Because of this dreaded situation, people were forced to be in the state of quarantine and lockdown. This was either imposed by the government or self-imposed. In both the situations, the daily life of the individual under quarantine and lockdown is hugely affected. Mental health issues may not be the direct effect but they are the indirect effects of the situation. The major effects of Lockdown are social isolation and loneliness.

Social isolation and loneliness have a great adverse effect on the mental health of the individual. These lockdowns and quarantines have brought a lot of questions on the surface like health, economy, job stability and job growth and many significant questions like this. The most common consequences of Lockdown are:
● Anxiety
● Depression
● Harmful behaviours

Anxiety and depression are straightforward but harmful behaviours are a lot more complex. This may include alcohol consumption, substance misuse, smoking (very dangerous in covid), gambling, domestic issue, child abuse, self harm and even Suicide. According to NCBI, there is 30% in suicide during this pandemic outbreak and 29% of healthcare workers are experiencing probable emotional distress.

This emotional distress, anxiety and depression is affecting many of the employees in almost every industry. These mental health issues not only affect the individual in their personal but also have an adverse effect on their professional life.

This becomes very important for the employers to come up with the support of employees during mental health problems. This is very essential for the employers if their employees are their physical and mental state. Any deviation in physical and mental health can cause both short term and long-term issues for the employers.

These issues can be anything but not limited to:

● Employee Absence
● Reduced ‘performance
● Adverse situations
● Legal Liabilities

As we have established a strong case of employers taking care of the mental health of their employees after lockdown which is itself an extraordinary situation. The employers can come up with their own strategies. Here we have stated actionable essential in helping employees returning to office after lockdown:

Ensure the health and safety of your employees
This is the foremost assurance employees want from their employers. The health and safety precautions taken by the employers can save a lot of talking and thinking time for the employees which can increase productivity when returning to physical office spaces after a very long time. This mental assurance also helps the employees to help freely discuss their issues which are limiting their performance.

Symptoms identification by immediate managers
If there is an employee who is suffering from mental health issues, their immediate manager should be able to identify the issues by the symptoms shown in the behaviour. There are behaviour changes when someone is suffering from mental health problems.
There should be group sessions for the employees and the managers so they can identify the symptoms in their subordinates so they can report the same to the concerned department.

Remove social stigma attached to discussing mental health issues in the workplace
Discussing mental health issues in the office is a social stigma associated with most of the employees. The lack of discussion is reasoned by their behaviour perception and growth. Social Stigma of discussing mental health is a taboo in the workplace. Usually the younger workforce between 25 to 45 years is very hesitant to report such mental health issues in the offices. Employers should encourage their employees to report such problems. Awareness and Encouragement programs should be regularly conducted for the employees. These programs can encourage the employees to discuss their mental health in correct platforms.

Employee Engagement
Frequent Employee Engagement programs should be conducted by the employers through their HR departments and the front line manager. Both 1 on 1 and group sessions are beneficial depending on the scenario. Regular employee engagement can make the employees comfortable in discussing their mental health issues. The employer should keep these conversations private and confidential so that these reporting increases in the future.

Regular mental health checkup by Specialist
Employers should think of calling in the mental health specialist for the regular visit and checkup of the employees. Meeting with the specialist is always helpful if someone is hesitant to reveal the mental health problems. These specialists can easily identify the issues if any employee is facing them. They can advise the individual if anyone requires further advance treatment.

Social Engagement in Office Culture
After these lockdowns, it is very difficult and a time taking process for the employees to get back to the normal office routine. Those group meetings and lunches, coffee machine conversations are little distant events from now. Social distancing is the need of the hour but social distancing should not decrease the level of social engagement among the employees. The employers should encourage a buddy system or something similar to that which brings back the social connect and the feeling of togetherness.

Stress-buster Activities
Work stress and bringing the office routine back into life can be overwhelming sometimes. This can be prevented with occasional stress relieving activities. This can include workout, yoga or meditation sessions or some fun activities or any activity which can relieve the stress in the employees.

Top to down: lead by example
People usually learn and follow the people who are influential around them. Sometimes they see them as role models. In the office these people are usually in the senior management. If the employer wants to incorporate or adopt new habits in their employees related to physical or mental health, this can be done by the senior management following those new habits and protocols. This becomes adoptable among the employees if they see the senior doing the same. This becomes a very good example of leading by example.

These are few actions which we think that an employer can adopt when their employees will be resuming the office after lockdowns and quarantines. Adopting each and every action can be a bit overwhelming for an employer due to the constraints of time, cost and expertise. You can choose according to your situation.

If you are following any action different from the actions mentioned above, please do right to us at info@techdrag.net.

– Pankaj Kumar

In the complex and hyper-competitive business environment, whether you are selling services or your innovative product, you have to understand the real rational need of customers, their emotions, and connect with them to solve their problems. This is where the human-centered Design Thinking approach comes into play.

