5 minute read
Addressing the tidal wave of mental health challenges
The mental health fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic is prevalent in workplaces throughout New Zealand. Julia Shallcrass and Michael Hempseed provide guidance for supporting staff and managing mental health in the workplace.
Through our mental health training, we have spoken to employees and employers from almost every industry in New Zealand. All are reporting a decline in mental health and wellbeing at work. Many employees have developed serious mental illnesses in the form of anxiety, depression and burnout. A recent report found that 68 per cent of employees were feeling burnt out. Businesses face productivity loss and performance issues, with large numbers of staff quitting, many from sheer exhaustion.
While this paints a gloomy picture, we must remember that humans have the power to overcome incredible adversity. It will not be this way forever, we will recover.
During World War II, the outlook would have been incredibly bleak. Many people thought they would have to endure the pain of war forever. Despite the pain, life did improve, and so can our lives improve.
How can you support your people?
Employers can improve the situation for staff struggling with stress and mental health issues as follows.
1. Understand why your people are struggling
Many people tell us: “I don’t know why I’m so tired or exhausted”. Yet, there are many reasons people are struggling at present.
Research suggests the most significant psychological impact occurs several years after a disaster. Dr Rob Gordon, who studies the psychological effects of the Australian bush fires, found the worst psychological impact occurs three to five years later.
Often a sense of community exists when a disaster occurs and people have the resilience to fight. As the months and years wear on, the people’s resilience wears down.
Many Kiwi businesses are shortstaffed, often due to sickness, which adds pressure to workloads. Some employees have long COVID, and many are simply exhausted from two years of battling the pandemic, while dealing with the rising cost of living.
2. Acknowledge your workers are exhausted
To best support staff, acknowledge, rather than minimise, what people are going through.
If an employee says they are tired, it can be tempting to say, “How can you be tired? You haven’t achieved that much over the past two years”.
However, this ignores the stress we have lived through during the pandemic. Some tiredness may be due to physical reasons: a recent study found that people with long COVID have far less capacity in their lungs for oxygen.
3. Ask staff about their wellbeing
Managers should ask staff about their wellbeing to support them in their roles and relieve them of any workrelated stress.
Would you like to learn more about how to manage mental health issues?
For more information, see HRNZ’s upcoming course: Managing Mental Illness at Work. Julia and Michael explore how to identify anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, discuss ways to prevent suicide, support staff returning to work, and manage poor performance and medical incapacity.
Join this interactive course virtually on Friday 21 October 2022. For in-house training, contact Julia Shallcrass (www.kiwiboss.co.nz) and Michael Hempseed (https:// www.foh.co.nz/).
Meet with your staff regularly to ask about their wellbeing. Discuss health and safety risks such as a high workload that may contribute to their sickness or stress. Find out what you can do to reduce workplace stressors. How can you help support them in their role?
Don’t assume you can help support sick staff with your own initiatives.
If your team members have health issues, ask them for medical updates and guidance from their medical professionals on how to support them at work.
4. Listen to your body
Presenteeism in the workplace can lower productivity and lead to burnout. While presenteeism is linked to more sick leave over the long term, many Kiwis continue to turn up to work despite being sick, according to a recent workplace wellness report.
To reduce presenteeism, clarify that your business expects sick employees to stay home and recover.
Tell staff to listen to their body rather than the demands of their work schedule. Encourage staff to ask for help if they are struggling to meet deadlines or client demands.
If you feel tired and exhausted all the time, that is your body telling you to rest. If you don’t follow what your body wants, this can lead to physical and mental health issues, including burnout.
Michael Hempseed is the author of the book Being A True Hero: Understanding and Preventing Suicide in Your Community. Although he speaks on ‘dark topics’, the participants at his seminars say they walk away feeling inspired and hopeful, and they even have a few laughs along the way. Many nonprofessionals come to his seminars, and they say they learn a lot. But, professionals and experts in the field, such as medical doctors, psychologists and counsellors, also say they learn a lot. Michael has set up a specialist mental health service called Frontiers of Hope, which can see people online from all over New Zealand. https://www.foh.co.nz/
Julia Shallcrass is the founder of KiwiBoss, an HR and employment law training company. Julia is an employment lawyer who provides in-house training to organisations throughout New Zealand. She presents many courses through HRNZ, including Effective Performance Reviews and Giving Feedback, Managing Poor Performers, Managing Mental Illness at Work, Negotiating Exit Settlements for Problem Employees, and Restructuring and Redundancy.
