Over Ten Years in Overseas

WU+Zhen

【Abstract】With the expansion of investment overseas， a large number of Chinese people work abroad， some work in rich countries and regions， but the majority work in poor countries and regions like Western Africa. Due to objective and subjective factors， many overseas employees have mental health problems， which affect personal health and the enterprises stable development. This paper cuts in from the definition of mental health problem， introduces the indicators of and analyzes the factors causing mental health problems， and finally comes up with guidance on how to keep overseas employees in good mental health and solve their problems.

【Key words】Mental health problem； Overseas； Interpretation； Indicator； Guidance

Researches show that a large majority of accidents are caused by human error while the latter are often dominated psychologically. Sound personality and healthy psychology are the basis of staff's life safety and enterprises production safety. Employees mental health issues have become a global hot topic. Petro China has a great number of overseas projects in which oil workers usually work in the wild for quite a long time， can not reunite with their families and face many problems in the mean time such as language barriers and cultural differences. Therefore， it inevitable for them to have psychological pressures. How to effectively give employee mental health guidance， help employees to prevent or solve psychological problems， and eliminate the negative impact of psychological factors on individuals and businesses is a problem worthy of attention and research.

1 The Interpretation of Mental Health Problem

Mental health problems are different from the physiological disease， which result from a series of internal mental factors （ precisely the control system of brain nervous centralis）， and will indirectly change a persons character， world view， emotions etc.， and further affect peoples behavior.

2 The Main Indicators of Mental Health

Peoples mental health includes the following seven aspects： First， people are able to know themselves correctly， offer an appropriate and objective evaluation of his own capability， personality， strengths and weaknesses， and thus are not going to have exorbitant expectations and requirements of themselves. They can determine their own realistic life goals and ideals， be full of confidence in themselves， and strive to develop their own potential， take their own irremediable defects calmly， and treat themselves rationally even in the most difficult circumstances. Second， people can maintain a harmonious interpersonal relationship， realize the importance and role of others existence， meanwhile can be understood and accepted by other individuals and groups， and keep normal communication with others. Third， people have good adaptability. They fully believe in themselves， bravely face the difficulties and challenges in life and work， and adapt themselves to the rhythm and changes of the times. Fourth， they have a strong will to remain focused and controlled in real life for a long time to achieve a given goal and have the confidence and determination to overcome difficulties. Fifth， they can adjust and contain emotions， stay in good mood， express and control their emotions moderately. In social interaction， they are neither arrogant nor fearful， so they can grasp the reality and correctly handle the success and the setback. Sixth， they have complete and harmonious personality. A mentally healthy person can achieve balanced development in temperament， personality， knowledge， faith， motivation， interest and life view etc.. Seventh， they have psychological behavior consistent with their age. It is the performance of psychological unhealthiness for a persons psychological behavior seriously deviate from their age characteristics.endprint

3 The Factors Leading To Mental Health Problems Of Overseas Employees

3.1 The factors from environment

First， natural environments. Areal variations will inevitably result in different natural environments. The natural environments are way too harsh in some areas， such as the Sahara Desert featuring high temperature， little rainfall， dry climate and large temperature difference between day and night， whereas tropical rainforest regions well-known for year-round high temperature and humidity. These external elements will directly affect peoples body and furthermore their psychology. Second， social environments. In some countries， social situation is volatile and frequented by terrorist organizations. As a result， Chinese employees are prohibited from going out or are required to take armed escort when they go out for work. They are under tremendous psychological pressure during their work. Third， cultural differences. Different cultures bring about different values. In daily work and life， it is inevitable that there are conflicts and collisions between foreign cultures and native cultures.

3.2 The factors from work itself

First， employees work overseas over a long period of time， during which they have to be separated from friends and relatives， take less care of their family members， and seldom get in touch with people back in China for the inconvenience of communication. Due to these reasons， they can not obtain understanding and support from family， and often feel lonely. Second， they are not good at handling interpersonal relationships at work or getting along with leaders and colleagues， so their work will not go smoothly and they are unable to get support. Tense interpersonal relationships easily lead to many unpleasant feelings like irritability， anxiety， anger or depression. If those kinds of mood last for a long time， human endocrine will get disordered and immunity decreased， which is bad for physical and mental health. Third， job definition is ambiguous， the role at work is unclear， duplicated or contradictory， which make employees responsible for people or things. In addition， company leaders expect either too much or too little of them. Fourth， career prospects are uncertain and promotions are hopeless， there is no occupational security.

