Is Your Boss Affecting Your Mental Health?

This article first appeared on the Talkspace Blog.

One-third of our life is spent at work. That’s nearly 90,000 hours of life. Suffice it to say that if you are spending that much time at work, it needs to be a positive environment that does not compromise your mental health. And the relationship with your boss is maybe the most vital piece for a healthy workplace.

In fact, it can make it or break your work experience. There’s a thin line between a boss being a weak leader or incapable of managing a team, and being toxic and draining. Both can impact your mental health. Another type of boss is one that has zero boundaries in the name of being “friends” with you. An example of this would be listening to your boss dish at the office to you about their marriage, kids, wild nights out, and personal life. We don’t always peg that type of employee/boss relationship as harmful to our mental health, as many times we perceive it as the fact that they are trusting us with valuable info, but it can take a toll and can lead to uncomfortable or inappropriate situations.

If any scenarios below sound familiar it may be time to recalibrate your relationship with your boss so that it doesn’t negatively impact your mental health. If you have been in therapy or are familiar with self improvement, you are familiar with the “B” word —…