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A global psychological pandemic is on its way

• By Bhavna Sarin
A global psychological pandemic is on its way

While we have been addressing several issues from physical safety, resuming work from office, lockdown to economic relief packages, we are either being ignorant or have missed out on the next big crisis knocking our door - a global psychological pandemic. How is that worse than COVID? Social distancing and quarantine will not be enough to contain it, rather that might become, or in fact has already become a trigger to the biggest psychological threat to the world.

Before we begin addressing mental health in this story, let’s get some facts in place.

Global research reports indicate some of the biggest COVID related consequences, beyond health related consequences, as below:

The mental health consequences of above?

Is this the first time we are experiencing quarantine? 

As one big world? Yes.

In the capacity of individual nations? No.

Be it the SARS outbreak back in 2003 leading to a citywide quarantine across China and Canada or the 2014 Ebola outbreak that led to several Western Africa countries having to quarantine themselves, we are not new to the concept. While it might not have been possible to estimate the extent of the coronavirus pandemic beforehand, we are nearly four or five months into it, and yet have not emphasized the psychological threats it carries with itself. Quarantine is critical to contain further spread of COVID-19, however, are we prepared for the apparent psychological costs? Let’s find out!

Lives lost on account of fear

Research, historic and recent, has shown that the consequential impact of isolation, arising out of the need for quarantine bears a distressing outcome for mankind. Here are some incidents that have been reported over the last two months, owing to COVID-19 and how it shook the world:

These are only a few of the reported cases so far. What did they have in common? They lived in a time of a pandemic, and were overwhelmed by how they could be a threat to others, accompanied by a sentiment of hopelessness. Does that sound familiar?

According to media reports, India alone has recorded 338 suicides during the lockdown period.

Major causes for these suicides were found to be:

Understanding who is predisposed to taking extreme decisions

The physical health risk that COVID-19 has brought upon is one extreme. You notice symptoms, you get yourself tested, you find out if you need treatment or not, so on and so forth. It can happen to anyone, literally anyone, you are only safe as long as you take precautions.

Now mental health. Who is essentially at risk? 

According to a 2019 WHO report, “One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.”

Taking into account WHO numbers, experts are of the opinion that the most vulnerable in the current times are those who have existing mental health issues - depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, addiction, insomnia, and anger issues, to name a few. The people in this segment often have low self-esteem, can be easily triggered by any unpleasant comment/ information, and this threat increases exponentially under isolation. 

With restricted movement, their routine which they had been working on to get better, which could involve a walk in the park, visiting psychiatrists/ therapists, attending meetings with support groups, playing a sport to get fit both physically and mentally, and more, that routine to improve their mental health has been distorted, leaving them to depend solely on technology to stay connected with the outside world, the same technology where in the middle of a video call with a family member or friend, there is a news alert on COVID cases, or any other disturbing news, sending their minds back into a shell that only keeps shrinking and drawing out all hope for a better tomorrow, triggering negative, and often self-destructive thoughts.

While the danger is higher for those with an existing mental health issue, it also poses a threat for the remaining segment of the population. For instance, for families with younger children or older parents and a working couple, the stress to manage work and home, and guilt of not being able to be there 100% for family members makes their situation worse. A majority of this segment of the workforce relied on caregivers, day care providers, creches, and now have to not only continue to work, but work with the sense to be omnipresent. For nuclear families with/ without children, reports have experienced a spike in cases of domestic violence, which could be triggered by increase in alcohol consumption, substance abuse, or really just the fact that there is nowhere to go, causing increased irritability for those who suffer grave inability to rationalize thoughts, and therefore become a threat to people around. 

Another at-risk segment is students. With the current timeline being one where a large number of students step into the corporate world to begin their careers, or are amid their internships, the ongoing pandemic has led to a majority of organizations having to pull back job offers and decline internship opportunities. A number of organizations, however, were able to honour their offers. This has brought about an imbalance and fear in the minds of the younger workforce with their careers being at a crossroads, with no immediate solution.

The anxiety brought on by the fear of being left behind, the competitive behavior that makes them question their abilities and fate with respect to job prospects, all these factors add-on to the stress for the younger population, especially for those who are living all by themselves. 

An unfortunate experience for many amid the crisis has been losing their loved ones and not being able to travel to be present with family for the last riots. Being paralyzed by the circumstances and unable to be present physically to help each other through such difficult times also has a deep and lasting psychological impact on people.

Contribution of workplace related factors

According to a 2016 Myers Briggs survey, 31% of employees were expected to be responsive to work emails outside working hours, both by employers as well as clients. On conditions of anonymity, a significant number of employees admit this is the reality even in the present day, despite the reinforced need to draw boundaries between work and personal time. 

Head of Thought Leadership at The Myers-Briggs Company, John Hackston, recently said in an interview, “In the current climate, the lines between work and leisure are increasingly blurred, and this, combined with the feelings of isolation that are caused by the limited interaction that comes with social distancing, can lead to excessively elevated levels of stress.”

“Perhaps the most important advice, however, is for leaders to recognize that remote working will affect each member of staff differently, including themselves. It is therefore crucial that managers recognize their own styles of working as to not impose their preferred work patterns onto employees. In turn, if employees understand how they work to the best of their ability, they are better equipped to cope with remote working. By understanding what strategies work for them, how they can best switch off, avoid information overload, set boundaries and find a form of work-life balance that suits them, they can reduce their stress levels, which will in turn help to combat the rise in stress during this difficult time.” added Hackston.

John Gaunt, Chief Human Resources Officer, Synechron shared with People Matters, “For employees working from home, multi-tasking would mean caring for elder parents with health conditions, looking after a toddler, or even domestic chores along with the usual office duties.