4 Guidance on how to keep overseas employees in good mental health and solve their problems

Whoever has mental health problems will feel exhausted both physically and mentally， some negative working attitudes will come along such as pessimism， frustration， weariness etc.， and then these emotions are very easy to disperse in the enterprise and cause adverse effects on other people around. If the entire enterprise is shrouded in a negative and depressing mood， it will soon lose its vigor and vitality， its employees morale will turn low and their work efficiency fall dramatically， of which all is in no favor of safe and stable development of the enterprise. Only if an enterprise really adheres to the principle of "people-oriented"， puts importance on employees mental health problems and takes active countermeasures， it can stand in an invincible position against the fierce competition. Hereunder are some advice on how to keep overseas employees in good mental health and solve their problems：endprint

（1）To advocate sports exercise， strengthen employees physique and cultivate a strong will. Robust physique is the basis of a strong will， sports exercise can not only build up our body， but also play a positive role in promoting our mental health. Generally speaking， sports have the characteristics of fatigue， intenseness， tension， hardship， confrontation and competitiveness， and we always take on strong emotions and obvious willpower when exercising. It helps to foster the ideological and work style of being hard-working， persistent and brave to face and overcome difficulties. It helps to cultivate willful qualities such as resourcefulness and flexibility， calmness and determination， modesty and cautiousness， continuously improve our stress tolerance and adaptability， and maintain an active and healthy state of mind.

（2）To create a good working environment and atmosphere. It is hard for Chinese employees working overseas to really have homely feel. With employee localization going， most employees are local people and only few are Chinese in some projects. Despite years of working experience overseas， employees still find it hard to integrate into local culture. In some underdeveloped countries， living supplies are extremely scarce， there are no Chinese programs on television， books or magazines， it is even almost impossible to get normal contact with family back home， let alone entertainment activities. Many employees gradually become bad-tempered and unwilling to communicate with others. Managerial staff should try their best and take positive measures to create a good atmosphere for employees， for example， asking those who will go to work overseas to take Chinese publications and image data from home to enrich employees spare time.

（3）To give employees guidance on tackling problems and confusions with work. The first is to instruct employees to straighten out personal relationships within the company. The distribution of benefits such as division of labor and promotion has complicated the originally simple relationship between colleagues and between superiors and subordinates. On this issue， first of all， we should make employees understand that interpersonal relationship is not all about work， they must work hard and make brilliant achievements in order to get the companys recognition， and use the strength and performance to win a firm foothold in the workplace. Besides， guide employees to actively face interpersonal conflicts and take the initiative to improve relations with colleagues in other departments. Because a harmonious interpersonal relationship not only makes work pleasant， but also helps you when you need it. Additionally， guide employees to avoid getting involved in the circle of interpersonal struggle. The second is to guide employees to reasonably position their own roles. The company should provide timely guidance to its employees， clarify their job functions and rights， and instruct its employees to conduct a comprehensive， objective and systematic evaluation of their professional interests， professional abilities and hobbies， analyze what they are suitable for， what they can do and find a self-fulfilling Character. Let employees have a clear understanding of their work so as to keep up a good working state and create more benefits for the enterprise. The third is to guide employees to establish and maintain correct competitive and cooperative relationships. The company should make its employees aware that cooperation is the top priority within the enterprise and that the goal of competition is only to cooperate better. Otherwise， blind competition will lead to the deterioration of the interpersonal relationships， which will adversely affect the development of the company. The fourth is to guide employees to take a reasonable view of work security， which is the feeling of comfort， self-confidence and safety that a person obtains at work.The main reasons leading to the lack of security include：their own efforts are not recognized and appreciated，professional skills do not meet job requirements and basic labor security can not be guaranteed.Therefore，company can guide its employees from the following aspects：first to change the pace of work and working methods according to the changing work environment， turn efforts into work performance，and obtain the recognition from superiors and colleagues；second to possess the sense of crisis，enrich themselves and improve their professional level and job skills through constant learning and training，and enhance their competitiveness in the enterprise；third to learn self-regulation.They need to understand that life is real and absolute sense of security does not exist，face challenges actively，learn self-adjustment and turn pressure into driving force.

Employees mental health guidance is a gradual and continuous process of exploration.It needs all enterprises to make unremitting efforts，constantly accumulate experience， always adhere to the philosophy of "people-oriented" in the process of daily management and pay enough attentions to all aspects of employees life and work so as to identify problems and take remedial actions in time，which will generate the desired effects.

【References】

[1]HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work， Harvard Business Review Press， 2014.

[2]Mental Health： A Guide for Faith Leaders， The American Psychiatric Association Foundation， 2016.

[3]Psychology and Industrial Efficiency， Hugo Munsterberg， A Public Domain Book， 2013.

[4]Psychology： 11th Edition， C. Nathan DewWall， Worth； 11st ed.， 2015.

[5]The Authors Real Private Experiences from 2008 to 2017.endprint