Let’s get real about mental health (and jabs, and hybrid work)

It’s been 18 months since we fled our offices en masse. Okay, that sounds dramatic. It conjures up images of congealing breakfasts and half-drunk cups of coffee left as they were on our desks, and nature taking back the cities while we hole up in suburbia. It makes it sound like I am Legend, but in real life.

The reality of work in 2021 isn’t a movie, though. It’s real. And one thing I’m seeing around me is that we’re all so tired. Everybody’s talking about mental health, and I can see why. I see the stresses, uncertainty, fear and grief caused by the pandemic in the people I work with, the clients I talk to. People are breaking down around us.

Mental health is a top concern for companies. Earlier this month, TransUnion gave its employees around the world a day off. Nike closed its doors for a week to give its employees time to relax and recharge. The message was blunt: Do not work!

Together with mental health, we have two other key issues raging around the workplace right now – mandatory vaccinations and hybrid work. Together, these three issues are creating a perfect storm that could fundamentally affect the way we experience work forever.

Mandatory vaccinations for employees is a thorny issue, to say the least. But it’s a conversation that we must be having. As more people start returning to the workplace, the question of your vaccination status is increasingly relevant. For many South African companies, like Discovery, Sanlam and Curro, it’s becoming a condition of employment.

Other businesses have stopped short of making vaccinations mandatory, but have made it abundantly clear that you can’t come to the office if you haven’t been jabbed.

Then there’s the issue of hybrid work. We’ve been talking about it for months. But it’s getting real right now as more businesses start talking about returning to the office. And here’s the problem: as McKinsey points out, while employers are ready to get back to face to face, many employees aren’t. There’s a huge disconnect between what employers want, what they think their employees want, and what employees actually want.

What does this mean? For a start, it has a huge impact on the competition for talent. People are already talking about The Great Attrition, in which people simply leave their jobs. Surveys suggest 26 percent of workers in the United States are already preparing to look for new employment opportunities, and 40 percent of workers globally are considering leaving their current employers?by the end of the year.

So what can we do?

Acknowledge that none of us has the answers

At a practical level—social aspects aside—working fully remotely is fairly easy. Make sure everyone is connected and has the tools they need, and boom. A hybrid model takes a bit more work – and it’s not as if we have any experience to guide us. So, we’ve got to ask the right questions: what work is better done in person than virtually? What work is better automated, and what work is better done in person?

These questions are nothing new. They were being asked back in 2013, by the then ground-breaking Oxford Martin study on the future of employment (PDF) that looked at how susceptible different jobs are to being automated. That discussion is becoming scarily real right now. And it should be. Some people will never come back to the office.

We’ve also got to be part of the broader ‘why’ conversations that our people are having. We must truly listen and empathize without judgement, and try and find a middle ground that works for everyone. Even if it is just for now.

Remove the stigma around mental health

If you suffer from diabetes, or have a knee injury, you’ll see a specialist, and get treated – and nobody will think twice about it. The same should apply to mental health. If your people burn out, nobody wins. According to a US study, 70 percent of employers now recognize employee mental health as a significant workplace issue, and 72 percent say stigma associated with mental illness prevents workers from seeking help. We can’t afford to let that happen. We don’t all have to give our people a week off to recharge, but we can certainly do more to ensure we’re not adding to their stress, and be there for them when they need help.

Take a stand on vaccination that supports the greater good

I’m not saying we should go as far as saying ‘no jab, no job.’ But as employers, we have a clear responsibility to our entire workforce, and to broader society. We are uniquely positioned to support vaccine adoption. That means making it easy for employees to get vaccinated without any financial consequences. It means educating them around the facts on the safety, efficacy and possible side effects of the vaccines. And it certainly means considering the implications of employees not wanting to vaccinate for whatever reason as part of our return to the office strategies and our hybrid operating model designs.

What is your company doing to support your people through this testing time? How are you supporting people who are tired, stressed and burning out? What’s your company’s official line on vaccinations, and how is it affecting your plans to get back to the office? I’d love to hear your thoughts.