Accelerate Magazine July 2020

WAUKESHA COUNTY BUSINESS ALLIANCE, INC. | WAUKESHA.ORG Our lives and our organizations have been disrupted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The lifting of the safer-at-home orders ushered in a new phase of the response to this crisis and new disruptions that will continue to emerge. These events have influenced mental health. Recent Census Bureau data show that one in three Americans are reporting clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. This is a dramatic, if unsurprising rise. Depression was already the most expensive medical condition among working age individuals (including both direct costs and effects on workplace functioning), even before the pandemic. Nearly everyone in our country has felt an increase in anxiety, and for many, this has been a major interference in the ability to carry on in daily life. Employees who are depressed will have trouble motivating themselves and will not have the energy or enthusiasm to contribute productively. Individuals who are anxious may be unwilling to take risks or, conversely, may take excessive risks to resolve the problems the pandemic poses. In this environment of high stress, there will be employees who will need mental health treatment. Be sure and discuss these opportunities: • Work with your Employee Assistance Program. • Inform your workforce about mental health treatment through your health insurer. • Inform your employees that all major insurance companies are paying for telehealth sessions via telephone or video conference. • Invite members of your wellness program to participate in your strategic planning. • In your “lunch and learn” programs, include stress management and resilience. The pandemic also has impacts on the psychology of the workplace. Along with the impact on individual employees, organizational effectiveness, overall employee wellbeing, and organizational excellence can be diminished because of these disruptions. There are several necessary psychological factors that businesses should address that will help address the needs of the organization and the needs of the workforce. Health and Safety The immediate concern will revolve around health and safety as business resumes. For many, this is a concern about whether a return to business as usual will increase the risk of being infected by the virus. For others, there is worry about the financial impact of the shutting down of the economy, and about how to earn enough income to survive. The predominant emotion here is anxiety. Anxiety easily turns into anger. These heightened emotions interfere with the ability to think logically and reasonably. Employees will look to leadership to address these problems and may quickly blame the boss when things go wrong. When we are anxious or angry, and there is a lack of information, we make stuff up. The stuff we make up will be guesses about catastrophes that might occur, such as: “I will get sick if I have to do that job," or "The business is going to close, and I will be out of work.”These are some of the thoughts that our employees might have in this situation. JOHN WEAVER, PSY.D. Psychologist and Owner, Stress Management & Mental Health Clinics PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS AS BUSINESS REOPENS 14