The thought of returning to work life after COVID-19 is filling some employees with dread.
The stressors of the past year and a half have left employees grappling with feelings of trauma, uncertainty and anxiety. That mental health strain is
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Each employee’s experience will be different, and employers need to be cognizant of how the past months have impacted
“For some people, we'll go back to the way it was pretty quickly, but that doesn't mean that it's going to be that way for everyone,” she says. “This is not the time to take our foot off the gas. We have to continue forward with making sure that employees have access to mental health care and making sure that they're aware of what benefits exist for them.”
O’Neill spoke with Employee Benefit News to discuss the reasons behind post-COVID anxiety and how employers can navigate their return-to-work plans to accommodate these challenges.
What are some of the lasting mental traumas that people are grappling with right now, even though we're feeling like we're in the clear?
I think this is the time when folks do start to
So when an employer says it’s time to get back to the office, how does that start to manifest?
Folks don't have an on and off switch. Yes, we have the CDC saying if individuals are vaccinated, they're okay and they can be places without a mask. But hearing that doesn't necessarily inspire confidence for everyone. And even if they cognitively feel safe, it doesn't necessarily mean that they feel emotionally safe or that it's easy to let go of habits that have been in place for over a year now.
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For some people, we'll go back to the way it was pretty quickly, but that doesn't mean that it's going to be that way for everyone. If folks don't transition back to the way things were right away, it doesn’t mean that there's something wrong or that they're not handling the situation, it simply means that everyone is unique.
How can employees articulate that when it comes to being asked to return to the office? What is the difference between someone saying, I don't want to go back to work because I hate the commute, versus, I have actual anxiety about going back to work.
Looking at how individuals thought pre-pandemic could be helpful. If individuals were predisposed to anxiety and stress before the pandemic, they may be more likely to experience a post-pandemic anxiety or stress reaction.
For me as a therapist, a key differential is if someone is like, “I don't want to go back to the office, but I'm going out with my friends every weekend and sitting on patios and having a great time,” versus if someone says, “I still haven't gone to the grocery store yet or I haven't seen my family yet because I'm still scared that I'm at risk.”
Employers probably know that their workforce is made up of a combination of these groups of people, so how should they approach reopening or asking people to return?
Workplaces are in a difficult situation with balancing what is best for the majority and what's best for the company. Trying to have flexibility with a hybrid model allows elements of control to be with the employee. So that may be things like when they come to the office or how they reenter the office, for individuals who have high anxiety or high stress about returning to work, allowing them the opportunity to go in for a day or a half day and then have a couple of days off and then go back.
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If a hybrid model isn't realistic or giving employees control isn't feasible, I think the more that mental health resources can be promoted the better. Folks are really going to be dependent on those services to help them navigate some of the stressors they may be experiencing. I think we're in a place right now where employers are more than ever paying attention to what their employees need in terms of mental health care and really working to not only have accessibility, but also to decrease the stigma. But we’re not yet out of the woods.
