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Covid-19: Employee mental wellbeing
‘The workplace mental health
wake-up call of a generation’
Continued from page 31
Yet while businesses may think offering
support to their teams such as that
available through TERC and BHSF / Vivup
may be a costly extra, Tracey points out
the huge financial benefits it brings. “Put
simply, better mental wellbeing equals
better productivity. Businesses that aren’t
looking after all aspects of their
workforce’s wellbeing are missing a trick.”
This might not be the only mistake the
pandemic has exposed, either. “I have a
lot of worries around how we’re going to
reintegrate people back into the office.
“Employers will have to devote time to
reintegration; it will be a big project. We
have received calls from employees who
feel aggrieved at the money and time they
have spent on commuting to their
workplace when their co-workers have
remained at home.”
“Will people who have been working
from home settle in the office again? Will
there be clashes between those who have
been furloughed, those who worked from
home and those who stayed in the office?
“Bringing your teams back together
might not be easy; even the most united
group may not gel after a year apart. TERC
offers a mediation service to smooth out
differences in your team.”
In such situations, good communication
is vital. “It’s long been recognised as a key
skill of leadership, but communicating well
to your people has never been more
important than it is today,” she says.
“We know people will be worried about
the future landscape of the office and their
confidence will be fragile. The traditional
model of how we work has been blown
away, and it will leave some people very
anxious. They’ll need careful handling; it’s
another area where TERC can help.”
But there are other worries to consider.
“How are your HR people?” Tracey asks.
“One of the things we’ve noticed is just
how hard HR teams have been working
throughout. In many cases they are at the
coalface, dealing with initial staff
problems, relocations, IT resources and
keeping people settled. They have been
under a huge amount of pressure. Are you
looking after them?”
And there is another group that Tracey
feels has been left exposed, too – directors.
“We must support our leaders. Most
directors and senior managers have been
spinning plates like never before; who’s
got their back? They have been at the
forefront of the crisis, carrying an
38
unprecedented workload. No leave, long
hours, always on hand to help their teams,
they are building up a lot of stress. They
need help, too.”
One of TERC’s key offers is help in
building resilience and managing stress
within leadership. “It’s important we start
to do this better,” says Tracey. “Every
business should have stress management
policies. You need to create a culture of
attendance where people go into work
feeling well but know that there is support
when needed. Companies must go above
and beyond what’s expected and invest in
their employees’ mental health.”
‘‘
Better mental wellbeing
equals better productivity...
businesses that aren’t
looking after all aspects of
their workforce’s health are
missing a trick
‘‘
Tracey sees the Covid-19 pandemic as
the “wake-up call for our time”. “Covid
has highlighted how vulnerable many
people are; confidence is at a low ebb and
we’ve never needed to support each other
more than at present.”
So how does Tracey view the recent
media furoré around Goldman Sachs’
alleged 95-hour week, after employees
complained about the company’s
punishing schedules? A weary shake of the
head says everything. “You hear stories
like that and just sigh. It’s so wrong. It’s
unsustainable. You will burn staff out and
lose them. No-one can work at that level
and keep going indefinitely; in the end,
people will crash.
“They’ll either be ill, their performance
will drop off or they will walk away. Either
way, you’ve lost them. And once people
start hearing about that kind of culture,
you’ll struggle to recruit good people to fill
their shoes, too.”
It all goes back to that old-fashioned
phrase of ‘work-life balance’. “In my
training I studied Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs. It’s a theory in psychology
comprising a five-tier model of human
needs, depicted as a pyramid.
“From the bottom up, the needs are:
physiological (food and clothing); safety
(job security); love and belonging needs
(friendship); esteem, and self-actualisation.
The stuff at the bottom – the base – must
be in a place in order for you to become a
more rounded, fulfilled person. Working a
95-hour week cannot give anyone the base
needs – rest, security, safety – that are
required if we’re going to go on and reach
our full potential. Cultures like the one at
Goldman Sachs can’t win.”
If we agree the pandemic taught us
something, it was perhaps the time has
come to take our foot off the accelerator.
“Step back and smell the flowers. Perhaps
literally; during lockdowns we had time to
go for walks, to reconnect with our
families and with nature, and improved
our mindfulness. It’s important we keep
that spirit as we emerge from Covid-19.”
And that philosophy of looking after
mental wellbeing has to start at the top.
“One of the things I always stress to
business leaders is that if they want their
employees to acknowledge when things are
not going well and they need support,
nothing makes that happen more than
when those at the top do it themselves. It’s
all very well thinking you must stay strong
and that weakness isn’t allowed, but that
sends a message to your team that that is
how they have to behave, too. It’s
counterproductive. If directors are seen
looking after themselves and their mental
wellbeing, it sends a powerful message that
everyone should do the same.
“Best analogy for this? Think back to the
last time you were on an airplane, and the
steward demonstrated what happens if
the cabin depressurises.
“The oxygen masks fall from the panel
above. Put yours on; don’t try to help
others around you first, including your
children. You have to look after yourself
first, and only if you are okay, can you look
after those around you.
“It’s the same with mental wellbeing;
look after yours, and it will help you look
after your team’s.”
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
To speak to Tracey about your
employees’ mental wellbeing,
email her at
tracey.paxton@tercltd.co.uk
For more on BHSF see
www.bhsf.co.uk
For more on Vivup see
www.vivupbenefits.co.uk
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