Margaret Stockley
If you or your colleagues are feeling stressed out or anxious, or are experiencing feelings of loneliness, you are not alone.
However, there are two simple steps that companies can implement today to alleviate the downward spiral.
A January 2021 IPSOS survey of 13,000 employees in 28 countries, found that nearly 50% of American employees are experiencing mental health issues, including a 48% increase in depression since March 2020, with detrimental effects to an employee’s personal well-being and a negative impact for their employer. These were compounded by job and financial insecurity and significant changes to the work routine.
As the effects of the pandemic continue to take a toll on an individual’s emotional well-being and their ability to juggle work, family, and even bereavement, data is emerging of two specific areas that companies are targeting since the spring of 2020 in order to manage employees’ well-being.
The first area is communication. This is multi-faceted and includes company news related to the pandemic and time-off for scheduling vaccinations. Companies that are keeping their employees well-informed are finding that constant communication and well-being strategies are now part of their company culture. These companies have expressed that they cannot have too much communication.
The second area is addressing employees’ mental health. Almost 50% of employees have expressed that they feel lonely and isolated while working from home. Additionally, women were found to be more affected as they are putting the health of others ahead of their own, more so than before the pandemic.
The actions taken by companies to support employee well-being range from offering counseling through employee assistance programs to providing free access for employees to virtual and online well-being programs that range from financial planning to stress management.
As priorities continue to shift, we’re approaching 2021 with a fresh outlook and these two areas have been shown to not only support employees, but also the economic health of the company too.
Margaret Stockley is the CEO of the online wellness training company www.POWCERT.com and can be reached at margaret.stockley@powcert.com
She is also the author of multiple books including Transforming Workplace Wellness, (also used as part of the MSc Sustainable Management degree, University of Wisconsin curriculum) and No More Stinkin’ Thinkin’
For further information on workplace wellness certification or wellness programs contact Margaret.Stockley@aspire2group.com
Margaret Stockley RN ACWPE CWC RYT