"Employers, thus, need to watch out for several signs that employees may show such as increased anger or irritability, lack of motivation, procrastination, persistent sadness, excessive worrying or anxiety, poor sleep patterns, lack of creativity or innovation, negative or pessimistic thoughts, increase in substance use/abuse or even reckless behavior,” shares Gaunt.

He further added that at Synechron, they are listening to employees always. “In fact a lot of HR policies are drafted taking into consideration our direct employee feedback to the Management. We recently launched and successfully completed a global survey that captured employee opinion and feedback related to their work from home experience and the support provided by Synechron to its employees during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. Majority of our workforce which participated in this survey, has helped us understand the pulse of their mindset and what are the immediate action items for us to support them further.”

What can organizations do?

Before we get down to what you can do as an organization, here is an interesting note to go through. This note was circulated on Twitter by an employee of the Canadian Federal Government:

With that in mind, here are some additional action steps for organizations to protect the mental wellbeing of their people:

Otis India’s President Sebi Joseph in conversation with People Matters shared, “We have had an employee wellbeing program for a number of years which we revived again once the lockdown was announced. This program focuses on the mental wellness of employees and is also extended to their families. We recognize that family support and participation is crucial to make many initiatives stick, including our on-the-job safety programs. The remote wellness program aims to help employees navigate through the new normal which includes elements like the feeling of working in isolation or working remotely, lack of external stimuli, ability to stay motivated, being able to stay emotionally connected while social distancing, all of which are arising out of the remote working arrangements or working in isolation.”

He further added that based on a virtual online platform, the program provides employees and their families the ability to connect with professional psychological counsellors through phone counselling, chat, email or face-to-face video counselling as required, while also providing stress control programs for resilience building, tranquil mindfulness programs, holistic wellbeing and online assessment for stress and coping skills, and can be accessed online or via a mobile phone app too.”

In conversation with People Matters, Pallavi Tyagi, EVP & CHRO India at Capgemini said, "To provide emotional support to our employees, we have launched a series of wellness initiatives. We have arranged counselling service for our employees through our empaneled counselling service provider. We are regularly conducting webinars in association with our external partner on pertinent topics like dealing with anxiety and stress and have also started a guided meditation series in association with our wellness partner which includes light pre-exercise, meditation and post-exercise. We have been regularly sharing best practices of maintaining health and hygiene during these challenging times."

In its series of initiatives, Capgemini has launched three very different programmes. Discussing the initiatives, Pallavi shares, "We have launched ‘Capgemini Bigg Boss challenge’ where employees along with their family or friends can take up exciting series of tasks and participate in contests, focused on mental relaxation. Nearly 46,000 employees have been engaged through this Pan India level program. We have also started 21 Day Habit Challenge, a virtual program designed to engage with employees on activities other than day-to-day work and to keep employee spirits up during this time. Through this program each individual participant cultivates a positive habit in a span of 21 days. This program aids in developing a positive mind-set and translates it into constructive utilization of time and energy in this pandemic crisis. The program started on April 2nd and so far, we have seen engagement with nearly 15,000 employees. We have also started a podcast series called Candid Connect, where leaders talk to employees on a range of topics like passion and motivation, experience of remote working, things our leaders do at home, stories of people who have shaped their careers and new skills developed." 

Marjet further adds that work flexibility means different things to different people, so remote work arrangements need to be tailored to the individual. "Our leaders are proactively and regularly talking to their teams, to understand their needs and adjust accordingly."

"We have also launched a series of webinars, to share with our team members, about how to connect and look after their health and wellbeing when working from home. We also share tips on managing emotions at home, impart knowledge on how to implement self-care, and help parents learn ways to keep their children happy. Several virtual workouts have also been arranged for people to stay active and connected. I believe it’s the “Kampong spirit” that we need to emerge stronger from these challenging times,” she added.

How can you help yourself?

If you have been dealing with any form of a mental health illness, please prioritize your health, now more than ever. You have been working on yourself to be better and it gets exhausting, but now is not the time to give up, it's time to prioritize and protect yourself. Here are some suggestions for you to get started with:

You might not always be able to step out but that does not mean you cannot connect with the outside world.

Here’s a verified list of global helpline numbers to reach out to if you have been experiencing suicidal thoughts, increased anxiety and panic, have been feeling depressed or feel the need to seek help.

The feeling of isolation and loneliness is not new to you. You have been struggling with it from as long as you know that you are in fact facing certain mental health concerns, probably even before that. Today, the entire world is feeling how you have been feeling.

Here is an opportunity for you to not only look out for yourself, but also be there for your loved ones, check-in on them, make video calls/ voice calls, share how you are feeling, ask them how are they doing, discuss a movie, plan a Netflix party, play online games, in short stay connected with your community. The stigma still exists right? Despite all the measures to eradicate it. Here’s your chance to be an advocate for mental health, and reach out to those who might feel better just after a call with you. And for your health, make sure you factor in a dedicated time slot everyday, and make it a routine to talk to your family, friends, acquaintances, support group and anyone who you feel could use a call.

Breakdown work and personal activities into time slots and then go about accomplishing those tasks one after the other, in a manner that works best for you and that aligns with your requirements at the personal as well as professional front.

We weren’t prepared for COVID-19, but are trying to protect ourselves to the extent possible by following protocol. The mental and emotional impact of isolation and quarantine life has already begun to make its way through the global population with extreme, moderate and low level responses. Before it's too late, let’s take corrective action in time and not let this become another pandemic the world was not prepared for.