WellbeingCOVID-19: The role of mental wellbeing strategy during a crisis

COVID-19: The role of mental wellbeing strategy during a crisis

As businesses are slowly returning back to work and preparing to “bounce back” as the lockdown period eases, a motivated and resilient workforce will be more important than ever. To commemorate Mental Health Awareness Week 2020, Anji McGrandles examines the importance of a mental wellbeing strategy during a crisis.

The coronavirus pandemic has likely created the greatest mental health challenge any of us will face in our lifetime. 56% of UK adults have said their mental health has deteriorated since lockdown began and mental health apps have been downloaded more than one million times since the start of the crisis.  From a workplace perspective it will probably change the way we work going forward with businesses offering more flexibility and home working.

Why is a wellbeing strategy crucial right now?

Because we are all facing our own unique challenges, whether it’s juggling home schooling and work, financial and job security worries, fear of a second wave of the virus or loss of a loved one, its key that going back to work, employees have the right mental health tools to deal with the next phase of this pandemic and beyond.  Having a workplace wellbeing strategy during a crisis is not a ‘nice to have’, it is essential.  Your staff will be more vulnerable, the pressure of the last few months will have had an effect on their mental and emotional health.  Like any other business activity, an effective wellbeing programme requires a succinct strategy. Who do you want to help? What do you want to achieve? How will you know if you’ve achieved it? These simple questions should be at the heart of your strategy. Not only will a bulletproof strategy give you a clear action plan, it will also help you to get the necessary buy-in you need from key decision makers.

Having a wellbeing strategy in place will help you deliver the right tone of voice and communications to ensure employees feel supported and safe and combined with training, give them the strategies they need to deal with challenges and tough days, and there is no doubt there will be tough days ahead. How businesses respond will have a lasting impact on employee behaviour, including, engagement, productivity and loyalty.

Introduce or adapt your wellbeing strategy

While business leaders are developing plans to regrow and elevate out of these difficult times, remember you need to have a productive, mentally agile team with the right energy to help you do this.  Investing in your team’s wellbeing will support this.   If you already have a wellbeing programme in place look at how you can adapt this to be more effective and relevant, for example can your wellbeing provider deliver a series of online workshops or can you create content to address mental health concerns around this new way of working.  Review your wellbeing programme and make changes to deliver initiatives that have measurable KPIs and will make an impact.

If you are currently offering gym memberships can you take this budget and redirect it to resilience training which might be more effective under the current circumstances.  Self-isolation has caused us to lose that connectedness with each other so build into your programme practices that promote positive connections with colleagues.

Now is good time to take a temperature check across the business to get a better understanding of how people are feeling about returning to work, their concerns and stressors. A wellbeing audit will help you proactively take action so your people can be happier, healthier, and more productive. By consulting with people now, you will get greater buy-in on any initiatives or new ways of working.  This data will also give you an insight into how people are feeling mentally and emotionally, and you can then use this to inform your wellbeing strategy.

Fear and uncertainty are heightened during periods of high pressure and stress so it is important to have a plan and information available around how you are making the work environment safe and ensuring staff wellbeing is paramount.  Make sure your communications are calm, confident, and clear.  Consider how your employees might be adapting to this new norm and give them the mental first aid kit they need to help them face these challenges.

Training is key to wellbeing

Build your strategy around training.  Equipping teams with skills and techniques that will up level their wellbeing will be beneficial right now. Some training topics to consider are time management strategies while working from home, stress management, emotional intelligence, resilience, effective communication, employee engagement, practicing proper health and wellness and positivity in the workplace.

A recent survey by LinkedIn revealed UK adults are working an average of 28 hours a month more since being required to work from home due to the lockdown.  Lethargic, burnt out staff won’t feel motivated or energised so encourage your team to take annual leave, switch off on an evening and implement wellbeing practices like regular exercise, meditation and mindfulness.

While we are going through these changes and acclimatising to a different way of working, it can be easy to lose your sense of culture.  Align your wellbeing strategy to your overall business strategy and ensure your programme reflects your values and culture. However you build staff wellbeing into your business plan, strike the right balance between coming back strong and being empathetic.


Anji McGrandles is the founder of workplace wellbeing consultancy, The Mind Tribe.  For support on your workplace wellbeing strategy and training please contact [email protected]

What's Hot

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for...

Attracting new talent is shooting up the priority list, but also proving more difficult than ever. A...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments 26 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture ...

The process of redefining a company culture is a complex one. Culture contributes directly to the da...

View event
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

Whitepaper | Talent Development Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

1y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. I...

View resource
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging ...

We know hybrid working is here to stay, forcing many organisations to experiment with innovative and...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain 3 March 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What...

We know the pandemic has caused many people to revaluate their careers and relationships with work a...

View event
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

Leadership Development Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

1y Dave Ulrich

Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simpl...

HR thought leader Dave Ulrich outlines ways leaders can deal with complexity in an increasingly busy...

View article
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Org...

Historically, HR hasn’t been as effective as it could be in sharing and communicating data with wide...

View event
Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

Digital HR Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

1y Leah Belsky

Digital transformation investment grows but critic...

Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital learning on a global scale. Coursera's latest report pr...

View article
Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successfully drive engagement

Employee Engagement Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successfully drive engagement

1y Alara Basul | Sponsored

Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successf...

Remote working has impacted the way we communicate as a workforce, but striking the right balance be...

View article
How to create a company culture capable of empowering the modern workforce

Culture How to create a company culture capable of empowering the modern workforce

1y Alara Basul | Sponsored

How to create a company culture capable of empower...

While new working patterns that emerged from the pandemic have earned a permanent spot in the w...

View article
WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid workplace

Leadership Learnings WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid workplace

1y Amy Kirkham

WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid wo...

Alison Noon-Jones, VP of People & Culture at Leidos UK & Europe, shares how crucial employee engagem...

View article
Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your leadership

Leadership Development Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your leadership

1y Terence Mauri

Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your...

HRD thought leader and Hack Future Lab founder Terence Mauri sets out why the biggest risk to leader...

View article
Was this article helpful?

Comments are closed.

What's Hot

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for...

Attracting new talent is shooting up the priority list, but also proving more difficult than ever. A...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments 26 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture ...

The process of redefining a company culture is a complex one. Culture contributes directly to the da...

View event
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

Whitepaper | Talent Development Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

1y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. I...

View resource
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging ...

We know hybrid working is here to stay, forcing many organisations to experiment with innovative and...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain 3 March 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What...

We know the pandemic has caused many people to revaluate their careers and relationships with work a...

View event
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

Leadership Development Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

1y Dave Ulrich

Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simpl...

HR thought leader Dave Ulrich outlines ways leaders can deal with complexity in an increasingly busy...

View article
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Org...

Historically, HR hasn’t been as effective as it could be in sharing and communicating data with wide...

View event
Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

Digital HR Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

1y Leah Belsky

Digital transformation investment grows but critic...

Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital learning on a global scale. Coursera's latest report pr...

View article