MASK MODE HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY IN A MASK DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PERIOD

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Mask mode. People in masks: features of psychology during a pandemic

Coronavirus has been a sad reality in many countries for more than three months. These 100 days of the pandemic allow psychologists all over the world to make certain observations and generalizations about how the psychology of people is changing under the pressure of this not just an unpleasant circumstance, but the circumstances of a systematic, long-term one. After all, new conditioned reflexes in a person can be developed literally in a week, and a month in self-isolation or a couple of weeks of work and communication in masks gradually form new conditioned reflexes, which then not only change a person's behavior, but also have a reverse effect on his thinking, on mentality in the whole.

Psychologists around the world have noted a manifold increase in neurotic states due to increased concern about their health, conflicts due to non-observance of social distance, suspicion and dislike of everyone who sneezes and coughs. However, society has already passed this stage, stabilized its psyche and began to gradually go to work. But, in masks, since the mask mode is introduced. And this new reality also began to have its effects on psychology.

Therefore, now I want to cite ten consequences of the systematic wearing of masks (mask mode) at work (in a work collective) in the conditions of coronavirus, which are now observed in different countries of the world, including Russia

1. If you do not set common rules for everyone, it divides people and leads to conflicts in the team.… Here's an example: If an order is given to everyone to wear a mask, but someone does not regularly do it, this causes a feeling of inequality between colleagues and envy. Someone or himself begins to consider himself "more equal than others" or (because of his forgetfulness or a principled negative position towards masks) others begin to consider him as such. Thinking that this person has some kind of "special relationship with the leadership."

Gradually, the team begins to divide into micro-groups. Over time, they become centralized and hostile groups emerge. This greatly impairs working cohesion and mutual assistance.

Besides: if in a team someone continues to shake hands and hug others, and someone categorically refrains from this, over time it also causes the feeling that there are “handshakes”, and there are “plague” ones. Which annoys everyone.

Exit: Unity of requirements !!! It is imperative to apply some tangible sanctions to the "naked" and have at work a supply of masks issued and put on forcibly. In European countries, a person without a mask or is sent to the nearest pharmacy behind a mask, issuing a fine for being late or even absenteeism.

2. Conflicts may arise between girls who try to stand out with their exclusive masks. Since for girls who seek to emphasize their individuality, appearance is of particular importance, it is noted that in some teams an undeclared parade of masks in mask mode may begin, which can lead to the same undeclared wars. When someone has the usual most inexpensive blue medical bandage, and someone has a fashionable haute couture mask, with rhinestones and gilding. Because of this, some of the "losers in the beauty contest" mood drops, complaints and even showdown begin. In Italy, one girl even sued her colleague and rival, wanting to prove that her expensive, personally tailored mask does not fulfill its medical protective functions, and therefore a fashionable employee poses a danger to the team. And from her should be recovered material compensation in favor of two sick employees. The court gave the mask for examination and confirmed the correctness of the applicant. But since the antibody test did not confirm the fact that the bearer of the "golden mask" had been ill with coronavirus, which means that she could not infect anyone, the girl escaped prosecution.

It is also interesting that men were not indifferent to the carnival of masks. It is noted that they are developing a new tendency, dividing masks into "work", "exit", "meeting", etc. That is, girls have one mask - but exclusive, and men have several for different occasions. As psychologists laugh, soon there will be a mask “for flirting”, “for wife”, for mistress”.

Exit: Dress code for masks, at least approximate

3. Wearing masks at work reduces the risk of flirting, "office romance" with colleagues, cheating with clients and customers; reduces harassment (sexual harassment by superiors) … According to observations, even in such romantic countries as Italy, France and Spain, the pulse of sexual life in labor collectives, with the introduction of mask discipline, dropped significantly. This strengthened families, improved relationships in teams, reduced gossip about who sleeps with whom, and generally increased the level of goodwill between colleagues.

Recommendation: using the example of the story with masks, many organizations nevertheless decided to introduce a dress code in their teams to stabilize the psychological and sexual climate.

4. The labor efficiency of employees has increased. Masked work has helped many organizations to improve their performance, since masked employees less often collectively drink tea and coffee, less often go out to smoke (since they need to maintain social distance), do not stay at business lunches (cafes are closed), and therefore take all calls customers. In general, wearing masks increases the efficiency of workers and increases their efficiency due to an overall decrease in informal communication, since many people still cannot get used to communicating in masks. Fearing to get infected, they are less likely to stay at work, hurry home faster, and therefore strive to fulfill their work assignments promptly.

