12/20/2021

What Real Mental Health Support at Work Looks Like

Offer support that actually helps employees

There are many words that came to define the world-altering year 2020: Doomscrolling, social distancing, contact tracing. But as we wrap up 2021 and round the corner towards year two of the pandemic, many are pointing to “burnout” as the defining word of this year. As record numbers of people quit their jobs this year, burnout is one of the key reasons.

And it’s not surprising, the pandemic spawned anxiety, loneliness and heartbreak that millions of people are still processing. And on top of that, many people’s jobs started demanding more of them. Essential workers, especially those in healthcare are still putting in grueling hours under atrocious conditions. Even those of us lucky enough to have the option to work remotely have seen our hours increase as work bleeds into every facet of personal life and the fatigue of staring at a screen all day wears on all of us.

In fact, a recent survey, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 37 percent of people reported feeling anxious or depressed compared to 11 percent in 2019 pre-pandemic. What’s more, by some estimates, half of Americans will experience an issue or significant symptoms of mental illness over their lifetime.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.