Managing The Mental Health Impacts Of COVID-19 In HR

How can we, as HR experts, protect our employees and ourselves in such anxious days?

A second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic is almost certain – but another viral outbreak is not the only risk. Instead, experts are calling the mental health impacts of the virus the “second pandemic.” 

On 60 Minutes, Dr. Yuval Neria, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, said: “I think once this is ended, and we face the reality of the aftermath, coupled with financial difficulties and shortage of services – all of those things can rapidly elevate the risk for a second pandemic, which will be a mental health pandemic.”

In ordinary times, mental health is a major challenge. According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 43.8 million adults experience mental illness in any given year. Ten million adults live regularly with a serious mental illness, and one in five adults in America will experience a mental illness.

And these are not ordinary times. As HR professionals, we’re charged with taking care of our teams when 26 million jobs have been lost in just 5 weeks. Small business owners are applying for protection for a fund that has run out of money. Millions of others find themselves juggling childcare while working from home, socially isolated or lacking support. 

So, how can we, as HR experts, protect our employees – and ourselves – in such anxious days?

Offer tools to all employees and make them aware of what you offer. HR and employee relations, rightly so, are the first point of call for employees. While we are not therapists, we do have the obligation and privilege to connect our teams to the right resources. 

Here are some tips on using tools to help with mental health:

Destigmatize mental health by personalizing it. Mental health still has a strong stigma in many quarters. How can you make employees feel comfortable coming forward? We recently conducted a webinar with April Koh, CEO of SpringHealth, and she offered this suggestion: Invite your C-level and senior executives to share personal stories of mental health experiences and struggles with your employees. Nothing removes barriers faster than relatable stories. 

Document and track mental health accommodations for future learning. This pandemic is nothing if uncharted. We’re all working without a playbook – and we want to be better prepared next time. It’s essential to document and track all COVID-19 related mental health employee issues and accommodations so you can analyze the patterns and trends for the future. 

Take care of yourself! As HR leaders, we are in the spotlight as we take care of our team members and manage constant communication. We must take it easy on ourselves, learn to recognize the physical signs of stress and take time out to relax.

At HR Acuity, we have a weekly team relaxation meeting, and we recently hosted a meditation expert from So Mindful, who shared with us a helpful exercise to ease stress. Whenever you’re feeling stressed or anxious, take stock of your physical presence and use your senses. Look around you and:

This simple grounding exercise helps reduce anxiety and can be used anytime, anywhere.

The “new normal” isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and we’ll be out in front helping our teams come back to work soon. Stress and anxiety levels are likely to continue to rise – but as HR leaders, with the right tools, communication and processes, we’re up to the task.