5. Conflicts arise due to re-asking. Masks, especially thick gauze and homemade masks, seriously impair the diction of people, making their speech difficult to understand and forcing them to instinctively raise their voice in order to be correctly understood. Hence, some constantly ask again and take offense at those who cannot tell them something clearly. Others take offense at those who deliberately speak to them loudly: it seems to them that they are being answered rudely or shouted at. So, due to communication problems, serious quarrels can arise.

Recommendation: Try not to be annoyed with those who did not hear you; while wearing a mask, try to speak a little slower, but more clearly and louder.

6. New forms of personal trust are emerging in the form of communication without masks. Tired of wearing masks at work, employees start to create micro communities

"People secretly taking off their masks in closed offices." This is a kind of groups of "Alcoholics Anonymous", where people can be liberated and openly share their problems with people like them. In the organization there are analogs of secret "smokers", where you can hide from everyone and confidentially communicate "by throwing off the masks." The main thing is that the division of the collective into a set of competing maskless communities does not begin.

Recommendation: Regularly remind employees that they are all equal members of the team, and they should not form new ranks (mask nihilists, violators of the mask regime, loyal to masks, hesitant, etc.) and communication preferences.

7. Many people who were not active smokers completely said goodbye to this harmful addiction. There are many such paradoxical people among smokers who smoke, but at the same time do not like the very smell of smoking, the smell of nicotine. In conditions of being for many hours in masks that are soaked in nicotine with regular smoking, many of this category of smokers have decided to give up this bad habit. Especially since weakened by persistent nicotine poisoning, smokers' lungs are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus.

Recommendation: Quitting smoking is always on time and good for your health.

8. The accents of female and male beauty are shifted. With regular wearing of masks, the meaning of complex makeup disappears. Lipsticks, blush and whitewash are practically not used. When only the eyes are visible, the emphasis is on them. It was the eyes that became the main female adornment during the coronavirus period. On them - on the eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, eyeliners, now the main focus.

Shooting with the eyes is the most important ladies' skill during the coronavirus epidemic.

The second accent is hair. It was during the pandemic that girls began to wash their hair and do styling more often. And closed beauty salons stimulate to grow hair, which, apparently, will become the trend of 2020.

By the way, hair transplant clinics report that they have significantly more clients during the pandemic. The fact is that working remotely, many men and women were able to have the necessary month to undergo surgery and recover from being at home.

But it is sad for those men who cared and cherished their beards: now they are not very visible. From here, not having access to closed barbershops, some of them shaved off and became very young. But others, having a cover in the form of a mask, have now decided for the first time on an experiment to grow a beard - so far no one sees it.

Recommendation: find your own style of beautiful eyeliner and take better care of your hair.

9. Masks and stress are the path to harmony. As observations show, many of those who had a tendency to regularly drink tea with gingerbread and cookies right at work, gnaw seeds, crunch nuts, chips and snacks, because of wearing masks at work, reduce the rate of consumption of excess high-calorie food and lose two - three kilograms. Some of them have good habits even after the mask regimen ends.

Recommendation: continue to maintain good and correct habits even after the end of the pandemic and mask psychotherapy.

1 0 masks are a motivator for better health … As the experience of China and the United States has shown, many citizens experiencing shortness of breath from excess weight, chronic allergic and asthmatic symptoms, sinusitis, frontal sinusitis, deviated nasal septa, etc., precisely when faced with the need to regularly wear masks for many hours, and suffer a lot from this, suddenly with particular acuteness I realized that the existing problems need to be solved. And they went to the doctors, decided on surgery, went on a diet or bought home exercise bikes or treadmills. Realizing that if they themselves do not improve their physical condition, then the next epidemic may be their last.

Recommendation: Correctly treat the coronavirus epidemic as a useful signal that reminded all of us that we need our health first of all and that we are responsible for our long and comfortable life.

Thus, we see that the action of folk wisdom “there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped” persists even during the coronavirus period. For all the inconveniences of "mask mode", it also has beneficial effects that will help many of us become smarter in our lives, more responsible and efficient workers, and improve our health.

But, the most important thing is that trust in the "people in masks" is gradually returning in society. If in the first week of the pandemic, everyone shied away from the masked person on public transport or on the street, like a leper (even if the person asked for the time or address), now everyone is “in the same boat - one mask”, communication and mutual assistance in society is gradually recovering, and people under masks are smiling and joking. Including over the masks themselves. And this is wonderful

Which is what I sincerely wish everyone.

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