Prioritise employee mental health

While the country nears almost two years into lockdown, gradually returning to work has become a reality for many.

According to South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) senior councillor Tracy Feinstein, it is fair to say that every person’s mental health has been impacted in some way, shape or form during the lockdown.

The re-integration back into the workplace, even after contracting and recovering from Covid-19, will place an increased amount of pressure and anxiety on the well-being of a number of employees.

Feinstein recently sat down with occupational therapist Alice Gelderblom Waddilove and clinical psychologist Nkanyiso Madlala to unpack some of the challenges facing employers and employees during the re-integration as well as some of the benefits for people to consider about seeking professional support during this journey.

According to Madlala, there have been two common trends among his clients who are returning to the workplace: a fear of contracting Covid-19 and re-socialising with other people.

“People have been working from home for a really long time now, they have been somewhat protected from Covid-19 and in control of their environment.

“The fear of returning to work and learning how to interact with people, who are coming from other environments and different backgrounds, raises a lot of anxiety.”

Gelderblom Waddilove added that there is also a concern among people who have previously contracted and recovered from Covid-19 that they may not be performing as well as they did before.

“There is all of this guilt, anxiety and depression that people are feeling, regards of the fact that one of the side effects of having Covid-19 is fatigue. We still continue to place this pressure on ourselves,” she said.

This is why conversations around the return to the workplace are important, said Feinstein.

In a survey conducted by Sadag last year, in which over 1 000 people participated, 59% of people already felt some sort of stress prior to the lockdown.

This number increased to 65% after just one month into the lockdown and there is no doubt that this number significantly increased after almost 18 months into lockdown.

“We all know that the one thing that we are not okay with working with are these heightened levels of anxiety, which often manifest in panic, and start to spiral down into depression. That is when your workplace performance is really affected,” said Feinstein.

She added that it was time for professionals in the business industry to realise that employees are not only dealing with the physical illnesses of the pandemic but also psychological illnesses associated with the pandemic.

“A little bit of therapy and professional support in the early days of reintegrating back into the workplace is great and quite beneficial for getting you and your employees back to the required performance.”

Feeling uneasy about returning to work? Contact the Sadag mental health line on 011 234 4837

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