Report shows effects on workers of the pandemic and an unprepared business world
The American workplace was unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it would have on workers. That is a key take-home point from this year’s Mind the Workplace report by Mental Health America.
In 2020, workers were more stressed than ever, more worried about their physical health and mental
health, more anxious about their finances, more concerned that their employers and
supervisors were unsympathetic to the stresses they felt.
More than half also were looking for another job — when unemployment was high and job creation
was slowing, showing that workers felt trapped in their jobs, causing a severe blow to productivity.
MHA’s third annual Work Health Survey provides an opportunity to better understand the mental health challenges employees were experiencing during the pandemic.
The Work Health Survey measured the perceptions of over 5,000 employees across 17 industries in the United States. Survey questions measured financial insecurity, burnout, supervisor support, workplace stress, and mental illness. The survey explored the relationship between workplace and supervisor support, and its impact on burnout and employee mental health outcomes as work environments adapted to pandemic-related changes.