As a leader in your organization, you鈥檙e faced with a tough challenge. How can you
maintain productivity (and profitability) when workers are chronically stressed due
to COVID-19? The answer is simple: Take care of your employees鈥� emotional and mental
well-being. Read on to learn six ways to improve employee wellness for productivity during the coronavirus crisis.
The Link Between Anxiety and Productivity
Due to the coronavirus crisis, we are facing a lot of uncertainty. That makes us anxious, explained Paul Spector, a distinguished professor emeritus at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息with a background in organizational psychology. 鈥淚f all of a sudden your world is in turmoil and you don't know day to day what's going to happen, there's always the fear that something bad could happen," Spector said.
Employees are dealing with very real concerns in nearly every aspect of their lives: Will they get sick? Will they lose their jobs? When will the world return to normal?
This constant stress makes it much harder for employees to be productive. 鈥淲orry is distracting,鈥� Spector said. 鈥淚f someone is anxious about something, it's sapping their energy and sapping their attention. So instead of focusing on work, they're distracted. They may make more mistakes. Their level of productivity may go down because they're having trouble concentrating.鈥�
As a leader, it鈥檚 your job to take care of your team鈥檚 well-being. It鈥檚 also smart for business. 鈥淔rom an employer's perspective, it's worth their while to reduce stress and anxiety as much as is feasible to do,鈥� Spector said.
You can take the following six actions to support your employees鈥� mental and emotional
health during the coronavirus crisis:
6. Be Flexible
Understand that your team 鈥渕ay be working under less than ideal conditions,鈥� Spector
said. Be flexible in assigning projects and understand that employees may not be able
to handle their usual workload if they鈥檙e also juggling children or health crises.
Help your team prioritize tasks and decide which projects can be put on hold until
later.
5. Check In
It鈥檚 crucial for us to practice social distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19. But loneliness is hard on our minds and our bodies; one study has shown that 鈥渓acking any social connection may be comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day as a risk factor for mortality,鈥� according to this New York Times . Employees who live alone may feel particularly vulnerable.
Try to create a sense of online community for your team. Consider offering a daily,
30-minute video conference for any employee who wants to join. 鈥淚 think that's a good
way for supervisors to keep in touch with the people that are working for them, and
also for employees to keep in touch with each other,鈥� Spector said. 鈥淧eople don't
feel so isolated.鈥� Keep the focus on connection and community and save discussions
about work projects for other meetings.
4. Ask Employees What They Need
You can reach out to groups of employees through your daily video conferences, but
it鈥檚 also important to check in one-on-one. Ask team members what you can (reasonably)
do to help them during this crisis. 鈥淒on't make any assumptions, but just ask people,
you know, what do you need that we can do for you?鈥� Spector said.
3. Show Employees You Trust Them
If you haven鈥檛 worked with an off-site team before, you may have trouble adjusting
to the concept. In fact, you may be tempted to use software that monitors remote employees
to see if they鈥檙e really working. But this 鈥淏ig Brother鈥� approach will only increase workers鈥� stress. Plus,
it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. 鈥淧eople act the way you expect them to act,鈥�
Spector said. 鈥淎ssume people are going to do the right thing, and just give them the
tools and let them do it.鈥�
2. Offer Virtual Wellness Resources
You already know that employee wellness matters: 鈥淢ore than 90 percent of business
leaders say that promoting wellness can affect employee productivity and performance,鈥�
according to a survey cited in . Recognizing the need to prevent employee burnout, companies are getting creative,
offering everything from . But now the coronavirus crisis has plunged us into a virtual existence, making it
more complicated to support employee well-being. After all, you can鈥檛 exactly schedule
lunchtime yoga sessions or give workers access to the company gym. But it is possible
to offer wellness resources from a distance.
Mental Health Resources
Remind employees about the virtual wellness resources provided by your company. For example, if you offer a program that includes mental health counseling, let employees know how they can access the service online. Supervisors should also be paying attention to any signs of emotional or mental distress in their team members. 鈥淭here are some people who are going to deal with mental health issues having to do with this (crisis),鈥� Spector explained.
You can also offer employees access to digital resources, whether subscriptions to
mindfulness apps like Headspace or company-wide .
Physical Health Resources
鈥淓xercise is really good for stress,鈥� Spector said. 鈥淚f you do something rigorous, it tends to take the edge off anxiety and depression.鈥� Encourage employees to exercise by providing them with inexpensive equipment they can use at home, such as yoga mats or exercise bands.
Remember that your employees are transitioning to a new, less-than-ideal workspace
in their homes. 鈥淎ll across America, former cubicle dwellers are slouched over dining
room tables or sprawled on sofas, pecking away at laptops,鈥� explained this Washington Post . Spoiler alert: Our bodies don鈥檛 like it. If you have the funds, reimburse your team
for ergonomic equipment such as standing desk converters or wrist-friendly keyboards.
It is an investment, but consider how much more productive employees will be if they
aren鈥檛 fighting neck cramps.
1. Take Care of Your Own Wellness
Your employees aren鈥檛 the only ones struggling with uncertainty and stress. You are, too. And you can鈥檛 help anyone else unless you are emotionally well-balanced.
To take care of your mental wellness, Spector suggests limiting news consumption and keeping to a routine: 鈥淓ven though you're not going to work 鈥� try to keep at least some elements of your life pretty similar to what was going on before.鈥� Find time for relaxing activities, whether mindfulness exercises, yoga, or just 鈥渨atching funny cat videos.鈥�
We know the world is uncertain, but our programs and resources are as solid as ever. 新澳门六合彩内幕信息is ready to help you develop your full leadership potential with our professional development programs. Explore USF鈥檚 Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education website, or contact us at 813-974-0950. We鈥檙e here to help.