To move from sustainable innovation to disruptive innovation, we need to understand a critical aspect that emotions have a profound influence on a customer’s buying or product usage behaviors and trends. The emotional aspect has a far bigger influence on decision making compared to logic or reasoning. When the business objective is growth and decision makers are human beings, we cannot solve a problem only by using a set of analytical tools – we need to instill a design thinking culture to include the customer/user as the central focus for any problem-solving or innovation journey.

– Rajesh Bansal

Statistics on Work-Life Balance
According to www.pcma.org, following are the statistics on work-life balance:
• 57 percent of employees think that the technology has ruined the definition of a family dinner.
• 60 percent of employees blame bad bosses for the most negative impact on work-life balance.
• 38 percent of employees have missed life events because of bad work-life balance.

Hindrances
• You always have a day of weekdays where you have to submit something urgent the next day. There remains no other option but to complete it in the after hours or at home.
• You have this boss who is fond of taking meetings at the end of the office hours which are prolonged.
• Some sudden urgent request pops up from one of the reputed clients.
• Extended client engagement.

What you Miss in Life
You can always think of many important events which get sidelined because you were not available that day. It can be anything:
• Those romantic dates
• Social meetups with family and friends
• Birthdays and anniversaries of loved ones
• Workout sessions
• Pre-decided trips
• Health check-up of self and pets
• Home repairs
• Pending shopping
• Music concerts, exhibitions, plays, and movies
• Many more…..

Importance and Benefits
Work-life Balance is the most talked aspect of the life in one or the other discussion. You may call it something else but the core issue remains the same.
• A healthy work-life balance gives you a break from your monotonous routine.
• You will always get some time for yourself, family, friends, and relationships.
• You are never accused of not having time for others.
• Your wives and girlfriends will never get a chance (this is not guaranteed) to say that legendary accuse “you don’t give much time to me these days”.
• Your kids and life partners will always feel your involvement on those special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
• You can go in search of your passion and get some time for hobby exploration as well.
• You can also involve yourself in some community work which leads to a great satisfaction.
• Even the pets have some expectations as well.

What Happens in Office, Stays in Office

How to make it possible
• Have a healthy routine for weekdays as well as weekends.
• Always come on time and leave on time.
• Start your day with organizing your tasks for the day.
• Time Management is a key to arrange some extra time for sudden office errands. Use calendars and notifications so that you are not forgetful of important tasks.
• Collaboration is very helpful in dividing bigger tasks into smaller once. This saves time and effort of a single person.
• Office meetings should have a pre-decided agenda and duration so that they are completed in time.
• Always complete the task before the deadlines instead of always pumping up the effort in the end.
• Focus only on working hours rather than justifying office hours.
• Stay away from distractions like social media, games, gossiping in the office.
• Work-life balance is not only affected by extending office work but also bringing some personal problems and work to the office. This also eats up office time.
• Have some personal expectations from yourself.

Conclusion
You should always keep in mind that you work to have a better life for yourself and your loved ones. More work can give you more money but time lost can never be recovered. Make the most of the time you get. Give your best to your work and life. Don’t just be busy but stay productive on both the fronts.

– Pankaj Kumar

I am uniquely positioned to comment on this topic. As a millennial myself, I lead a talent acquisition firm that places hundreds of jobseekers nationwide every year. Engaging and convincing candidates for opportunities is the name of the game. Yet the strategies that worked at the start of my tenure 6 years ago versus today has changed quite a bit. A significant reason is that we submit a much greater proportion of millennial profiles today. In order to attract young talent to our clients’ requirements, we must correctly gauge what they prioritize in their career goals.

As more and more Baby Boomers reach retirement, millennials will climb up the corporate ladder to fill vacancies. In fact, Deloitte’s recent survey shows that 20% of millennials hold leadership roles already and that will only continue to grow. Millennials have a huge influence on the work environment and are beginning to write the rulebook. For example, millennials strongly advocate for policies that push for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This is likely because we are the most racially diverse generation in US history with 30% non-white millennials. The employer brand matters more to millennials as well. An organization’s vision and mission statement play an important deciding factor in where millennials choose to work. 61% of millennials are worried about the state of the world and feel personally responsible for making a difference. Millennials expect workplace flexibility and do not like to adhere to a strict 9-5 schedule. Their rationale is that they are tech savvy and “plugged in” at all times regardless of where they are located.

One common perception is that millennials are fickle, that they like to hop from job to job at the drop of a pin. As a result, many organizations avoid hiring young talent. But how can you compare generational classes within the same time period when their age ranges differ by decades? Of course, the 28-year-old novice who is tied down with less responsibilities and uncertain about his or her career pursuits will be less stable than the 53-year-old who has settled into a suitable career. Rather, if we control for age and then compare job tenure durations, then surprisingly enough, millennials actually stick around longer than Gen X according to the Pew Research Center. This misconception is causing many companies to miss out on the critical opportunity of low-cost fresh talent.

Recognizing these realities about millennial workforce expectations is necessary for a successful talent acquisition program. We actively listen to our millennial consultants to understand what excites them when searching for their next gig. On the flipside, we strive to educate our customers about such transformations in the workforce and how they can best navigate them.

 

– Akshay Gupta