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After more than two years of getting used to working in pandemic-induced isolation and often extending work hours, but in the comfort of home, employees are now in limbo, wondering if they will be able to cope. the reality of office life. Read what workers and mental health experts are saying about the consequences of burnout and how companies should optimize overall health.
As the COVID pandemic recedes, we are going back to the ‘old normal’: physically working at a desk in an office with real colleagues and bosses, not avatars, around us. But when we return to the office after getting used to the idea of working from home in our pajamas, the delicate concept of mental readjustment emerges. Employees are reporting high stress from expectations and pressures, and ‘quietly resigning’ is one thing.
“Working from home for almost over two years has changed a lot of things. There is more exhaustion, lack of sense of time, overwork because we have lost our sense of time and limits by working from home. And now that we go to the office, we are expected to show the same ‘unpaid overtime’ that was prevalent with remote work, with the added stress of traveling and adjusting to the workplace,” said a 31-year-old man. Shivam Sinha, who works as a senior software engineer in an IT company based in Hyderabad.
Sinha believes that the concept of always going above and beyond with our work really blurred the lines during the WFH. “It’s this idea that if I don’t do the extra work, then my job is at risk,” she added.
Sinha’s recollection of the imbalance between work and life is very similar to that of many who return to the offices. Recent trends in employees participating in quiet quit smoking and companies like Meesho offering 11 days ‘Rest and Recharge’ period has put mental health in the workplace firmly in the spotlight.
Adapting to the new normal
“In our society, we don’t have the concept of keeping mental health as a priority, so we always tend to push our limits and that results in burnout,” says Sangeetha Reddy, a clinical psychologist based in Hydrerabad.
Even the Indian government is working on launching a telemental health program and a toll-free helpline number coming soon to enable greater access to mental health care across the country. “The pandemic has accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in announcing the program in the Union Budget 2022-23.
As the COVID-19 crisis has affected the world for the past two years, people have found it difficult to do their jobs, whether in hospitals, restaurants, stores or schools.
As a result of working from home, it has become more difficult to distinguish between professional life and personal life, and workers may not even realize how intertwined these two lives have become.
“Work from home deadlines extend past sign-out time, Zoom meetings have no end button, and nine-hour shifts have turned into full-day shifts, I almost forgot the concept of sign-out ”, an IT sector employee said on condition of anonymity.
Also, with offices opening now, it’s unclear if people will be able to draw clearer boundaries as they adapt to new hybrid work models, or if work and life are now irrevocably merged, he added.
Anirudh Raghunath, who has been working as a localization executive for the past year and a half, echoed the same excitement, saying that as a rookie, during the third month of his job he tried his hardest to meet deadlines to impress. to their superiors and managers. “I got to the point where out of 24 hours, 12 hours I was in front of my laptop,” Raghunath added.
“The pandemic has been different for different workers, there is the difficulty of leaving habits that they formed at home; for others, there is the possibility of dealing with slights, insensitive comments, and cliques. And for many it’s about not being able to live up to the expectations that were formed while working from home,” Reddy said.
According to The Conference Board’s survey of 1,300 predominantly office workers in the US, more than 40 percent of respondents said their mental health deteriorated during the pandemic, while burnout levels increased.
It is crucial to understand that the pandemic has not been the same for everyone, so its impact on work experience varies from person to person. Some people had a lot of fun working from home, and for others it was challenging, said clinical psychologist Snehal Singh.
“Many people are also feeling overwhelmed by the sudden introduction of group activities, workshops, webinars, etc. for mental health. Post-pandemic, people will adopt their own timing approach to adapt to change, as one size does not fit all, so participation in wellness activities and initiatives could not be mandatory,” added Singh.
Another report from a McKinsey study of more than 2,900 people published last year mentioned that more than a third of those who had just returned to the office said returning had negatively affected their mental health.
Although times have been tough, employees have found their own way to keep mental health at the top of the agenda. Taking time for yourself and doing something that breaks your daily work routine is very important, advises Reddy.
While Harihar G. Menon, a software engineer based in Hyderabad, likes to write and sing to keep himself busy besides work, Anirudh Raghunath drags himself to the gym every day to release all stress.
“I’ve also started to set clear boundaries now, when I’m out of work, it means I’m out of work and I’ve developed a bond with my manager where I can directly say I’m burning out and need my workload distributed,” Raghunathan added.
Meanwhile, Reddy suggests that employees learn to say ‘no’ when the work is too much. “It’s a very difficult habit to form, but it’s important to say no, aside from breaking up your day, making a to-do list every morning can help you get some balance,” he added.
What can companies do? A lot
Company policies play a very important role in the mental health of an employee, as it benefits both. “Creating wellness solutions to help employees maintain optimal wellness in the workplace is no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessity to increase business performance, employee engagement and talent retention,” said Lalitha M. Shetty, AVP – HR & Talent Management, Omega Health.
He added that with the call to return to work, companies can start by understanding the needs of employees. Prioritizing and planning for your post-pandemic mental health and having a return-to-work strategy in place from an appropriate organization is crucial at this stage.
meIndian companies lose $14 billion a year. due to employee absenteeism, abandonment, and other factors caused by poor mental health, according to a Deloitte report published in September.
Companies in India should start with the basic core of being empathic with their employees, according to Amrit Singh, co-founder and CRO of Loop, a health technology company. He advises companies to make available a collection of resources that provides coping skills for frequently encountered mental health symptoms and also provides access to a list of mental health experts and professionals.
“Companies can also encourage employees to designate ‘work time,’ ‘focus time,’ and ‘down time,’ to ensure proper work-life balance. Respecting employees’ vacation time is also a good way to ensure they completely unplug from work and come back energized,” added Amrit.
From the perspective of an employee. Cianna Francis, 23, based in Hyderabad, believes a hybrid working model can help employees make the transition to normalcy easier.
Arjun Ranga, CEO of Cycle Pure Agarbathi, advises companies to put in place exact workplace health and safety policies that prevent harassment and bullying and can help employees adjust better after two years of isolation.
Those smaller steps — like offering flexibility, regularly checking in on employees, having meaningful conversations with them and educating leaders with resources and information about mental health — can really help create a great workplace for employees, Ranga added.
Even before the pandemic, employee wellness was a hot topic. Post-pandemic, employee well-being has become more important than ever, and employers must find ways to accommodate this growing need for empathy.
Experts and employees alike suggest that employee wellness is now about more than providing your employees with group health insurance or personal accident insurance; it’s about optimizing your overall health and other factors that affect it, such as mental health, financial health, emotional health, stress management, work-life balance, and flexibility.
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