News

It's no secret that everyone is under a great deal of stress right now. Covid-19, personal finances, the economy, distance learning, job responsibilities, child care: These are just a few of the factors that are contributing to poorer mental health and higher stress levels.

During any time of high unemployment, people are often afraid to take vacation, request work flexibility, or advocate for their work-life balance, mental health, and overall wellness--unless the company culture encourages them to.

But with the added emergency-paradigm shift to remote work, which most workers and leaders alike have never experienced before, tthe challenges of how to communicate and find solutions to promote mental well-being are even more daunting. As the leader of a fully remote company for the past 13 years, I want to share important strategies to leverage the remote working environment to support our teams (and ourselves!) during this unprecedented and challenging time. 

First, what exactly is the mental health situation for millions of workers during the pandemic? While having a job is generally seen as a positive, that doesn't mean workers are doing well, unfortunately. According to a recent study FlexJobs conducted with Mental Health America:

• Workers are now more than three times as likely to report poor mental health than they were before the pandemic.

• Forty percent say they have experienced burnout during the pandemic. 

• Forty-two percent of workers say their stress levels are currently high or very high.

• More than three-quarters (76 percent) agree that workplace stress affects their mental health (i.e., depression or anxiety).

• About half (51 percent) say they have the emotional support they need at work to help manage their stress.  

• Only 1 in 5 say their HR has offered them productive solutions when they have tried to discuss their burnout.