IN a competitive, stressful, and capital-dominated work environment, the dictates of profit and efficiency make a constant demand on our nerves and minds.

A modern man might wistfully luxuriate in the benefits of modern existence — material affluence, electronic connectivity, or the availability of information. But it eludes many how this addiction to modern amenities tightens our bondage to the workplace.

To qualify for this enslavement, many have to survive rigorous training (professional education), intensifying competition, office politics, and a host of other discomforts — for instance the daily long commutes, crowds, noise, and pollution.

More aggravating, with the state mulling postponement of the retirement age, there is the possibility that employment might further erode old age. These can so overstretch the limited resources of a mortal being that sometimes they threaten our health, or sanity.

A philosophically minded individual might be justified in having doubts over whether homo sapiens are better at the business of living than other species.

Intensive counseling has been provided to those who survived the disastrous stampede on the New Year’s Eve (“Doctors help Bund victims overcome terror,” January 7, Shanghai Daily), but there is relatively little attention to the plight of the working multitudes whose sanity might be compromised by stressful work environment.

“Mental Illness at Work: A Manager’s Guide to Identifying, Managing and Preventing Psychological Problems in the Workplace” by Mary-Clare Race and Adrian Furnham (2014, Palgrave Mcmillan) is a thorough and helpful reminder of some of the risks that might affect us in workplace.

A pervasive disease

According to the authors, who are respectively psychologist and psychology teacher, each year an astonishing one-quarter of all individuals will experience some mental health problems, particularly workers who underperform, torpedo projects, cross legal or moral boundaries, or those who get fired for their carelessness.

In China, we might lack relevant data suggesting the plight of the general working population, although there are indications that some well-placed and ambitious officials are, ironically, among some of the more high-profile victims.

According to official media reports, from January to October last year, at least 37 officials across the country committed suicide, partly as a result of the beefed up anti-graft effort. Take Lou Xuequan, formerly a district Party chief of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, who hanged himself last September after being disciplined and removed from his post for taking 2,000 yuan (US$317) in gift money. With the recent investigation into Yang Weize, former Party chief of Nanjing, there is speculation that Lou might have taken his life after succumbing to Yang’s threats, as a result of the need to cover up crimes that might compromise others.

Whatever the real cause, it does suggest the vulnerability of officials in responsible positions to psychological problems. That is, if we consider psychological a proper word to apply in blanket fashion to officials who are reluctant to confront the possible consequences of their greed or ambition.

As Race and Furnham observe in their book, “One of the difficulties of defining mental health, mental illness and mental disorder is the challenge of drawing a clear distinction between normal and abnormal behavior.”

The distinction can be a delicate one, for a mentally sound person who lives in an “unhealthy society” may not fit that society. Therefore an official might be afflicted with serious self-doubts when he finds himself in a culture where graft and grease is the norm, the rule, rather than the exception. This is not even a novel concept, for Lu Xun suggested this a century ago in his short story “A Madman’s Diary,” in which the “madman” viewed his society with more sense than those who considered him “mad.”

Similarly, when graft is pandemic and the whole bureaucracy is kept going by bribes and favors, an eminently upright guy who dare to think on his own feet and refuse to be tarred with the same brush might end up being considered a “lunatic.”

One of the most celebrated models of integrity of the old school is Jie Zhitui, who was among a faithful retinue following a Jin Kingdom king into a long exile about 2,600 years ago. When the king in exile was enthroned, instead of waiting for a lucrative senior management appointment, Jie fled with his mother to a mountain where they ended their lives.

Judged in light of modern notion about progressing with the times, Jie, rather than being an object of universal admiration, would probably be suffering from personality disorders that lead him to perceive and understand the world in ways that are “inflexible and pervasive across a broad range of personal and social situations.”

Perhaps Jie could have retained and salvaged some of his senses by paying a timely visit to his psychiatrist.

A relative concept

Since we live in a society where the majority dictate rules regarding normalcy and decency, we must defer to majority opinion regarding our own sanity.

According to the authors, frequently occurring mental illnesses one might see at work include schizophrenia, stress, depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

There are also people who suffer a substance-dependency issue. In China this addiction is already fairly common among singers, artists, celebrities and the super rich. While it takes ingenuity and expertise to call a psychopath by the proper name, their causes are more or less predictable.

The book believes that “changes in employee performance and behaviors can be linked to any number of things, from marital problems to financial concerns.” Interestingly, workaholism — the tendency to work too intensely — is sometimes much commended in the US but is actually a disease affecting individuals with strong self-doubt.

Such individuals can fall under five variations:

“Dyed-in-the-wool” are loyal and talented folks who have a perfectionist side and hate incompetence.

“Converted” act like workaholics in order to earn money or status.

“Situational” are those whose companies demand a heavy workload.

“Pseudo-workaholics” are those who appear to be workaholics.

“Escapist” refers to those who work because they don’t want to go home or engage with others.

The authors offer many solutions, including the need to restore work-home balance, taking seriously the mental health issue at work, and educating people about incipient signs of mental health problems in their colleagues.

The most helpful, though, is the realization that “Nothing is normal because nobody is perfect.”