12/26/2023 0 Comments Nytimes languishingAt the pinnacle of the mental health spectrum lies the ability to flourish. The good news is that feelings of languishing can be alleviated through interventions that promote wellbeing. People experiencing languishing are considered “trapped” in the middle of the mental health spectrum with symptoms not severe enough to meet clinical criteria but not optimal enough to thrive and flourish. In fact, languishing can increase the need for employees to cut back on their workload by three-fold (Keynes, 2002). According to organisational psychologist Adam Grant, an increasing proportion of employees are experiencing feelings of languishing, including loss of motivation and focus, preventing workers from achieving their full potential (Grant, 2021). Recent studies have also highlighted the critical state of wellbeing in the workplace, with 67% of workers reporting increased levels of burnout (Indeed, 2021). Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, feelings of loneliness and isolation coupled with increased workloads, have had a deleterious impact on mental health (Panchel et al., 2021). Instead, languishing is considered a state marked by the absence of mental wellness that people can experience at different stages throughout their lives. Although languishing may overlap with symptoms of depression, it is not characterised as a clinical manifestation. The concept of languishing was first described by sociologist Corey Keynes (2002) as feelings of “emptiness and stagnation, constituting a life of quiet despair…” The APA Dictionary of Psychology defines languishing as the “absence of mental health, characterised by ennui, apathy, listlessness, and loss of interest in life”. According to a recent Ipsos poll, 1 out of 5 Americans are in a state of languishing.
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