Step 4 – Employee Mental Health during the Covid-19 pandemic

As the lockdown eases, have you conducted a thorough review and updated your Health and Safety procedures to ensure that your company is ready for staff to return to work?

As companies are slowly starting to return to work, the pressure is on the individual(s) tasked with Health and Safety to identify the prevalent hazards and ensure compliance with government guidance within their workplace. 

We are starting to return following the lockdown, is your organization ready for the changes required to STAY SAFE?

In our previous blogs, we looked at:

1) Classifying the Risk to Workers: How the Virus Spreads. Identifying Potential Sources of Exposure. Low to Very High Exposure Risk. Job Duties Affecting Workers’ Exposure Risk Levels.

2) Risk Assessments: Preparing your Risk Assessment template. Deciding on Methodology. Practical HSE Measures to take. What to do if a staff member is suspected of having Covid-19.

3) How to Minimize the Risk: Social Distancing, Shift Work & Staggering.

With your employees as your most valuable asset; this blog will focus on their mental well-being during the Coronavirus pandemic. Covid-19 is causing high levels of stress, anxiety and uncertainty as regards job security, health, finances, and the future. Supporting the mental health and well-being of your employees is not just the right thing to do – but good for business also!

How are Workers Feeling?

A recent PWC survey identified the below areas of employee concern about returning to work:

• Fear of getting sick from being at work (51%)
• Unwillingness to use public transportation to commute to work (24%)
• Managing responsibilities as a parent or caregiver (21%)
• Taking care of ill family members (15%)

What do Workers want to see put in Action?

The PwC survey also identified ways in which employees want their employers to keep them safe:

• Provide personal protective equipment (56%)
• Provide assurances that employees will be notified if a colleague gets sick (51%)
• Require customers to follow prescribed safety and personal hygiene practices (51%)
• Provide assurances on cleanliness and disinfecting practices (50%)
• Provide a clear response and shut-down protocols if someone tests positive (49%)
• Promote and enforce social distancing (45%)
• Provide a method for employees to give feedback on Covid-19 policies and practices (42%)

Effective Leadership during the Covid-19 Crisis

Whether employees have remained on the job. Continue to work remotely, or are transitioning back to work; leadership at the highest levels of organizations must ensure that they address the key issues in the minds of employees. People are experiencing unprecedented levels of fear, stress, uncertainty, grief, and loss, so increasing support and finding new ways to lead are essential. Here are some recommendations to consider vis-a-vis supporting employees:

Re-Assure Workers

Staff needs reassurance to feel calmer and more in control. Leaders can build key alliances with employees by informing them that the management shares many of their concerns and questions as regards to Covid-19.

• Even if leaders do not have all the answers in the current situation; calm reassurance is helpful.
• Leaders could promote meditation and mindfulness by offering employees apps to download or free online resources. These resources could address issues like anxiety, sleep, and general well-being.

Show Empathy

• Leaders need to acknowledge the disruption that employees and communities are experiencing from the Covid-19 pandemic. Emphasize that these are very difficult times impacting everyone within the organization, including them.
• Leaders set the tone and culture of organizations. They should remind people to take care of themselves and share what they personally are doing to stay healthy and well.
• Employees are likely to be reassured by the willingness of leaders to show vulnerability and share how they are coping. This conveys to employees that they are not alone. It also communicates that ‘we are in this together and you are supported.’ 

Make Mental Health Visible

It is a fact that depression, anxiety, substance misuse and other mental health conditions are on the sharp rise. Now is the time for leaders to talk openly about mental health, a topic that has previously not been challenged head on.

Speak to employees about the rising rates of mental health conditions and remind them of the need to get help early for these conditions. When concern for mental health is communicated from the highest level of organizations, it opens the door to employees feeling safe to seek care when it is needed.

If you need professional help to prepare a robust coronavirus HSE management and response plan for your organization in the UAE/Middle East, please contact Corporate OHS. Visit our website or send an email to enquiries@corporateohs.com.