It shouldn’t be surprising that the pandemic has taken a toll on Americans’ mental health. As the crisis begins to subside, hospitals around the country are indicating they are being “overwhelmed by patients who didn’t receive psychiatric treatment through the pandemic,” according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.
A Wide Range of Triggers
There are, of course, a wide range of potential triggers Americans have had to endure during the COVID-19 outbreak:
- Health concerns for themselves and their families.
- Economic impacts caused by reduction in work hours or the loss of jobs.
- The need to take on a primary role in their children’s education as schools around the country closed or moved to a hybrid model.
- The uncertainty of when the pandemic would end and they would have an opportunity to “get back to normal.”
- Safety concerns about returning to the workplace.
- And the list goes on.
The situation has taken on “tsunami”-level proportions.
The Toll Can Be Significant
According to The Wall Street Journal, “Emergency visits for patients seeking help for overdoses and suicide attempts rose 36% and 26%, respectively, between mid-March and mid-October of last year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in March. And U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveys have found that 38% of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety or depression between April of last year and February, up from about 11% in 2019.”
These numbers are troubling and require employers to be prepared to help provide support and assistance to employees and their families.
Last year, Harvard Business Review offered an article on “8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health” as the virus was raging. These suggestions included:
- Model healthy behaviors. Supervisors and managers can serve as role models for healthy behaviors and should be open to and supportive of employee needs.
- Build a culture of connection through check-ins. This can be particularly important for employees who are still working remotely.
- Offer flexibility. Bringing employees back to the workplace shouldn’t be an abrupt transition. Instead, employers and managers should look for opportunities to remain flexible to best address employees’ varied needs.
- Review policies. With the changes in the work environment that have occurred over the past several months, many policies and procedures may no longer be appropriate or relevant.
While it’s true that “we’re all in this together,” we’re not “all in this the same.” HR professionals, managers, and organizational leaders need to consider the unique ways employees are being impacted by the pandemic and take steps to provide a supportive environment.