Stress takes a toll
Stress is like stretching a rubber band. Over time it will lose strength, unravel and eventually snap. That’s what can happen to bodies — and minds — when they are hit with a variety of stressors, all coming at them at once over a long period of time. Eventually, stress will take a toll.
On the other hand, stress can be a positive factor in our lives. It can spur us on to be better parents, partners and employees. It can focus our attention. In fact, feeling somewhat stressed or worried is normal.
But when you add up job, kids, finances, extended family, caring for a home, doing errands and much, much more — and then add having to shelter-in-place for a month or more — stress can become traumatic. And, if it continues, it can cause burnout. Or far worse.
Stress can lead to anxiety, then depression
Stress can result in anxiety, particularly if an employee is already predisposed to having some form of anxiety disorder. It’s the feeling of dread or an undefined restlessness, and it can result in feeling tense, fatigued, and sick with headaches and stomach aches. And that anxiety can lead to depression. Depression can be managed, but it can also be a harbinger.
Construction workers lead suicide rates in the U.S.
The suicide rate in the construction industry is four times greater than the national average. Suicide will claim five times the number of lives than that of all construction fatalities combined. It is important to notice the warning signs before it is too late:
- Increased tardiness and absenteeism
- Decreased productivity
- Decreased self-confidence
- Isolation from peers
- Agitation and increased conflict among co-workers
- Increased feelings of being overwhelmed
- Decreased problem solving ability
- Legal and illicit substance abuse
- Near hits, incidents and injuries
If you notice any of these signs with your colleagues, please talk with them. It can be as simple asking ‘How are you doing?’ If help is needed, please refer to them to their doctor, counselor or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Mental health during a pandemic
Excerpted from the New England Journal of Medicine, published April 13, 2020:
Public health emergencies may affect the health, safety, and well-being of both individuals (insecurity, confusion, emotional isolation) and communities (economic loss, work and school closures, inadequate resources for medical response, and deficient distribution of necessities).
These effects may translate into a range of emotional reactions, unhealthy behaviors, and noncompliance with public health directives in people who contract the disease and in the general population. Extensive research in disaster mental health has established that emotional distress is ubiquitous in affected populations — a finding certain to be echoed in populations affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
How do you help employees right now — and in the future?
What kind of support can you offer for employees’ mental health issues? There are fundamental ways you can help that can have immediate effect.
- Start by being empathetic — Demonstrate that you truly understand and are able to share an employee’s feelings. If and when someone shares that they’re feeling overwhelmed, in crisis or depressed, make sure you acknowledge those feelings. Don’t belittle them or try to pass them off as not important. Even if they don’t sound like big problems to you, they are to that individual.
- Listen before you talk — Whether an employee is expressing a problem or an idea, you should listen with an open mind and make that employee feel valued. You don’t have to solve their problems, you simply have to make sure they feel heard. Listening also helps generate connections with others and lets them know you have their backs. Once the employee has finished talking, summarize what you heard and ask questions to make sure you understand. Then, if it makes sense, point them to possible solutions.
- Use compassionate language — Use empathetic language that makes employees feel that you are appreciating what they’re saying or feeling. Don’t brush off what the employee is saying by explaining you’ve experienced the same thing and were able to get through it. It’s fine to share experiences but not when it invalidates someone else’s problem. Think of yourself as the flight attendant during turbulence. Stay calm and let the employee know they’re in a safe place.
- Support healthy social connections — This is obviously more difficult during this time of COVID-19, but social distancing has created even more of a need to be socially connected. But it’s not impossible.
- Try asking employees to share funny, real-life examples of what’s going on in their limited world.
- Create a company-specific hashtag to share moments.
- Support efforts by teams or the entire company to do whatever they can to help those who are more affected by the pandemic — first responders, health care workers, grocery store workers, the working poor, homeless people, and more. Raise money for local food banks or other charities. Donate whatever you can.
What’s the best way to communicate with employees?
