You can probably complete this sentence a dozen different ways: “A healthy workforce is a fill-in-the-blank workforce.” Happy? Productive? Satisfied? Loyal? As Human Resources professionals, we’ve been laser-focused on employee health for a long time. We try our best not only to maintain it, but enhance it in myriad ways. It’s a core element of our business strategy.
But “healthy” takes on new meaning in the face of a deadly, highly contagious virus. Health is a more emotionally and physically immediate life-or death-concern for employers and employees alike right now—one that has altered our policies and our perspectives. You’re probably aware of the changes to your own outlook—you live inside your own head, after all. But some of the subtle shifts in your staff’s mindset may not be so easy to discern, particularly if many are working remotely. We often get clues to how our employees are feeling based on how they are behaving. And behavior is tough to track via e-mail and Zoom calls.
So What Are They Thinking?
Here’s part of what we know—and it’s good news. The majority of employees believe their companies have taken appropriate action in response to the global pandemic. One study found that on three critical counts, nearly 80 percent of employees give their employers high marks: the appropriateness of their employers’ response to the pandemic, the steps they’ve taken to safeguard employee health, and how proactive they have been in sharing critical information.
But elsewhere the news is not so great. Not surprisingly, the global pandemic has taken a psychological toll on the American workforce—managers included. According to a survey by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), between 22 percent and 35 percent of employees are reporting symptoms of depression. These may include feeling hopeless, exhausted, and less able to concentrate. Women are more likely than men to report feeling depressed—though the fact that women tend to express sadness more readily may account for that difference. Gen Z workers seem to be suffering at a greater rate than workers in other age groups. They’re twice as likely to report feeling burned out by work as Baby Boomers, for example.
However, one of the most alarming findings of the SHRM study is that only 7 percent of employees are seeking professional help in managing their symptoms. That finding doesn’t bode well for their recovery, and with the Coronavirus crisis far from being over, suggests that employers may be managing a workforce with declining mental health for a long time.
The Mental Health Community Responds to the Crisis
Stymied by the closure of health facilities and private practices, the mental health community might appear poorly equipped to manage a mental health crisis. Face-to-face meetings between therapists and clients have been the backbone of psychological services since the mental health profession was born, but are now too risky to hold. But with the aid of technology, mental health professionals are managing to deliver services. Online therapy, which was becoming a more common treatment modality for some years before the Coronavirus crisis, is, by necessity, becoming the normnow. Videoconferencing, telephone calls, e-mail exchanges, and texting are replacing in-person therapy sessions. A growing body of evidence suggests that the best online therapy is as effective as traditional therapy in treating certain conditions. Specifically, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has proven to be the most helpful mode of treatment.
Best Practices for HR Professionals
Supporting employees’ mental isn’t a simple task in the best of times. During this highly stressful period, it’s more important than ever. But the shift to remote business operations presents challenges to HR professionals.
With face-to-face communications curtailed, gone are the days of the water cooler and casual conversations in the office kitchen. Managers have fewer opportunities to observe and assess workers for indications of emotional struggle. But as research has demonstrated, it’s safe to assume a large percentage of employees are experiencing symptoms of depression and other mental health problems.
To successfully navigate both transitioning to a remote workforce and the mental health landscape COVID-19 has created, managers should be proactive and forthright in their approach. Uncertainty and a loss of control over our lives are breeding grounds for fear, anxiety, and anger. These perceptions, in turn, can lead to mistrust, lack of engagement, and decreased productivity.
Not surprisingly, communication is the key to ensuring that your employees are staying psychologically healthy. For many of us, developing new habits that support better communication, may be essential.
- Build in private time. Many managers commit to having one-on-one meetings with their staff, but the actual number who live up to that commitment is far smaller. Now is the time to prioritize regular, one-on-one meetings, however virtual they might be. It’s OK if these meetings are less casual and focus on life outside of work, too. Recreating a water cooler atmosphere may contribute to a sense of normalcy among co-workers—something we can all use right now.
- Be more mindful when communicating via e-mail, text, or online message apps. E-mails, hastily drafted and sent, are notoriously subject to misinterpretation. If you’ve never inserted an emoji into an e-mail, now might be exactly the time to drop in a smiley or two.
- Help ease the feeling of isolation many workers are feeling right now by building opportunities for collaboration into projects. Some businesses are investing in new technology that makes connecting with others easier, but it could be a simple as managers directly scheduling group meetings for employees as part of a project’s timeline. A little extra praise for employs who collaborate to reach an important goal couldn’t hurt either.
For trainers, four critical tasks arise:
- Educating managers on the signs of mental illness. Expert resources developed by professional mental health organizations are widely available for this purpose.
- Teaching managers to exercise greater sensitivity toward suffering workers. The stigma attached to mental illness is real and inhibiting. If managers, even inadvertently, show signs of disrespect or rejection when employees share the emotional difficulties they’re facing, further discussion may be shut down.
- Familiarizing managers with mental health resources, including those that are part of employee benefit packages and those presented by world at large. A presentation by your company’s health benefits administrator or other policy expert might be timely right now.
- Helping managers successfully comply with privacy and other federal regulations as they seek to support workers’ mental health. Many managers fear stepping over the line. It’s important they know where the line is and provide as much support as they can without crossing it.
Now? Or Forever?
No one knows when the global pandemic will subside. But we do know that employers and employees have been part of a profound experiment together. While it may have been thrust upon us by dire circumstances, working remotely is something many of us have grown to like. The economic advantages for business also are becoming clear. The skills we need today may well become mainstays of management well into the future.
Susan Doktor is a journalist and business strategist who hails from New York City. She writes on a wide range of topics, including workplace issues, health and wellness, finance, and government affairs. Follow her on Twitter @branddoktor.
