Can you spot 'lockdown fatigue'?

Day 50 of lockdown in the UK

- Monday 11th May 2020.

A milestone that came and went so quickly. I'm beginning to forget what day it is as they are now all merging into a blur of occasional work (sometimes even manual), eating, exercising, eating, watching TV, eating and drinking. I really need to find a way of keeping my head out of the fridge! All around the country, there are 'self-talks' taking place as we battle with our behaviour during these strange times and tell ourselves to get a grip, quit the moods, stop the excessive calorie consumption, do something useful and think positively. We will get out of this place soon, won't we? There are very few people to talk to around us and the Government are still not happy for us to meet friends and family so the pressure builds up and up.

But there are many of us who are managers of teams, still responsible for leading people during this crisis, for delivering against stretching targets even in tough times and we are expecting our teams to respond positively despite a significant change in the environment in which we are now working. Our people are sat in front of their screens, all day, on Zoom or Teams calls, getting WhatsApped every few minutes with requests for a response and finding themselves with hundreds of emails and instant messages when they return to their seat from lunch. Gone are the days when they could walk over to someone's desk for a few minutes to get a crucial piece of information to complete a report or presentation. Now they are chasing for it, not getting a reply and becoming more and more uptight and irritated as a result. Sound familiar?

What you are seeing play out in front of you is a form of stress, which actually is quite normal during change which is what we are all going through. Change to our working conditions, change to our routine and change to our environment can cause a downturn in your productivity. Good leaders need to be aware of the signs, cause and techniques to manage this 'lockdown fatigue' in order to be able to help others whose stress levels start to affect performance.

There is a well-known business tool called 'the transition curve' which is quite relevant to consider during the current Covid19 crisis. It is also good to refer back to at other times of change - new job, house move, new baby, merger of companies and so on.

Think back to the start of lockdown on 23rd March 2020. Some people were quite positive about working from home or being furloughed. Income was secured, it felt for some like a real bonus, not having to commute and being able to stay in their living room! This was the period of 'uninformed optimism'. They didn't really know what was about to unfold and felt that it would only be a few weeks so, hey, what the hell....we'll enjoy it!

However, after the first three weeks, reality began to dawn. This was serious, people were dying. It also was starting to become a real chore working from home. It wasn't as much fun as they thought it would be and they couldn't see their friends and families or go to the pub. Their boss was also calling them at all hours of the day and night...it was a period of 'informed pessimism'.

Then came stage 3 - the 'crisis of meaning' - perhaps 5 weeks in - people were crawling up the wall. Kids screaming, home schooling was becoming unbearable. Being in the same house as their partner 24-7 was starting to really grate on them. The neighbours were playing loud music all day and the builders next door were drilling while they were on a Zoom call. And to make matters worse, the wi-fi was shocking. Looking in the mirror, people were not happy with what they were seeing - overweight, unkempt, pallid appearances with the worst hairstyle in the world.

"God, those roots are growing quickly and I cannot possibly be seen on a Zoom call looking like this!"

It's at this point that people can go one of two ways - either to the 4th stage - to crash and burn - or to stage 5 - informed optimism. This will only come about if they can develop a personal plan to get through this crisis.

Good leaders will be able to intervene before their people 'crash and burn' and help them to craft that plan. Use the following steps to help your team members on this journey and make a difference now.

Recognise the signs - what to look for in your people (and yourself)...

• Physical - weight loss/gain, nausea, tiredness, aches and pains, headaches, allergies
• Mental - indecision, more mistakes being made, loss of concentration, more worry than normal
• Emotional - anger, loss of confidence, tension, alienation, cynicism, nervous apprehension
• Behavioural - restlessness, unable to unwind, loss/gain of appetite, drinking/smoking way more than normal, inability to swtitch out of work mode (constantly on call), too busy to relax

Identify the cause - which may be...

• Organisational - no working from home guidelines, no rules of engagement, conflict with normal office culture,
• Job - too much/too little work, unrealistic expectations, deadlines/targets not being met by staff member or colleagues, inability to get vital information, communication overload via a variety of channels, decisions not being made
• Relationships - strained with individuals, work groups, line manager, colleagues, other departmental staff
• Environment - complete lack of facilities at home, poor wi-fi, need to undertake home schooling, other family member needs including work space, parental or childcare issues
• Self - poor self-image, lack of health & beauty options to feel good, negative mood, unreal expectations, fear that Covid19 will impact on them or their family members, death or illness in the family

Respond to the situation positively...

• Keep your eyes and ears open on your calls with your staff and recognise the signs
• Identify the possible cause(s) with specific members of your team and put in some personal one-to-one time online to discuss their situation
• Listen, don't 'tell'!
• Establish changes that need to be made and make a commitment to your team member to help them - what will you do, who will you involve (if necessary) and when will it be done by?
• Communicate internally with others on a 'need to know' basis only to ensure the matter is flagged up the line if necessary and also to HR as required.
• Have a section entitled 'Lockdown Fatigue' on your weekly team meeting. Encourage sharing of coping strategies and techniques.
• Agree a weekly online catch-up to discuss the matter with your staff member and check-in to see if things are improving.
• Share action plans with your colleagues to spread best practice

A few points to think about...

• Know your people - do you understand the personal situation of each of your line reports - have they a place to work comfortably at home, do they share a house with limited space, are others using the same space/facilities and are they being expected to work in an impossible situation?
• Guidelines for your team - have you set any work/life balance rules? It's always a good idea to agree your own 'Ten Commandments', for example no emails/requests after, say, 6pm or before 8am unless they are business critical; everyone to take a lunch break and/or do some exercise daily; avoid texting or email overload - pick up the phone and speak to people. You get the idea? Ask the team to come up with their own rules of engagement and build them into a team plan.
• Check up on your staff - do you have any management tools for understanding the mood of your people? I heard a great example last week from Red Bull where leaders now ask their teams on a Monday morning to rate themselves on a 1 -10 scale for both physical and mental feelings. This is an excellent way to share the burden and help staff realise they are not in a unique position. It also allows leaders to pick up on those who are getting worse or where lockdown fatigue is really causing problems.
• Make it fun - we are in the middle of a crisis for God's sake! People will be feeling crap, so lighten the mood. Introduce some weekly activities to look forward to - online fitness classes, quizzes, after-work virtual drinks, games and so on. Encourage people to share their funny stories, favourite Spotify playlist and hilarious photos.
• Be creative with time management - I'm seeing people spending so much time on Zoom or Teams that the only time they can get any personal work done is during their lunch break or late into the evening, which is not good. So why not encourage your staff to walk and talk - conduct 1-2-1's on the move, away from the house. Combine exercise with work and get away from the mundane routine as often as possible.
• Finally, if the symptoms are your own and you need help to develop your own plan, don't be afraid to shout! Here's what you do - you call your boss and you ask for a 1-2-1 call. You explain it's about how you're feeling and you want to share your thoughts with him/her. From the lists above, prepare a list of everything that you feel is impacting positively on you right now and everything that is negative. Try and identify a possible solution for each area - this might be something that you need the help of your boss to achieve.
• Remember with lockdown fatigue, it's OK not to feel OK. But don't let it sink you or your people. React positively now.

Good luck....

Stewart Regan is Founder and Owner of Ascend Global Consulting Ltd. He is a global consultant to FIFA & UEFA, former CEO of both the Scottish FA and Yorkshire County Cricket Club and has worked with leading brands, higher education establishments and sporting organisations during a 34 year career in the brewing industry and professional sports administration.