Do you know the ‘Mental Health Cost’ of Covid-19 on your staff?

“It’s OK not to feel OK right now. Feeling anxious and lost, amid a global pandemic is not something to be ashamed of. It is exactly what the rest of the world is experiencing too.”

The above is what you should be telling yourself and your staff right now and into the coming months ahead! "It is ok not to feel ok". And it is especially relevant as this week is Mental Health week. However, this year there is a slightly different slant on things and there are some big headlines about what is happening out there from a Mental Health point of View in relation to Business - which (if they have not already) should be getting the business communities (and your) attention and you will see some of these throughout this article.

“With some 2.6 billion people around the world in some kind of lockdown, it is commented on that we are conducting arguably the largest psychological experiment ever, which is expected to result in a secondary epidemic of burnouts and stress-related absenteeism in the latter half of 2020.”

Covid-19 has meant all of us are living in a new reality with a new set of worries to contend with; which we have not been trained for, had explained to us and we do not know when or how they will end – these include: lock-down, relationship breakdowns, remote working, furloughing, home schooling, death of friends/family members, constant unknowns, isolation/loneliness, uncertainty about work, cancellation of holidays, money issues, etc. and each of these will be impacting in some shape or form upon the mental health of us all.

“Just 2 months into lock-down and the Royal College of Psychiatrists is warning that services could be overwhelmed by “a tsunami of mental illness – only taking action NOW can mitigate the toxic effects of COVID-19”

Remote Working

What about those who are now working from home? From a personal point of view, I have worked from home for 7 years now and it really does work for me. Managing 50+ staff covering 150+ countries meant it was a necessity, but one that I was trained for and that I have many years’ experience in dealing with. And let me be honest here - it was not thrown at me over a wall, with almost no notice like a 'ticking time bomb' in the middle of a once in a lifetime global pandemic! This is precisely what has happened to millions in the last few months!

“Before Covid-19, it was well known that around 1 in 4 of us here in the UK suffered from some form of mental health issues - it is thought that Covid-19 could bring this closer to 1 in 2!”

To try and understand the impact on those who caught the ‘ticking time bomb' as mentioned above; LinkedIn and The Mental Health Foundation surveyed over 1,000 HR professionals in UK companies with staff working from home due to Covid-19. They also included over 2,000 adults working from home during the lock-down. And the key take-aways from this study are pretty concerning and need to be understood by businesses the world over:

“The vast majority (86%) said that remote working was having a negative impact on their health.”

“Employees working from home reported putting in an extra 28 hours per month on average since lock-down measures were introduced.”

“Almost a third of workers (30%) polled said they were experiencing increased anxiety, with a similar number (31%) reporting disturbed sleep.”

So - what can you do to help?

Not only do employees have a general statutory duty to ensure the health and safety of their workers (including their physical and mental health) while at work, but your workers are your greatest assets. You not only need to support them to help your business, you should want to support them. To help in this, The Health and Safety Executive encourages employers to adopt a three-step approach:

1. Identify what could cause injury or illness in the workplace (i.e. the possible hazards)

2. Decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (i.e. consider the risk)

3. Take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this is not possible, control the risk

These are standard guidelines that hopefully you should have in place already - I really wanted to talk here about what practical/softer steps that can you take to help your staff that maybe not in your manuals or on Government sites. Don't get me wrong, the rules and guidelines are important of course, but there are things you can do outside of these to really help and care for your teams on a more personal basis:

• Always keep communicating – create as many opportunities to talk to your people as possible. Let them know you are still there, as is the world they lived in 2 months ago

• Keep in contact – with messages, video calls, team video meetings to get them interacting with you and others, etc.

• Be honest – tell the truth and explain what is happening work-wise and what your plans are to manage any risk to help allay their fears and concerns

• Be supportive – ask them how they are and if they are finding anything difficult or worrying and if so, then find out what this is and talk these through with them

• Watch out for any signs of stress – if you see any unusual behaviour or have any concerns then raise these with them immediately

• Encourage them to talk – maybe to you, their colleagues, friends, or their family. It does not really matter who, but everyone needs to talk and to share their thoughts, concerns and fears with.

• Give them some time back in their day to relax as this will have a massive impact on their well-being. Maybe let them learn a new skill or even catch up on sleep if they need it. Relaxing in this way will make them healthier, feel better and make them more productive

At the end of the day, the Government will tell you through laws and regulations what you must do as a minimum, but not necessarily all that you can and should do! As mentioned earlier, your people are your greatest resource – and as a ‘business leader’ you must protect them in order to protect your business. But as a ‘human being’ then I say simply:

“Treat others you would like to be treated yourself”

If you need any help, guidance (on this or any other business matters) or just want to talk then please do not hesitate to contact me on julianpatel@clivedenhouseconsulting.co.uk at any time. Please stay safe and stay positive..