It has been over 18 months since the first national (and international lockdown) due to the Covid-19 pandemic and not only has it transformed the way we work in our various organisations, but it has had a profound and lasting impact on everyone’s mental state.
In a recent Lancet article, researchers found that one in five of those infected with Covid-19 are diagnosed with a first episode of anxiety, depression or insomnia within 90 days, twice as likely as for other groups in the same period. According to Alexander Forbes Health Management Solutions, the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the number of mental health issues experienced by employees at many large South African corporates; with the group’s data showing that 60% of companies experienced an increase in disability claims for mental and behavioural conditions.
October is dedicated to Mental Health Awareness, but with Covid-19, everyday should be dedicated to this cause, which in itself has become a silent pandemic. We are all trying to find a sense of returning to normalcy, but it is a fact that we all have to accept that it will never be ‘normal’ again. The thousands of lives lost – and that we keep losing – are our families, friends and colleagues, and because life has to go on and work has to be done, companies have to deliver and remain productive. We are feeling it in our bones and deep in our souls.
Checking pandemic fatigue in the workplace?
By now, many companies have made amendments or provisions on their Employee Wellness programmes to accommodate the new normal brought on by the pandemic. For employers, it is important and advisable that we regularly check in with staff, especially those working remotely to ensure they have the capabilities and tools they need to work efficiently and safely from home. If your employees are feeling overwhelmed, connect them to available Covid-19 mental health resources/counselling through the available company’s Employee Assistance Program.
Irrespective of whether staff are back in the office or working from home, it is important that we advise them to try and learn relaxation strategies, be aware of signs of burnout or chronic stress, take care of nutrition, rest and exercise. Most importantly, we should limit our news intake, just switch off and stay off social media because these can easily trigger a negative mindset due to some of the statistics reported regularly.
Our focus is on Employee Wellness
For a workplace wellness program to be successful, we must ensure that Employee Wellness interventions and programmes are readily available and running smoothly – both in the office and from home.
There are a number of available Employee Assistance Initiatives via the organisation or online. These include wellness counselling; mental health counselling, flexible work schedules, group wellness or fitness activities and even in-office wellness services (such as health fairs and health screenings). It is without a doubt that well designed and executed wellness programmes have the potential of significant improvements in employee engagement and productivity.
The most important thing is that our employees know that there is help readily available for them to cope and to help remain motivated while we navigate this journey together.
We’ve got this – slowly but surely!
We will all continue to bear the brunt of this pandemic for years to come – especially because of how profoundly it continues to change our mental health awareness. Hopefully, we will have a better understanding that mental health is not a condition that is confined to those in psychiatric institutions, but that it can exist in all of us.
Finally, we have to be conscious of the language we use to address mental health to avoid the ‘stigma’ associated with ‘Mental Health’. That tinge of anxiety, bursts of anger, constant sadness, and extreme fatigue – these are signs of declining mental well-being. If we can recognise that, and set up mechanisms in our workplaces to help manage these, we would be well on our way to reviving and rebuilding a workforce that is stronger, productive and secure knowing that ‘we got them!’.