Here we are again, another lockdown due to Covid 19, will anything ever be the same again!. It never crosses your mind that something like this Pandemic would ever happen within our lifetime and have the effect it has had on people’s wellbeing and mental health.
Mental health has many different faces and of course there are many common causes of mental ill health as well as the impact of the Pandemic. Some of the typical signs of stress at work which we can keep an eye on are the increased number of errors and missed deadlines, working long hours, increased sickness absence, loss of confidence, negative ways of working and many other signs.
How can we help our employees / colleagues and spot the signs that someone is perhaps feeling totally overwhelmed and struggling to cope with this current way of life. We can try to ensure that honest and open communication is practised, make sure that people have a manageable workload, be flexible with their working hours and encourage them to have regular down time.
How would we talk to someone about mental health during lockdown? We should choose a suitable medium for communication, phone might be best but always ask as someone might prefer to use video conferencing. We should always try to be empathetic and not come across as sympathetic. Be conscious of what your body language is saying if you are on video conferencing and always remember that this conversation is not about you or your experiences or advice, it’s about listening to someone and being supportive. Language matters!
Life at the minute is scary for us all, we need to look after our own mental health and be supportive to the colleagues who are struggling. Just a positive friendly chat may be all that is needed to lift someone’s spirit if they are living alone, reach out to people as you would be expect someone to reach out to you if they spotted the signs.
Here at Futureproof Training, we have found that one of our most popular subjects that clients are increasingly asking to be delivered is ‘ Mental Health Awareness’. Please get in touch with us is you think your organisation will benefit from this kind of virtual training.
Stay safe and stay positive, this feeling will not last forever!
