COVID-19’s Impact on Mental Health in the Workplace
Huge numbers of employees are reporting a significant worsening of their mental health and expressing anxiety and safety concerns as workplaces plan to reopen. The COVID-19 crisis is highlighting the need to urgently increase investment in services for mental health or risk a massive increase in mental health conditions in the coming months, according to a recent policy brief on COVID-19 and mental health issued by the United Nations.
In this HRchat interview, we consider how mindfulness can be used by HR and leaders to address mental health issues, help build mental agility, and better respond to stress and anxiety.
Our guest this time is Dr. Geoff Soloway, founder and Chief Training Officer at MindWell-U, a health tech firm that delivers research-backed e-mental health tools that are shown to increase resilience, lower stress, and improve performance.
Listen to this interview to get Dr. Soloway’s answers to:
- Can you begin by describing how depression and anxiety have risen as a result of the recent crisis and isolation imposed on employees? Can you offer any statistics around this?
- How is anxiety manifesting itself in employees as they face the prospect of re-entering the workplace?
- What are some of the consequences for employers if they don’t tackle this now?
- What is mindfulness and why do you believe it is so popular?
- What is the evidence base and science behind mindfulness?
- As workplaces plan to reopen, how can mindfulness techniques be used by HR and employers to address mental health, help build mental agility and better respond to stress and anxiety?
More About Dr. Geoffrey Soloway
Geoff has been working in the area of health promotion, mindfulness, and wellbeing for almost 20 years. He completed a PhD on Mindfulness at the University of Toronto, as well as a Master’s of Education on Holistic Education. Geoff has worked as an Instructor at the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia and as a consultant offering mindfulness-based workshops and programs for professionals in the workplace.