Top Tips for Managing BPD in the Workplace: Achieve Success

Hi, it's Dr. Fox, licensed psychologist in the state of Texas, and in this video we're going to discuss individuals with BPD and issues, challenges, and success they often experience within a working environment. So let's not wait, let's get into it, and please like, share, and subscribe. So let me first tell you about Pam. Pam is a 25-year-old female who has worked at a local coffee shop for the last four months. She is up for her first quarterly review. Now her supervisor, Mike, called her into his office and told her that her preparation time for beverages is good, but her interaction style with the customers could be improved using more engaging terms such as, how can I help you, thank you, come again, and you're welcome, see you next time. After Pam heard this, she stood up, raised her voice, and called Mike a chauvinistic idiot who couldn't pour a cup of coffee to save his life. She then turned, told Mike she quit, and walked out slamming the door behind her. Pam has a history of serial unemployment due to her aversive reactions to suggestions, feedback, comments, and criticisms regarding her work performance. Much like what happened with Mike, we'll dive into how this could have been done differently and strategies that could have increased the probability of a positive outcome. In this case, according to a 20-year study, adaptive vocational functioning in adulthood is one of the predictors of recovery in people with BPD. Focusing on the significant strengths of people with BPD should be central. These often include passionately working hard, having varied interests, and a drive toward entrepreneurship. Research has found that people with BPD wanted to be employed and expressed the hope of achieving this goal and benefited from work that provided opportunities to grow and benefit from their success. The BPD symptoms that were found to be associated with poor workplace success, this includes like little control over tasks and their conduct during the workday, and this makes sense because they feel more constrained and they feel kind of trapped, and when they feel strapped, we know that a lot of these individuals then fall into utilizing maladaptive behaviors just like we saw with Pam. Also, those BPD symptoms include uncertain and unstable employment and low co-worker support. And we can see how in any relationship, these could be really intensive triggers or emotional buttons for individuals with BPD. As you can imagine, mood swings and impulsive behavior cause problems in complying with previously made appointments and impulsivity that is the result of the inability to regulate their emotions, which were likely to result in disruptive behaviors. Impulsivity was an essential predictor of vocational functioning in BPD. Managing emotions and behaviors are central. We know that so many of the different therapies that are geared towards managing and controlling BPD address managing emotions and behaviors. This is why many DBT skills can significantly increase workplace success. We're not going to stop there. We're going to go a little deeper. We know that individuals with BPD tends to idolize others, which can add to the initial devotion to work, but this can change as the other side of this coin manifests, which we know is devaluation. You have that idealization, then devaluation. And sometimes it isn't just people. It can be places too, just like your workplace. Now this is likely where the individual, they can see their boss as not really being protective enough that they're not providing enough loving support. And the authority figure that they have built up in their mind tends to falter, right? So it goes to holding your boss. Oh, my boss is great. They knew everything. They know how to do all these things. And then they do something wrong or they say something that you didn't expect or something that triggers you. Perhaps again, it could be a trigger. It could be an emotional button and all of a sudden they're devalued. And we know that many individuals with BPD have rocky relationships that can impact the workplace. We know that. Now, these may include stormy relationships at work, ongoing family feuds, right? That get led into work. Also suicidal ideations, threats and gestures, depressive spirals, again, mood swings that are in varying degrees, impulsive spending, substance abuse, and other health problems that can result in over-utilization of sick days, distressing calls at work from perhaps a disgruntled significant other, and fluctuating work quality due to fatigue, anxiety, depression, or poor health. Now, remember that many individuals with BPD actually find work to be their one dependable sanctuary of stability. And they will work hard to insulate this environment from the personal crises that otherwise might be going on around them. Individuals with BPD thrive in environments that attempt to provide a model of stability and reliability, where accomplishments are noted and rewarded appropriately, and that have really clear and firm limits and boundaries. Furthermore, individuals with BPD benefit from constructive criticism in a positive context, and you want to put it in as positive a context as possible. For example, you're giving a great effort on such and such project. Here are some ways to make even better use of your skills, and you add in what those skills are. Knowing what we know about Pam and Mike earlier, and what we just went over, how could Mike and Pam have done it differently? Pam needed to prime herself. She has insight into her tendency to see the negativity in any feedback, which triggers her to often react in intensive ways, which she did. Before going into a meeting, she knows is going to be feedback or criticism based or related. She needed to prime herself. She needs to say, OK, I know that this is to make me a better employee. This is something that can help me. This is feedback. It's not about me as a person. It's just about me as an employee. Now, she needs to tell herself that Mike is not a bad guy, which she really believes. He has always been fair to her and the others, and the goal is to help her to be a better employee at a job she really enjoys. She is a people person, trust me, who loves the interaction at the coffee shop. Now Mike, Mike needs to know the temperament of his employees. It is so important that if you are a manager, you have to know the temperament and personality styles of the people that are working with you or for you. Now, Mike has to have an awareness into who he is working with and what works and what doesn't. These are those components of being a good manager, a good boss could even be a good owner. Now, Mike could have opened the meeting with clarification and purpose that it is aimed at helping Pam improve her already good skills and mentioned possible benefits or promotions, if those are even an option. Just as Pam primed herself, Mike could have primed himself and her for the meeting. The key is to prevent explosions, not only have mechanisms after they have occurred. This is like firing or chastising the employee, right? We want to put out fires before they start. I hope that you enjoyed the video and let me ask you, in the comment section, it'd be great if you would share workplace issues and successes that you have had and in what types of industries or workplace environments. Be really helpful because I know a lot of people read those comments and they get a lot from them because we have developed this community of helping each other. That's what this is all about. So please like, share and subscribe and I'll see you next time. Thanks. Bye bye.