ALL IN THE MIND

THE PANDEMIC HAS TRIGGERED A BROADER DELIBERATION ON HOLISTIC WELLBEING, INCLUDING MENTAL HEALTH, AND WHY IT IS KEY FOR ENSURING A PRODUCTIVE WORKFORCE

- ZAINAB MANSOOR

Close to completing its second year, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted each of us in unfathomable ways. Considered most daunting of its effects initially were its implications on physical health and the resulting economic fragility that left businesses fraught and economies reeling.

However, equally disconcerting, though less deliberated, was its influence on mental health – of the general public and employees in particular. Whether behind counters or in front of desktops, managing customers or delivering projects, employees faced an incredible amount of stress, their wellbeing plagued amidst rising levels of economic uncertainty, tall expectations and sheer exhaustion.

“Covid started the conversation about how important emotional and mental health is to a healthy business and/or country,” notes Dr Saliha Afridi, clinical psychologist and MD at The LightHouse Arabia, an accredited provider of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training in the UAE. “For the first time in history the impact of employee wellbeing was so directly apparent within the corporate sector. Governments and corporations had to pay attention and mental health could no longer be seen as something that falls under ‘personal issues’.”

Numbers back a broad consensus that the pandemic’s impact on mental health and wellbeing has been colossal. According to a study by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence last year, the year 2020 was the most stressful year in history for the global workforce. The study, which also surveyed workers in the UAE, found that a staggering 91 per cent of people in the country said that their mental health issues at work impacted their home life negatively, while 77 per cent said that they would prefer to talk to a robot rather than their manager about anxiety and stress at work.