Stress Awareness Month-Coronavirus & Mental Health

With the coronavirus pandemic causing distress across the world, Stress Awareness Month reminds us of the importance of mental health.

Held every April since 1992, Stress Awareness Month is organised by the Stress Awareness Society to raise awareness of the causes, and cures, of stress. The society outlines that, as stress can lead to the development of mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, it is important to be prepared to tackle it as it arises. For the next month, it will present a number of blogs, newsletters and campaigns to help individuals cope with stress.

Now more than ever it would seem to be important that organisations are aware of the signs of stress and, particularly, the steps they can take to combat it. Employees suffering from stress are more likely to make mistakes in their work, become irritable with colleagues and management and take an increased number of sick days. For those who are still going into work during the coronavirus crisis, it is essential that organisations observe staff and strongly encourage them to come forward with any concerns they may have. It is also important to remain flexible in responding to these situations; although it may be disruptive if there are issues in how an individual is working, consider their situation and why they may be feeling higher levels of stress.

It is harder to keep an eye on staff if they are now working from home. However, organisations who have a large number of home workers on the books should maintain regular contact with them. If there are issues in their work, it may be that they are struggling with this new arrangement and the organisation could need to consider alternatives, such as placing them on furlough, if possible.

Staff who are struggling during this crisis should also be referred to any third-party counselling services that the organisation offers, such as an Employee Assistance Programme. These can offer advice and assistance to those who may have personal and professional issues.

It should always be remembered that whilst stress is in itself not a disability, if poorly managed it can lead to other conditions that are. To this end, it is important that organisations are prepared to respond to issues of stress not only for reasons of employee wellbeing. The last thing they want is to face a claim of disability discrimination.