How you talk to employees, especially concerning their mental health — and especially during a crisis period like the one we’re currently going through — is as critical as what you tell them.
- Above all be empathetic. Listen carefully to what employees tell you and make sure they feel that you truly understand them.
- Lecturing or pontificating is equally as unproductive (not to mention counter-productive) as over-promising or avoiding tough subjects. Your employees want the truth, but they’d like it to come from a human being they trust.
- Be assertive without being pushy. Be clear, concise and share information in a way that respects the dignity of every employee. Make sure the right people get the right information in the most efficient, direct way possible.
- If you don’t know the answer, admit it. Let employees know you’ll find out and get back to them. Be honest and transparent about the positives as well as the negatives.
- Make sure employees know that the company values them more than profits or productivity. Nothing happens without your employees — and when you focus on them, you’ll discover that productivity, engagement and teamwork all increase.
- Finally, use the best form of communication for the task. For example, a lot of detailed information should be communicated by email, possibly with a downloadable PDF attached. In-person or by phone would be the best way to deliver more personal information. If you need interaction among a team, use video conferencing (in-person meetings will come back eventually).
Supporting employees
Working from home works for some employees, but what about those who still need to leave home and go to work? Transit drivers. Construction workers. Grocery store employees. Health care workers. And more.
- Provide resources for employee safety. Make sure everyone who needs it has personal protection equipment (PPE) and sanitizing products.
- Encourage any employee who feels ill, especially those who exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19, to go home and stay there.
- Encourage social distancing.
- Check in with those employees regularly.
- Offer an updated sick leave policy.
You can find more information at OSHA.gov to help prevent workers from exposure to COVID-19 and specific recommendations for those in healthcare, deathcare, laboratories, airline operations, border protection, solid waste and wastewater management workers and business travel abroad.
Adjusting expectations — your employees and your own
Right now, employees are attempting to maintain a normal working pace while sharing close contact with spouses, significant others, children, pets, roommates, and extended family. This is equivalent to doubling their workload as well as adding significantly to their stress levels.
If you insist on having them produce the same output and attend as many meetings as before the pandemic, your employees are headed for burnout. And that will affect you as much as does them.
At least during the period where we’re all required to stay home from work, consider the following:
- Change your idea of a “typical” work day. Many of your employees will actually find it easier to get work done in the evening or on weekends while they’re home. Cut them some slack regarding due dates. Be as fluid and flexible as possible with schedules and how many hours an employee is putting in during what used to be a “normal” work day.
- Focus on key performance deliverables. In other words, don’t sweat the small stuff (see above). Help your managers focus on valuable benchmarks rather than “finishing tasks.” That avoids the problems caused by employees feeling that the organization doesn’t trust them to be productive if they aren’t being micromanaged and monitored.
Other ways you can support employee mental health
Mental health is a continuum — it can range from feeling a bit overwhelmed by life and work to being diagnosed with a serious disorder. A one size solution does not fit all.
- You can help employees access a wide range of tools to help them lower burn out and the possibility of depression, achieve a better work/life balance, reduce conflict at work (and even at home), improve sleep quality, and reach higher levels of happiness.
- There are apps, many of them free, that can help employees practice mindfulness and meditation to help them focus and relax.
- You can offer online support groups or direct employees to Crisis Hot Lines, if the problems are more serious and immediate.
- The company can also provide access to tele-health services where employees can talk with a mental health professional online.
- You can even recommend simple solutions, including: Walking and exercising; stretching; mindful breathing; taking breaks; creating varied routines; staying in touch with friends and co-workers; eating healthier, more nutritious foods; developing a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking, drinking in moderation, getting enough sleep — anything that can help support the immune system; being grateful for what you have and for others; finding ways to have fun.
- Practice being “present” to avoid anxiety (take a moment to notice five things they can see, four they can touch, three they can hear, two they can smell, and one they can taste to keep them in the moment)
In other words, anything that can help employees feel more in control of their emotions, have more positive interactions and even find ways to create space between work life and home life, especially during the pandemic.
