Taking care of your employees’ mental health in times of Covid-19

Remember when Dave Chapelle used to say “Modern problems need modern solutions” on his TV show. While companies may have found the “modern solutions” with remote working and digital connectivity to the “modern problem” which is working amidst a pandemic, many of them didn’t really factor in the mental health aspect of their teams, under the false, misguided pretense that working from the comfort of one’s home is what every employee dream of.

But instead, many employers unknowingly pushed and breached the professional barriers and ventured into the personal time and space of their employees. A Qualtrics research showed that over 55% of employees reported higher stress and anxiety levels post Covid-19 outbreak and working from homes. And this has definitely affected the productivity, output, and margins of error hugely. So how can we fix this?

Simple. Here’s what you as an employer, team leader or supervisor can do to ensure your employees aren’t mentally exhausted and instead show the same levels of interest in their work as it was pre-pandemic.

Stay in touch, not just to follow up on their tasks

You as a team leader might be having multiple conversations with your team members on a daily basis, which includes checking on how much of a task is done and how long will it take to finish it. But over the time it becomes a mechanical process, like just checking up on the oven on how long is your chicken going take to roast.

These are humans who put their mind, body and soul to work with you on projects. They too go through emotional rollercoasters when the going gets tough. “Talk” to them about things apart from work too. It actually makes an employee feel good you show genuine care for him/her, their families and their well-being. And when such a bond of trust is built, it shows in the productivity and performance too.

Assess the output, not their “presence”

Many companies have begun using digital tools which let employees login to their task dash board while working from home keep a track of the time and efforts that go into finishing their daily work. While this sounds like an innovative and effective way to ensure no time or resources are wasted, it also sows the seed of fear and anxiety in employees about logging in on time, logging out of the system, sending reports, tracking their efforts and feel underwhelmed when they see they couldn’t clock enough hours.

Do not let this creep into your team. Look at the output that the employee is giving, and not the number of hours he or she has spent in front of the computer during the day. Offer them flexible working hours. With all of us at home, there will always be scenarios where one will have to manage other responsibilities apart from work. When an employee gets to choose how and when he/she works, the efforts will be genuine and productivity at its best

Acknowledge Anxieties

One of the major reasons mental well being gets ignored or missed at workplace is because our team members do not feel safe in approaching us with their problems. Whether it your junior or your team mate at same level, if they do not feel comfortable sharing anything apart from work, we must work on becoming more inclusive and open with them.

And the first step to it is by acknowledging the fact that mental health struggles are real, anxieties are not people acting out or being lazy. Major corporates and companies have now begun having regular sessions for their teams with mental health professionals who help them overcome their stress and manage their anxiety.

While this might be a step for a later stage in your company, you can start of by talking to your team’s about their workload, if they’re able to create a work-life balance, and is there anything you could do to help them.

Create professional boundaries and respect them

One of the reasons why team members do not feel comfortable approaching their coworkers or team leaders with their problems, as mentioned earlier, is because at many workplaces the professional and personal boundaries have blurred ever since working from home became a thing. Early logins, late working hours, smaller or fewer breaks have not only begun tiring out employees physically but draining them mentally too.

And fixing this is easy and not an impossible task. Keep work hours limited to 8 hours, just like they used to be when everyone was working from their offices. Just because everyone is at home and next to their computers doesn’t mean they’re available at your beck and call. Do not schedule or take any calls or messages before or after your work hours. This will help your employees to devote enough time to their work and their personal lives too.

Take care of yourself too…

Amidst all these, leading a team, managing schedules, dealing with clients, etc, you must not take your mental health lightly too. Because if the leader is not mentally fit, the team will find it difficult to achieve their goals.

Do not push yourself over the edge just because you’re the one in charge. It is one thing to be responsible, and another to be overworked. Take breaks just like your employees, do not attend to any client demands post work hours and find activities which can break the monotony of your daily life.

Working from home is tough, but were positive that soon we’ll be out of our homes, living our normal lives. But until then, let’s be a little kind to our mind and benevolent to each other.