MENTAL HEALTH @ WORK DURING COVID
It goes without saying that Covid-19 has rocked the very foundation of our lives. It has unfortunately taken its toll and then some on our health, both physical and mental, our jobs, our economy, our relationships, schooling, quality of life, our freedoms and so much more.
In a recent article entitled, “The Long Haul for Mental Health at Work,” Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, dives into the impact of Covid-19 and workplace wellbeing. Referencing the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) “Phases of Disaster” stress curve, she offers great insight into the rollercoaster of emotions the majority of Americans began grappling with at the start of the pandemic. The stress curve trajectory starts with a pre-disaster phase in late February/early March 2020 in which people experienced “anticipatory anxiety as we noticed how the pandemic was hitting other countries…some had a feeling of impending doom…others shrugged off the forecasts as false.” Next came the impact phase where, by mid-March, the focus became on protecting ourselves and our own while feeling shocked, confused and down-right panicked. The heroic phase came next in which we focused on each other by celebrating essential workers. Taking care of our neighbors morphed into a brief honeymoon phase where we started to feel, “…a glimmer of hope and optimism that our kindness and compassion would prevail” explains Spencer-Thomas. Since late May, the disillusionment phase has crept in marked predominantly by conflict and discouragement. As if to pour more salt into this already deep and painful wound, this year has also been scarred by regular and violent social upheaval as well as ongoing nature disasters, none of which have left much of the country spared. Hopefully the days ahead will see the U.S. continue along the expected stress curve trajectory by forging ahead to a reconstruction phase focused on rebuilding and regrowth.
In her article, Spencer-Thomas goes on to deliver the bad news along with the good. The bad news being that there are many indicators that point to signs of declining mental health, some of which include financial hardships due to unemployment numbers, substance abuse being on the rise, and a decrease in reports of child abuse and neglect due to kids not being at school with the abuse and neglect would have been noticed. And for the good news, there has actually been a reduction in suicide deaths during this pandemic, which is consistent with dips in suicide rates following other past, large-scale disasters like 9/11 and wartime. In conclusion Spencer-Thomas advocates for “driving a culture of care,” so as not to create a self-fulfilling prophecy with predictions of surging suicide rates. She endorses that employers can have a significant and positive impact.
By focusing on their employees’ well-being, Spencer-Thomas advocates for 10 steps that employers can take to create a positive impact including: creating a “we’re all in this together” community, validate the range of emotional experiences employees are going through, adjusting work-place expectations regarding work capacity, putting wellness in the forefront, reducing negative media exposure, celebrating and recognizing their workforce, completing regular check-ins amongst employees, finding ways to add in fun, offering time to a community service project in need and promoting employee resources by bringing them to life.
The full article and complete list of 10 Steps can be accessed at:
https://www.insurancethoughtleadership.com/the-long-haul-for-mental-health-at-work/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-long-haul-for-mental-health-at-work?ref=insurancedailynews