As America seeks to get back to business, companies across the nation are actively conducting physical risk assessments against the backdrop of an ever-changing COVID-19 landscape. Preparing for and monitoring the reopening of physical workspaces is an essential first step; however, it does not preclude preparing for, supporting, and monitoring the post-pandemic emotional status of your workforce. It will require CHRO leaders, HR managers, and other C-suite executives to lead with authenticity, flexibility, and empathy.
The ensuing mental health pandemic prompted by COVID-19 will bring a tsunami of mental health issues born from isolation, fear, grief, and anxiety. Undoubtedly, this will play out in cubicles, conference rooms, classrooms, and retail counters – wherever Americans work. For many of your employees, COVID-19 has been a horrible inconvenience, but for others, this unyielding virus has compromised their mental health, even placing some at risk for common mental health conditions.
According to the recently released Mental Health Index: U.S. Worker Edition, powered by Total Brain in partnership with One Mind at Work, working Americans’ risk of addiction, depressive disorder, and PTSD has doubled between February and April 2020. The average working American is experiencing a 38% increase in stress since February. Anxiety levels are up 54% overall. For those employed Americans age 40-59, anxiety has increased a staggering 83%.
Further, the mental toll of COVID-19 on cognition is undeniable. The Mental Health Index data shows that workers scoring high levels of stress and anxiety are prone to make more mistakes and are taking 15% more time to complete standard tasks. Consider what a 15% loss in productivity means for your business, for the economy, and for society.
The Mental Health Index: U.S. Worker Edition will be updated monthly. The Index contains data drawn from a weekly randomized sample of 500 working Americans taken from all walks of life and regions. The data is not survey data. It comes from a mix of validated tasks and questions that are part of a unique neuro-scientific assessment of the Total Brain. The sample is drawn from a universe of U.S. workers that include most U.S. regions, job levels, occupations, industries, and types of organizations (public vs. private). The Mental Health Index enables corporations to measure mental health progress and performance against a valid national benchmark.
So what does an authentic, flexible, and empathetic leadership style look like as we reopen the economy under the shadow of COVID-19?
Authentic: Brené Brown, an expert on social connection, describes vulnerability and authenticity as lying at the root of human connection. And human connection is often dramatically missing from the workplace. Many leaders believe that they must project strength and perfection. Yet, research has shown that authentic leadership yields more positive and constructive behavior in employees and greater feelings of hope and trust – something people desperately need right now. Trust in a leader improves employee performance. Leaders who share their true vulnerabilities – fears and anxieties – are showing their authenticity. Ideas to consider:
Flexible: COVID-19 has thrust us into a new world order. Be ready for change. Business as usual is no more. The employees holed up in their homes for the past three months are not necessarily the same people who will return to your place of work. Many will walk through the doors with great trepidation. Ideas to consider:
Empathetic: Empathy is a critical leadership competency. To inspire employees to act and to perform to the best of their ability, leaders must understand the mindset of their workforce. Ideas to consider:
Those who lead with authenticity, flexibility, and empathy will create an environment of connectedness that employees so desperately need right now. Opening the economy will require business leaders to open their minds to a new way of leading, one that places employee mental health on par with corporate fiscal health – you cannot have one without the other.