The Rise in Mental Health Issues Due to COVID-19
It’s been a long, tiring, and complicated year, this year. From the time the pandemic began back in the spring of 2020, we’ve watched our friends, families, coworkers, and people worldwide struggle with lockdowns, stay at home orders, and job losses. Some of us have even suffered the loss of the people we care about.
It’s no surprise that the world is observing a historic rise in mental health issues due to COVID-19. Financial instability, overall uncertainty, with the addition of increased symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, it’s more important than ever to provide support and resources for your staff and team members to ensure they’re successful and able to navigate the current climate effectively.
The Rise in Mental Health Issues Due to COVID-19 – What This Means for the Workforce
We’ve spoken in the past about the importance of offering mental health support in your workplace. When your team feels supported, and when they feel their employers are being proactive in making mental health resources available, their overall wellbeing and sense of stability improves.
The direct issue at hand for this discussion happens to be the startling growth of observed mental health issues, and mental health crisis our employee base are now experiencing. With COVID-19 cases back on the rise, the small glimpse of new, adaptive normalcy we’ve all experienced the last few months, is now at risk of being overturned yet again.
The anticipated challenges to our mental health due to the pandemic are not a surprise. In fact, the increasing awareness of the need for mental health support in the workplace has become ever more obvious as we’ve traversed all the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has changed almost everything about our lives. According to 87%, a UK based, workplace mental health analytics company, the added stress and mental fatigue brought about by Covid is not only at a record all-time high, but it’s still rising.
This has inspired a movement where employers are doubling down on efforts to provide their staff with additional support, feedback sessions, and even better, it has introduced much needed adaptive policies that give employees flexible options to take control of their mental health. Supporting your employees through these trying times will be pivotal in ensuring that both your company and your employees make it through to the other side successfully. Check out our previous blog for some integrative ways you can help support your staff’s mental health during the pandemic.
As an Employer, How Can I Provide the Very Best Mental Health Support?
It’s important to always remember that a company can’t thrive without a healthy, cared for staff. At the very foundation of your company’s mission statement, the desire to develop, nurture, and care for your people should be a top priority. After all, they’re your most important asset. You pour hours of training and cultivation into creating a valued, experienced employee who also wants to be a part of a successful business.
There are a variety of HR tools available to help assist you in providing your staff with the proper line of support for their mental health. Utilizing health dashboards, medical professionals, listening sessions, and even allowing for flexibility to telecommute can be beneficial to empowering your employees to feel more comfortable.
Giving them the opportunity to claim control of their wellbeing with comprehensive and flexible benefits packages are also a great way to help them meet their personal needs without having to put their personal challenges on display. Another important factor to consider when it comes to your staff’s mental health, is the uncertainty surrounding their employment status and financial security. Businesses and organizations around the world are enacting layoffs, closures, and even shutting their doors permanently.
In order to combat these fears, employers should be as transparent as possible. Reassure your team that you’re in this together, and that their wellbeing is the foundation for the entire organization’s ultimate success. These are hard times; businesses and their employees alike are trying to navigate a sea of instability and stress.
If your company has not already implemented employee resources for mental health, there is no better time than now. To learn how hug can help, reach out and we’ll get you started on a more comprehensive HR system to make your workplace the very best it can be.
