Mental health, a mixed return to business

Mental health is increasingly scrutinized in companies, especially since the beginning of the pandemic. For employees, as for managers, the last few months have not been the easiest. For many, telecommuting has been the norm, until very recently. If some leaders want to continue to adopt this pace of work, accompanied by a few days on site for a more hybrid format… Other companies offer their employees to return full-time to the site, starting at the beginning of September. An upheaval after months of working at home, having new operating habits. But how do employees and their leaders approach this change?

Returning to work, a source of stress and worry

In companies, the month of September sounds like the return to work. After a summer holiday that is very popular with employees, it’s time for them to get back to the office. Some are returning after working from home for a long time, and have very mixed opinions about their state of mind about this recovery. This is due to the long absence of offices, and the fear of seeing a rhythm just found upset again.

Indeed, the adaptation to teleworking was rapid, especially for employees and their managers who had never worked remotely. Also, the prospect of returning to work after the holidays is perceived in a rather mixed way according to the people. For leaders, the return to work is rather optimistic. 28% are in a very positive state of mind, while 44% are optimistic, but still with some apprehensions. Ensuring the return of employees, and finding a rhythm after the summer break can be a source of questions.

On the employee side, the trend is much less optimistic. Indeed, they are much more pessimistic and worried than their superiors about returning to the company. 31% mention a lot of fears about returning to site; 22% are very pessimistic about the recovery, while only 29% are more optimistic, despite some apprehensions.

Before returning to work, the summer holidays were the perfect opportunity to rest and get back on the right foot. For the leaders, this holiday has been life-saving. 64% feel boosted and motivated for the return to work, 59% are serene and rested, overall they feel good for more than 68%. On the other hand, for employees, the physical state is very different. The holidays have rather been a source of questions, not very relaxing.

Employee company tension stress
The mental health of employees is impacted with the return to work.

Mental health, a lever that is still too little considered in companies

Overall, employees feel more tired than before the holidays. 58% feel that they have not recovered enough to calmly return to the office. 51% even feel depressed. Only 42% of employees feel motivated after their holidays. The uncertainties related to the return to work, the intensity of tasks and the issues related to the resumption of activity, especially in the most affected sectors are sources of questions, impacting the mental health of the teams.

Employees’ fears mainly concern all issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Faced with the gradual lifting of restrictions, the situation is changing again, and employees fear that they do not have enough support in their work. They believe that more than 53% of the support given to them is insufficient, compared to 31% of leaders.

Overall, this is not a problem related to accompaniment in the context of work; but rather a desire to have better management. Events during the day that help to promote exchanges, such as meetings, meetings. These interactions that many employees missed during telework.

This affects the mental health of all teams. Indeed, faced with this situation and the growing fear of employees, what about mental support solutions? The majority of employees and managers agree that nothing is put in place to take care of mental health in the workplace.

The lack of openness of employees within the company is the main obstacle for 56% of respondents. Then comes a significant lack of knowledge of mental health and the solutions that exist to listen to employees. Finally, employees think above all that it comes from a lack of will on the part of their manager, for 39%, against only 11% of business leaders. There are therefore elements to put in place so that the return to school goes as smoothly as possible.

Sources:

Do the French have the morale for this September school year? Moka Care survey published on August 30, 2021

Do the French have the morale for this September school year? published on August 30, 2021

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