does not solely nor adequately define their skills. You should look at all of the skills that you have actually demonstrated. Some of the skills could include putting presentations together, creating PowerPoint slides, leading meetings, facilitating, asking questions, advising, coaching, mentoring, phone skills, networking skills, the ability to build trust, and systematically asking the right questions. Those are all skills that stay with people regardless of a position, if they have confidence in themselves to effectively verbalize and utilize those skills.
8. Simulate an interview - practice saying things such as, "What I have learned in my last job was... " or "I am looking for a position that will challenge me."

  horrific events, such as September 11, 2001, increases the likelihood of Post Traumatic Stress   Disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

• While children do not generally indicate a belief that local TV news accurately reflects their own immediate environment, they do suggest a belief that the rest of the world is as dangerous as TV news depicts.  

Before exposing children to daily local news shows, parents should ask themselves whether producing high levels of fear in their children needs to be pat of how they are educated about local events.

Ideally, when property produced, TV news can be very educational. It helps viewers focus their attention on pertinent current events and is capable of creating emotional states that can help us acquire information. Unfortunately, however, most local TV news shows place sensationalism and "infotainment" ahead of education.

Reference:

Austin, E.A., Chen, Y., Pinkleton, B., & Johnson, J. (2006). Benefits and costs of Channel One in a middle school setting and the role of media-liteacy training. Pediatics, 117,423-433. 

Roger Kline, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, where he specializes in Media Psychology and Human Learning. He has worked for 30 years as a media producer, radio and TV reporter, both locally and nationally.