As millions of people currently work from home, this should mean getting more exercise and enjoying family time together, which should lead to increased happiness and well-being. In fact, research shows that we are working harder than usual in most cases, while spending less time on exercise and recreation.
Much of this may be due to the difficulties of adapting to change. There is no "new normal" yet to adapt, neither in society nor in the business world. Therefore, the stress gained due to changing conditions is not likely to disappear anytime soon.
Technology can help us manage change – so can it also help us cope with the stress and mental pressures of change? After speaking to more than 12,000 people in 11 countries, 76% say their company now believes their company should do more to protect the mental health of their workforce, with a large majority saying that mental health issues at work are affecting their home life.However, a big clue to where the solution to this dilemma might lie is highlighted by another statistic. 85% of respondents said they would prefer to talk to a robot rather than a human about their mental health problems at work. This partly illustrates the deep stigma that many people still feel dependent on opening up about matters of the mind. There is still a deep fear that this will mark you as weak or untrustworthy and that this may negatively affect your chances of being trusted or held accountable by senior officials. On the other hand, it also reflects that the idea of artificial power counselors or robotic mental health resources has undeniable advantages. These are the lack of prejudice,
Emily He, senior vice president of human capital management at Oracle, who recently published the findings of the AI@Work 2020 study, said: “Mental health has always been a major issue in our society and was already a big issue before the pandemic. But COVID has affected every country, every business, every organization, every family – overnight people had to make all these dramatic changes. “Meanwhile, people are also working hours because we don't know where to draw the line between work and health – we sit in the same place all day and people feel incredibly drained.”
In one area of the study, it was found that 52% of people said they have now worked at least five extra hours per week since the start of the pandemic, and 35% said they currently work more than 10 extra hours a week.So what can companies do to lessen the decline in creativity and productivity brought on by a mentally unhealthy workforce? The first step, according to experts, should be the same emphasis placed on mental health as that on physical health and workplace health and safety. While it's not possible for employers to perform the same level of physical health assessment that we can all do while we're all connected to the office – such as ensuring our work spaces are comfortable and safe – there are steps that can be taken to monitor and assess mental health. Most importantly, there are support measures that can be implemented when needed.
Emily He says: “In many ways, HR teams need to come together and figure this out – there are no plans to handle such a crisis and you have to improvise solutions.” Emily He also noted some examples of good practice she encountered at her firm and at other firms (Oracle offered employees extended leave to manage their childcare responsibilities). For example, Netflix, which offers backup childcare services, and Pepsico, which launched a virtual education service to help families with school-aged children from home.
Other organizations have implemented digital “listening tools”, often including weekly surveys, to gauge the temperature of mental health across the workforce. Another common approach is to monitor quality and increase the frequency of communication between employees and management. “There is often a feeling of disconnection or isolation when working from home. It is important to hear from leaders frequently, which is why many companies are currently holding open Q&A sessions or “ask me anything” sessions with executives – all done virtually. ”
Let's move on to some interesting statistics that show how popular the idea of discussing mental health issues with robots has become (or alternatively, how unpopular it is to discuss it with human managers). In fact, the study reveals that 82% of people believe robots can support their mental health better than humans.
There are some obvious opportunities here. Chatbot technology has been enthusiastically adopted in many large organizations, where you increasingly find custom-built personal digital assistants using natural language technology to answer questions about daily operations and procedures.
Emily He says: “If you can train a digital assistant to provide the right help and advice, it will be a huge help for employees. What I find fascinating when it comes to technology is that employees using digital assistants as additional co-workers are not new, but there is an additional dimension to mental health due to the sense of stigma – people want a safe place where they can ask these questions. That's the role technology can play, you can ask questions and get help faster at any time in a completely private way. ”
The findings and statistics revealed by the Oracle survey are replicated in many other studies that have emerged since the start of the pandemic. Another study examining the impact on people's lives was published by the UK's Office for National Statistics. The research cites the emerging 'perfect storm' of mental health stressors brought on by lockdowns, economic concerns, winter weather, mandatory social distancing and isolation. It was found that 69% of adults said the pandemic had a negative impact on their lives, 63% were worried about the future, and 53% felt "stressed or anxious".
As we move into the dark days of dark winter, when infection levels are rising in many parts of the world and uncertainty remains for much of our lives, it is clear that technology offers some exciting possibilities. Employees have now made it clear that they expect their organizations to prioritize support for their mental health; we should expect these organizations to rise to the task by developing and implementing innovative solutions that fit the new challenges we face. Otherwise, they may find that the mental health crisis will have devastating effects on their business.
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