We must demonstrate leadership

For families and communities across Northern Ireland, these remain very unsettling times.

Coronavirus has changed life as we know it and affected us in ways we could have never envisaged. Lockdown measures have been in place for some time now and will be continuing for the next few weeks.

Our political leaders are rightly focused on protecting the public from the physical impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employee health also remains the number one priority for local firms. But there’s no question – extending restrictions will bring serious challenges for many companies. The Government’s financial lifelines for business will matter more than ever. And when scientific and medical evidence shows it’s safe to do so, attention will turn to how we can plan for the revival of our economy.

In the past few weeks, the CBI has spoken a lot about the impact that coronavirus has had on Northern Irish firms and the need to treat this as both a public health and economic emergency. We’ve stressed that health and safety always come first, highlighted the steps companies have taken to support their people and been thankful for quick interventions from government to protect lives and livelihoods.

Yet there’s one other important issue that remains front of my mind. All employers urgently need to step up their mental health support for employees as the COVID-19 crisis enters its sixth week of lockdown. Because I worry that the mental health impact of the pandemic is going to last for some time to come.

Like many people, I have been watching the news almost hourly.

It’s been important to stay informed about coronavirus – both personally and professionally. But the non-stop stream of notifications and speculation has certainly been hard to handle and isn’t helping anyone’s mental health.

The key issues I see are fourfold. One, the anxiety caused by the health risks of coronavirus, especially for staff who are or who live with someone identified as being in a ‘vulnerable group’.

Two, the reality that we don’t really know how long the current crisis may last. This, of course, has a knock-on effect on people’s work and financial situation. Whether, for example, that’s the current social distancing measures, potentially, increasing staff isolation or the increased pressures placed on working parents and carers by nursery and school closures.

Three, the workload demands that high staff absences place on employees – due to people falling ill or needing to self-isolate, particularly in critical sectors. And, four, the challenges facing businesses due to the critical drop in demand.

All these issues together can create a toxic mix for people’s mental health.

Businesses can and must demonstrate leadership – by helping to triage current employee concerns and over the long-term help break down the stigma of poor mental health. Because the reality is that everyone at some point will be affected by poor mental health during this period, whether that’s their own personal experience or someone they care about.

Statistics show that mental health is the leading cause of absence in Northern Ireland, accounting for 31.9% of all working days lost. And figures recently published by CIPD/Simplyhealth show that only 31% of managers are considered to be sufficiently confident to initiate discussions around mental health and help staff gain expert sources of help.

With so many people working differently, whether at home or working different shift patterns, it can be even harder for managers to pick up on cues that their colleagues might be struggling. It’s essential that managers are regularly checking in with their team and making use of video calls, so interactions can be as personal as possible.

Finding ways to encourage people to feel comfortable talking about their emotions and seek practical support if they need it matters more than ever. While the coronavirus crisis is temporary, adjusting to our new ‘normal’ requires kindness, compassion and communication like we’ve never seen before.