Supporting Employee Mental and Physical Health During COVID-19

The mental and physical health declines during COVID-19 have been problematic nationwide. With employees experiencing additional stress related to working remotely, managing virtual school for their children, not being as physically active or social, and fear of losing their jobs, amid many other concerns, companies need to take a hard look at how they can support their teams during COVID-19 and beyond.

Mental Health Data and Support

The Census Bureau data reported one-third of Americans are showing signs of depression or clinical anxiety. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends several stress coping mechanisms, such as connecting with friends and family virtually and only gathering relevant news and information from credible sources.

Employers can support employees’ mental health through some of the following ways:

• Give employees mental health days when feasible
• Check-in with their teams to see if they are feeling overwhelmed
• Limit COVID-19 and other relevant information sent to employees to only that that is very time or job-sensitive
• Check with their insurance agency to ensure substantial mental health coverage is included in policies
• Keep a connection with their direct reports by scheduling virtual check-ins and touching base on a more informal level
• Overcommunicate to help employees feel comfortable knowing where they stand to help reduce their anxiety about potentially being laid off or transitioned

Physical Health Support

While many employers have provided gym membership discounts and rewards for health for years, with many gyms still not open for the foreseeable future, there are still other ways to help.

Employers can look into the following options to support their team’s physical health and wellbeing:

• Provide complimentary or discounted virtual gym and workout class access in addition to discounts on home gyms or equipment
• Negotiate deals on healthy meal and grocery delivery services for their company
• Give employees ample time to take a break during the day to pursue the exercise of their choice
• Host an optional virtual team health challenge with prizes to incentivize employees to continue to support their physical health

At TRC Staffing Services, we hope the above ideas will help you continue to support your employees and their mental and physical health during a challenging time. Should your company need staffing support or additional resources, please contact the TRC Staffing Services team today.

Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html
https://www.who.int/images/default-source/health-topics/coronavirus/risk-communications/general-public/stress/stress.jpg?sfvrsn=b8974505_14
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/26/americans-with-depression-anxiety-pandemic/?arc404=true
https://hbr.org/2020/08/8-ways-managers-can-support-employees-mental-health