Mental health and working from home: what companies can do to help staff amid prolonged Covid-19 disruption
- Employees report an increase in stress caused by the coronavirus and working in isolation, and an expert says more people feel anxious, lonely and burned out
- Companies need to make sure support is available for staff, and managers should reach out to them, an expert says. An employer tells us steps he has taken
The Covid-19 pandemic is pushing the world into a mental health crisis. Not only is unemployment on the rise, but it has brought workplace mental health issues to the forefront.
The findings mirrored those of a survey conducted in April by Ginger, an on-demand mental health care provider, which found that nearly 70 per cent of workers in the United States have felt more stressed during this pandemic than at any other point in their careers. What’s more, a third of respondents said they lost at least two hours of productivity per day because of Covid-19-related stress.
Enoch Li, managing director of Bearapy, a workplace mental health consultancy based in the Chinese capital, Beijing, says people have experienced a range of emotional and mental health issues, such as anxiety, loneliness, a sense of loss, burnout, and even depression as a result of working in prolonged isolation and because of growing fears about job security.
Li says it is critical companies have a crisis support system to help staff deal with the challenges of the pandemic.
“Companies should make sure that there are adequate crisis support structures in place, such as employee assistance hotlines, medical insurance, and the proper protocols for human resources [staff]. Managers also need to be clear on what to do when an employee asks for support,” she says.