- 37% of workers say their mental health and wellbeing has been negatively impacted during the pandemic
- 42% of those affected said their employer did not provide support
Nearly four out of ten professionals have said their mental health and wellbeing has been impacted negatively during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent global survey by recruiting experts Hays.
Hays surveyed over 1,800 professionals ahead of World Mental Health Day, which is held on 10 October, to find out about their experiences relating to mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic and whether they had received any support from their employer.
Commenting on the results, Sandra Henke, Group Head of People & Culture at Hays, said “It is concerning that 37% of professionals feel their mental health and wellbeing has been impacted negatively during this time. Just as concerning is that 42% of those affected have said they haven’t received any support from the employer. The health and safety of all workers needs to be at the forefront for all employers and there is a duty of care to ensure their workforce receive the necessary support. This is even more important when large parts of the workforce have been working remotely and may not have been in such close contact with colleagues or managers”.
While the local government guidelines that were put in place to try and halt the spread of the virus are being gradually lifted in many countries, a form of social distancing is expected to be in place for some time, meaning employees could be required to either work from home for an extended period, or work within a hybrid working model – where the workforce is split between the office and working remotely.
Sandra continued, “Across the globe many people have had to deal with very different challenges during the pandemic, ranging from trying to juggle commitments outside of their work, to feeling isolated to even dealing with the death of a loved one. Each person’s experience of the crisis has been unique to them and when the visibility of workers isn’t as great as it once was, it can be difficult for employers to identify who needs help. However, there are steps that organisations can take to ensure they are doing their upmost to protect the mental health and wellbeing of their employees. This is more than just being a duty of care issue, this is about ensuring businesses truly support people during what has been a difficult time for everyone”.
There are ways organisations can ensure their employees’ wellbeing remains at the centre of its people strategy.
Staying in contact
Sandra said, “Make sure you are continuing to have face-to-face time with your team, even if that means using video conferencing technology in place of meeting in person. It’s important to remember to make sure those communication channels are open, so employees are able to voice their concerns and anxieties, this is especially important when you aren’t seeing members of your team on a regular basis. Also, use this opportunity to not only talk about work, take the time to check in on your team members and ask questions about their experiences and how they are managing”.
Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at UK mental health organisation, Mind, recently commented in a Hays Worldwide podcast, “I have been recommending to employers and managers that they have regular check ins with their team members, daily, whatever frequency works best. But I think it’s important during this time to be having these routine conversations; “How are you doing? And is there anything I can do to support you?” so, trying to open up the conversation and make it a regular part of your interaction with someone will help”.
Look out for the signs
Sandra offered this advice, “Managers must educate themselves on how to spot the signs of stress in their teams, especially during this extremely difficult time. The signs to look out for are stress or frustration with their job, emotionally distancing themselves from others, or feeling drained and lacking energy – these will be harder to spot as people are working remotely”.
Make yourself available
Sandra commented, “You need to let your team know that their mental health and wellbeing matters and that you are available should they need you. Being a compassionate leader will go some way to ensuring your team remain healthy and that they know they can approach you if they do have any issues. Educate yourself of the support that is available to them within your business and make sure your team knows where to go should they need it”.
Emma Mamo, offered this advice, “The qualities that I think make a good leader, first and foremost is about listening more than you talk and I think absolutely this is more important than ever. We have all had to spring into action, but I think employers and managers need to be in listening mode and hearing from their people around what’s working and what isn’t”.
Treat people as individuals
Sandra said, “Employees will be returning to the office, or have already done so, with different experiences and potentially different viewpoints, it’s important that leaders remember this and don’t approach the health and wellbeing of their team as a one size fits all mentality. It is now more important than ever to show empathy and work to understand how each team member has coped with the challenges and to individually support them as needed”.
As the pandemic continues there is the potential for professionals’ mental health and wellbeing to be further impacted negatively, meaning organisations must ensure they are doing their upmost to support their staff during these difficult times.
Respondents were asked a qualifying question of whether they are currently working, and responses were collected between 31 July and 22 September on www.social.hays.com.
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About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2020 the Group employed c.10,400 staff operating from 266 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2020:
– the Group reported net fees of £996.2 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £135.0 million;
– the Group placed around 66,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 235,000 people into temporary roles;
– 17% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 26% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;
– IT is the Group’s largest specialism, with 25% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Construction & Property (12%), are the next largest
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA