The increasing pressure of work under lockdown

Whether they’re furloughed or working from home, the pandemic is ratcheting up pressures for UK employees.

A Canada Life study has flagged increasing ‘presenteeism’, with more than a third of staff surveyed saying they’d continued to work while they were ill. Around a half had felt a greater need to be ‘present’ while WFH. Staff pointed to the pressures from higher workloads during lockdown, a lack of feelings of security and the threats from redundancy.

Another study, this time for KnowBe4, has pointed to furloughed workers unable to detach themselves from their responsibilities. 70% of people in their survey admitted to having been checking their work emails; 40% to responding to work emails: worried they were missing out on time-sensitive messages; wanting to avoid returning to an email mountain on their return to work; or just afraid of falling behind. Employees most likely to break furlough rules because of their anxiety worked in HR, education and IT.

“While HR are still able to contact staff to check on how they’re doing and keep them informed of developments in the organisation, furloughed staff who take part in any business activity are jeopardising their employer’s entitlement to state aid,” says Eugene Farrell, EAPA chair.

“During this time of so many different pressures: around finances, insecurity, isolation, physical and mental health, an EAP is an invaluable resource. For anyone, furloughed or otherwise, at home or on the front line, there’s someone to talk to, with the expertise to unpick all the tangles of personal and work issues.”

Preparing for the return to work

While the official lockdown is easing, the return to workplaces is cautious and will come with substantial changes according to a new People Management poll. 

Of the 500 HR professionals surveyed, 55% believed staff would continue working from home. So far, only 4% of the employers had asked any staff to return to work since the change on 11 May. 24% were waiting for explicit guidance from the Government for its specific sector before changing their work-from-home regime.

In terms of post-pandemic plans, 67% plan to alter their workplace layout to help ensure social distancing (40% aim to promote back-to-back rather than side-to-side or face-to-face seating); 54% intend to stagger shift patterns; 53% fewer and shorter meetings. 19% will introduce temperature checking at entrances. Only 6% are considering the introduction of their own regular Covid-19 testing.

“Whenever the majority of employees eventually return to their workplaces, they are going to find themselves in a different environment, with different practices and routines,” says EAPA chair Eugene Farrell.

“We know from long experience that one of the most important sources of reassurance and comfort for people suffering from any form of psychological stress is a sense of normality. Being back at work. Chatting to colleagues. Falling back into comfortable routines with their little ups and downs. But this isn’t going to happen in any easy kind of way.

“In other words, going back to ‘normal’ work will be another jolt, a new realisation of the extent of the effects of the crisis. People will have to get used to more change and uncertainty before they can settle again.

“Under these circumstances, any existing worries, pressures from home or work, can be exacerbated. Nothing is so simple as dealing with one single issue – and that’s where EAPs come into their own, in unpicking knots of personal and work-related challenges and providing a breadth of knowledge and expertise to help people keep moving forward, to feel stronger and more secure in coping with each change and new development.”

Eight Key Strategies to Prepare and Support Employees Returning to Work

Caroline Ribeiro-Nelson, Executive board member of EAPA UK, Head of Free Choices: Mental Health & Well-being Consultant, Psychotherapist, Coach & Trainer

The easing of lockdown and a gradual return to work means employees and businesses are faced with a major new challenge. How can they prepare for a safe and effective return to work? 

Sustainable strategies demand the recognition of a number of factors: understanding and responding adequately to stakeholder expectations; the safety requirements for physical and mental health; as well as addressing the psychological impact of this crisis. All of these are crucial in supporting employees to re-enter and engage confidently with their work. 

A significant starting point is the acceptance that a return to work, for many people, will not be ‘business as usual’. Working practices will need to change. It is also important to be aware that individuals will react very differently to challenging events, so leaders and managers need to be prepared for a range of different responses.

1. Acknowledge employee needs and the impact of the crisis: leaders and managers need to keep in mind the range of psychological and emotional consequences of the present crisis: making a clear acknowledgment of the situation, its impact, and the continuing risks helps to express the that a sense of responsibility for the workforce has been recognised and helps to enlist joint co-operation.

2. Check-in and offer emotional support: leaders and managers should also take time to check-in on employees and find out how they are doing. Empathy is an essential part of how to express a genuine understanding and interest in the experience and welfare of others. Listening, acknowledging how the situation could be impacting people and offering appropriate support services helps to reduce feelings of fear and promote a sense of security.

3. Ensure you have open and continuous communication: one of the most helpful and essential processes, particularly when dealing with crisis situations, is providing employees with relevant information on their work, as well as the business status, keeping people regularly updated. In seeking to reassure and reduce anxiety and uncertainty, employers can provide support by giving a clear explanation of changes to work routines and expectations, along with details on how the situation is being managed.

In responding to the Covid-19 crisis it is particularly important to communicate clearly the health and safety measures put in place to protect the welfare of employees. People need to have confidence that someone is taking responsibility and that action is being taken to address the situation in the best way possible.

4. Understand expectations and remain flexible: there is a need to listen, acknowledge and wherever possible try to accommodate reasonable expectations. That means respectfully expressing what can be done rather than focusing too much on what cannot be done. Being flexible and making reasonable work adjustment are vital to being supportive, as well as gaining optimal engagement and productivity. Businesses should consider the possibility of flexible conditions relating to work hours, working from home, employee roles and tasks, time off, adaptation of working practices and provision of any necessary resources. 

5. Review and establish your business processes: businesses should ensure that comprehensive and up to date policies and procedures are established, specifying defined regulations and resolution strategies. Enabling businesses to perform at optimal level involves having people and operating systems that are adaptable and flexible, that can be part of a problem-solving approach. Employees are then fully informed and can function within an effective structure with clear guidance. 

6. Match present demands and needs with appropriate responses: following any crisis, businesses should be committed to getting things back on track as safely and quickly as possible. Identifying the present demands and needs of employees and responding in a direct and practical manner actively supports this process. It also contributes to building a strong and positive company culture based on a sense of trust and psychological safety.

7. Navigate a new course: if businesses are to maintain direction and respond successfully to the needs of employees and the demands of the situation, then an openness to different ways of doing things is an absolute necessity. Progress can be held back by insisting on sticking to a rigid course and not adapting working practices. Recognising when something is no longer necessary or fit for purpose and altering direction serves to constructively optimise an employees’ return to work. Leaders and managers can develop and implement changes through lessons learnt, good practice, continuous feedback and a clear complaints and corrective measures process.

Connect and utilise external professional services: post-crisis, people can often feel fearful or apprehensive about returning to work. Collaborating and building new partnerships with relevant professionals and organisations can help with innovation, a greater sense of safety, engagement and increased productivity, as well as bring about the creation of stronger and more effective support structures. Most importantly this can promote the positive health and wellbeing of leadership and employees.

Round-up of latest benefits research 

A quarter of employers have increased spending on their existing EAP, extending the range of services to help staff through the fall-out from the pandemic.

The survey by the Reward & Employee Benefits Association (REBA) found that more employers were either introducing (13%) or increasing availability of virtual GP services (8%).

Employers have also been looking to provide support around financial wellbeing. 62% of survey respondents are offering financial education, 31% financial advice. A number of employers have reported they are looking to set up a hardship fund for staff affected by the harsh economic climate.

New research by Willis Towers Watson [https://www.wtw-healthandbenefits.co.uk/news/news-releases/employee-benefit-programmes-covid-19] backs up the argument that benefits strategies in general will be affected for the long-term. It found that 42% of companies have made or plan to make changes to benefits offerings as a direct result of Covid-19: 60% want to enhance their wellbeing programme, 58% their mental health and stress management offering, 26% are aiming to improve annual leave entitlements. 

Employers pointed to the importance of benefits communications in the coming year – with EAPs being flagged as the biggest priority for awareness-raising activity (79%).

At the same time, a minority are looking at reducing benefits. The most likely to be negatively affected in the wake of the crisis are annual leave (8%) and retirement benefits (5%).

Eugene Farrell, EAPA chair, said: “The new focus on EAPs isn’t a blip. All the evidence from employers and their conversations around needs for now and the future reflect a fundamental, lasting change. Mental wellbeing across the huge number and variety of people affected by the pandemic needs professional support. Employer awareness of psychological health has become a pillar of organisational stability and performance. 

“But, as the Willis Towers Watson research shows, there continues to be an issue around the awareness of EAPs. Many employees haven’t considered using the service before, they’ve let information pass them by as ‘not for them’, and aren’t aware of the full spectrum of expertise and support available to them and their family members. Now’s the time for EAPs as a sector to come together to build understanding for the new era to come.”

Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on male mental health

Andrew Kinder, Vice Chair, EAPA and Professional Head of Mental Health Services, Optima Health 

Covid-19 could well be the breakthrough in male health we’ve needed, the extreme set of circumstances that makes opening up a necessity and talking to professionals as well as family and friends the essential norm.

Traditionally men have been the ‘hard to help’ group. Whether that’s GPs or EAPs, the experience has been the same. Women are more likely to share issues with people in their networks and more likely to book themselves in to access professional support early. Men tend to wait until a condition is chronic and there doesn’t appear to be any other choice. 

The typical ‘macho’ self-image that can go along with masculinity, that sense of invulnerability, has persisted through the pandemic with reports suggesting men are more likely to be breaking lockdown and social distancing rules. But Covid-19 has also meant men have experienced months of a new virus which has no absolutely no respect for masculine attitudes, no matter how strong or determined. Men have also appeared to be more susceptible. Being unaware of underlying health conditions, poor physical or mental health in general, has become nightmarishly threatening. And, perhaps most importantly, men used to feeling in control of their lives, their career, their independence, have lost potentially much of this.

This combination of risks and disruptions to normal routines is a unique opportunity for changing behaviours among men in particular. More men are reportedly seeing how getting help is a sensible, reasonable thing to do. Getting help early certainly makes a real difference. The Covid-19 period hopefully looks to be encouraging men to face up to their feelings, realising there is no way of putting them to one side and just getting on with things. Because it’s clear how everyone is sharing the same anxieties, having to cope with fear and uncertainty over the future, whether within families, through work conversations or over social media. That gives the potential that much of the stigma of talking about feelings has fallen away.

Getting more men to be aware of their mental health is vital, not only for working through tough times, but for their physical health and resistance to the virus. We know that people’s auto-immune systems are weakened by stress and anxiety: good mental health means stronger immunity.  

For men it’s important they stop putting energy and angst into what they can’t control (so many things when it comes to current living and working conditions). There’s no purpose or value to worrying about future plans, even job security. Instead mental attention needs to be focused on what can be achieved today and tomorrow, what is going to help: a virtuous circle of physical health, good exercise, diet and sleep routines to begin with. Learning a new skill, focusing on what tasks can be done at work, finding a new hobby is ideal. With online content there’s also so much choice – and now’s exactly the time when men shouldn’t be bothering with conforming to gender stereotypes. Trying cooking, arts and crafts, playing an instrument can all contribute to building up mental wellbeing. As a consequence we don’t dwell but stay in control of what we can, and enjoy being the best we can be. 

The recovery period is also going to be the right time for men to start putting together a list of the people they can get help from, whether just in their heads or on paper: the list that confirms how they don’t have to go through problems alone, there’s always someone to talk to. It’s a chance to think more widely. Friends and family, the EAP, but also work colleagues, line manager, union rep. 

Conversations asking for help don’t have to be by phone or in person. Increased use of video calls and messaging by IT in general can make getting support easier for men. The anonymous nature of an EAP is, in itself, an important factor.  As men seek support for themselves they can also look to provide support to others.

Let’s just hope that the lessons from Covid-19, the experience of needing and finding reassurance, the rewards of being open about feelings, are the beginning of hopefully a shift in male culture, not a blip. The cataclysmic nature of global events seems to make that very likely.
You can read more about supporting male mental health in Positive Male Mind. Written by Andrew Kinder, Professional Head of Mental Health Services, Optima Health and Dr Shaun Davis, Global Director of Safety, Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability at Royal Mail, the book seeks to end the stigma around mental health vulnerability in men and includes a section on addressing male mental health in the workplace.

Long-term impacts of Covid-19 on mental illness

The Royal College of Psychiatrists is warning of a coming ‘tsunami’ of mental illness due to issues piling up through lockdown [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52676981]. 

Many people, especially children and older people, have not been able to access usual forms of support, the organisation has argued. School closure and fear of visiting hospitals means help hasn’t been available. In the College’s survey of 1,300 mental health doctors, 45% reported a fall in routine appointments being attended, while 43% had seen a rise in urgent cases. Psychiatrists fear that people don’t realise their services are still open for business.

Meanwhile, online training provided by the Zero Suicide Alliance charity to help prevent suicide has been accessed by more than 500,000 people in the UK in the last three weeks. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52702048 

“The frontline for fighting back against Covid-19 is not only in the hospitals but across all the helplines and services that provide mental wellbeing support,” says Eugene Farrell, EAPA chair.

“With EAPs open to 14 million employees and their families, the services are playing a critical role. Employees still working or furloughed need that open channel for advice, dealing with issues early and at any level, as well as being a channel that can lead to more in-depth professional counselling.

“Given the scale of the mental health challenges coming, EAPs are a key part of the national response, backing up the resources provided by the NHS and private practices. Together we can make a substantial and lasting difference to how the nation recovers and becomes stronger for the future.”

The impact of living under lockdown

New data from the Office for National Statistics shows how the impact of Covid-19 continues to change, week to week, meaning an evolving picture of experiences and attitudes.

Coronavirus is still the major feature in people’s lives in the UK, says the new survey, but general levels of ‘worry’ have started to decrease: three-quarters of adults said they were very worried or somewhat worried about the effects on the pandemic on their life, compared with 80% last week. Concerns over getting groceries have fallen from 37% to 28.5%; and on the sense of wellbeing from 48% to 42% of people surveyed. People seem to be feeling better about their finances: the number of people unable to save any money has fallen from 30% to 25%; and struggling to pay bills from 16% to 10%.

“In-between the headline figures, though, are signs of issues employers need to be aware of,” says Eugene Farrell, EAPA chair.

“There’s the increase in those working more hours – rising from 10.4% to 14.1%, for example. It’s difficult to fathom why. It could be a concern over future work, maybe poor discipline or perhaps employers driving harder? Levels of uncertainty over job security are still high. More people continue to be furloughed: up from one in five employees to to nearly one in three.

“The long-term impact of Covid-19 is increasingly a concern. The proportion of people who feel able to make plans has fallen from around a half to 44.3%. Around 40% of parents are worried about how home schooling is affecting the wellbeing of their children (up from 32%). There’s a realisation that returning to a form of ‘normality’ will take longer than previously thought. Around half of adults believe it will be longer than six months, compared with one in three after the first week of lockdown.”

Supporting NHS staff on the frontline: the experience from an EAP

Kate Nowlan, CEO of CiC and EAPA UK member talks about the experience of supporting workers on the frontline during this global pandemic.

EAPs have been in the thick of the pandemic response since the beginning of lockdown in March; each call opens up another individual perspective on a global crisis, another tangle of anxieties.  All providers will have had their own particular challenges as call volumes fluctuate and companies seek increased support delivered in new ways. 

At CiC we deliver EAP services to well over a million employees across the globe, and to every sector.  NHS staff in the UK approach us for support with issues of bereavement, exhaustion, anxiety, fear of contamination, lack of PPE and overload.  The hospitality sector need a listening ear as they worry about financial matters, mortgage payments, the risk of redundancy, homelessness.   Staff from every industry phone in to talk of feelings of isolation, finding comfort from the support an experienced clinician provides.  Global news agencies and NGOs express their need for support when being evacuated from overseas postings or when stuck abroad far from home and family. Working from home has presented a vast range of challenges, and the EAP provides invaluable help – signposting to financial and legal advice or family care experts as well as providing much needed emotional support.  Home life is different now.  Fractious relationships might lead to domestic abuse, isolation can lead to severe depression.  Parents struggle to combine home schooling with work demands.  Teenagers fret at the loss of freedom.   

The beginning of UK lockdown initially led to a marked drop-off in EAP call volume for CiC. The implications were still being worked out, key workers were intensely busy, working from home was a novelty – and for some people a welcome change, a break. For those with immediate issues there was the challenge of how an EAP could be accessed, getting the space at home to make the call. But that has been followed by a sharp rise in  the requests for help, both from employees and family members, as the full impact of the changes to everyday lives has become a reality.   Finding space to make confidential approaches to the EAP has not been easy for many, and we know that callers may take their mobiles to their cars or phone from their daily exercise routine to access support.

Clinicians answering phones have seen recurring issues over the past weeks and the role of the EAP has never been more critical.   The use of our Managerial Adviceline has increased dramatically as managers look for new tools and techniques to supervise a remote workforce and boost wellbeing.  Helpsheets on sleep, nutrition, exercise, childcare are requested alongside those that will provide resources to help with stress, anxiety or abuse.   We see an increased demand from the NHS – and also engineering and media –  for training that helps prepare staff for bereavement, a form of ‘grieving in advance’ or anticipatory grief. It’s the kind of critical incident support that would normally be delivered on site, but is now happening via online platforms.

The basic bedrock of a classical EAP is the provision of face to face counselling, on site critical incident support and regular account management meetings with key contacts.  All EAPs had to flex their interventions as a matter of urgency – improvising and innovating with different products.  Face to face sessions came to an abrupt end and the use of Skype, What’s App, Webex , Zoom became commonplace methods of communication almost overnight.  Clinicians adapted superbly to the new way of working, ensuring that callers received the same professional help that customers had always expected.  But online communication also has its down side.  Employees began to complain of burnout.  Sitting in front of a screen for hours on end, and experiencing severe exhaustion symptoms after relentless Zoom video calls.  Restful breaks – needed more than ever – have become harder to take.  It became clear that companies needed regular support from their EAP to help with the range of issues emerging as the crisis progressed.  CiC, along with other providers, has developed and delivered succinct, targeted, live web sessions for customers to focus on sharing an understanding of the changes and looking for resilient responses where possible. Organisations have found these an invaluable way of addressing this difficult topic with their people, helping them to feel they are being offered robust support and opening the channels for communication of potential risks and improvements.

The sudden changes in all our lives – WFH, being furloughed, the degrees of social isolation – have led many people to re-think everything.  A counsellor remarked: “…being isolated and with less work responsibilities has somehow forced some people to reflect about their life…as if  the crisis has taken away all external noise. And for the first time some can think about their life with a clearer perspective.” 

EAPs have come into their own during the Covid19 crisis.  There has been a popular myth these past few years that we have had our day, and there were those who predicted the gradual demise of the programmes that began life in the US in the 1930s.   In these strange times as we prepare for a New Normal we know that the companies we look after rely on us more than ever to deliver the highest quality mental health services.  Our clinicians and therapists are professional, expert frontline workers and their constant dedication to providing the very best emotional and psychological support to employees all over the world cannot be underestimated.  It is a privilege to belong to the world of EAPs.

Kate Nowlan, CEO, CiC, www.cicwellbeing.com

Supporting the new Every Mind Matters campaign

Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters campaign has taken centre stage in the response to COVID-19.

New data from the ONS has shown how over 4 in 5 of the UK population are worried about the impact of coronavirus on their life, with nearly half reporting high levels of anxiety. 

The Every Mind Matters website now includes new NHS expert tips and advice, highlighting all the practical ways people can look after their mental wellbeing and prevent concerns from turning into more serious conditions: support for specific issues such as anxiety, stress, low mood and trouble sleeping and the value of simple activities such as mindful breathing, reframing unhelpful thoughts, and muscle relaxation. Site users can also generate personalised mental well-being advice through the Every Mind Matters ‘Mind Plan’, a free interactive tool.

Awareness of the advice has been boosted by TV advertising and social media video narrated by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. 

EAPA chair Eugene Farrell says: “Our experience via EAPs has long demonstrated the critical importance of mental wellbeing to employee health – what starts as the smallest of worries has the potential to escalate into debilitating health issues with a ripple of effects. As the recent data shows, the fundamental and inescapable impacts of COVID-19 on so many lives is a huge threat to the state of the nation’s psychological health.

“But as the Every Mind Matters campaign shows, we’re also increasingly aware and accepting of the issues, there are more open conversations, more willingness to make use of expert services like an EAP. By working together, making use of the expertise available and keeping on talking, we can come out of this period even stronger than before.”

The NHS-endorsed content for Every Mind Matters’ COVID-19 response has been developed in partnership with clinicians, academics and leading mental health charities and social enterprises including Mind, Mental Health Foundation, Samaritans, Rethink, Mental Health First Aid England, the Royal Foundation, the Centre for Mental Health, Time to Change, NSUN, and What Works Wellbeing.

www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters

What have we learned from the Coronavirus pandemic so far?

Eugene Farrell, Chair, EAPA UK and Mental health lead, AXA PPP Healthcare

Coronavirus and the pandemic changed our world suddenly. Forced isolation and the collapse of normality brought uncertainty, fear and panic. But it’s also meant we’ve learned a great deal about ourselves in a short space of time.

Most of all, our lives have slowed down. Feeling comfortable with this new found space – where every minute is no longer filled with activity – is alien to many of us. We’ve had to learn how to make use of time as a newly abundant commodity. Doing nothing doesn’t come easy to many people, there’s always the temptation to fill the void, there’s frustration. Often without realising what’s happening, we’ve learnt to go with the new pace of life and make choices about what to do rather than activity ruling our time.

That’s meant some unexpected gifts: time with family; the chance to learn the value of togetherness. Yes we might sometimes feel we need space, but this time is strengthening our connections and tolerance and. A stronger sense of community has been created around us, locally and within each household, checking on neighbours, reaching out rather than standing back and letting others do things. We’ve seen how a sense of responsibility for each other and willingness to help without seeking return can be been rewarded with feelings of self purpose and meaning, and how that’s reward enough. Volunteering on a scale not seen for decades has created a new pride in doing good. Healthcare workers have a new status. We have an awareness of how many of those workers normally invisible to us, in the lowest paid roles, are doing jobs essential to keeping things moving.

Priorities have been transformed. Social isolation has fostered re-connections with family and friends as we realise the sheer importance of all the people in our lives, that we may have taken them for granted. It has taken the removal of something for us to realise how much it meant. And who would have thought we could teach a nation how to connect digitally in such a short time? Just being able to see the faces of loved ones, to hear them and just talk has taken on new value in our lives. We’re realising that we don’t need so much ‘stuff’ and are getting past the usual cravings and desires for material things. Needing to simplifying our lives has shown what’s essential and what’s not – as well as appreciating those things we no longer have access to.

Our daily routines have become more human and more healthy. What was once a privilege of those with plenty of free time, taking daily exercise has become a ritual part of our days. We’ve also learnt how we don’t have to join a gym or drive to a beauty spot – a simple walk or bike ride together, just being in each other’s company, is enough. There’s been time for introspection and reflection, to think about ourselves, listen to our thoughts, rather than being immersed in the usual noise of demands and distractions from everything external going on in the world. And that’s important for learning to be more comfortable in our own skin, with just being us in the here and now, without all the show we put up for others. Many of us have been spurred on to try many new things, like proudly showing our fresh baked bread or cakes, drawings and paintings. Giving things a go without the fear of failure and realising that we can let go of the fear of judgement has been obvious in social media posts, no longer looking to present a picture of having perfect lives.

Many of us have learned from the home-schooling experience: how much of a skill it is to keep up the motivation in our little (or sometimes quite big) darlings – a skill that teachers have mastered. Maybe we will see a new respect and understanding for all teachers and the fantastic work they do, and kids will have learnt to value the time they have with them.

How many of these powerful lessons will stay with us post-lockdown? That will be up to each one of us. But our greatest failure will have been to let all the potential positives of lockdown slip by, this time, this space. We must not look back and wish we’d done more, made more of it, that we’d seized every day.