Essential anxiety: COVID-19 in analytic practice

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on my relationship with analysands and my inner world. I reflect on the role of the archetypal Self during times of existential anxiety that may lead to an experience of 'essential anxiety'. This term refers to a meeting by a fearful ego with an inward recognition of the Self, when faced with threat. The efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic changed our ways of life, while the virus itself threatened our existence in debilitating or outright destructive ways. But what also came into view, in sessions of analysis and supervision, was the creative instinct, and a celebration of life. The soul-to-soul relationship, and the connection with images of the archetypal Self, made the experience of existential anxiety at times an essential experience that facilitated psychological growth. I discuss some advantages of on-line Jungian analysis where, despite distance and partial view, the body still serves as container to hold important psychological material, conferring a sense of wholeness for analyst and analysand. The COVID-19 crisis is terrible and terrifying but it also provides an opportunity for self-regulation and individuation.

Work-related Internet use as a threat to work-life balance - a comparison between the emerging on-line professions and traditional office work

OBJECTIVES

In the present study, the authors focused on the comparison of work characteristics related to the possibility of striking the right work- nonwork balance, as well as satisfaction with the actual work-life balance (WLB), negative work-to-home conflict and the quality of life related to social relationships, between a new group of on-line workers (social media or e-marketing specialists, search engine optimization or search engine marketing specialists, e-public relations experts etc.) and traditional office workers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The authors conducted a questionnaire study covering 189 on-line workers (whose work required permanent presence on-line) and 200 office workers (using the Internet mainly to communicate with other departments and to search for information).

RESULTS

The results showed that the on-line workers reported a significantly lower satisfaction with WLB and a higher negative work-home interaction. The authors found no differences as regards the social quality of life between the studied groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings confirm that technology advancement opens a new chapter in organizational psychology and occupational health, especially in the context of the emerging on-line occupations. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020;33(1):21-33.