Human resource professionals are an important and central cog that organizations leverage to achieve their core objectives that inform why they are in business. Senior management of an organization must always ensure that their employee welfare is taken care of, especially their mental wellbeing. One important department of modern businesses is the human resource (HR) unit because it is involved with hiring, developing, retaining, and rewarding talent within an organization. One can argue that the HR department is at the center of employee productivity and thus organizational performance. Today, the world is experiencing a highly destructive pandemic that has caused deaths, illness, job loss, and other mental health issues across the globe. According to World Health Organization, over 168,000,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 3,494,750 deaths were reported as of May 25, 202 (World Health Organization, 2021). Although scientists have managed to develop several vaccines to protect the masses against contracting the virus, such statistics are alarming. In 2020, lockdowns across the world caused about 114 million to lose their jobs. International Labor Organization estimated that the lost working hours were equivalent to over 255 full-time jobs, which translates to about $3.7 trillion lost in incomes (Richter, 2021). Loss of employment and source of livelihood can have a significant and negative impact on the mental health of individuals. According to Panchal et al. (2021), the pandemic and the associated economic recession have negatively impacted people's mental health. Also, the pandemic has aggravated the mental health statuses of those who were mentally sick pre-COVID-19 pandemic and those who were abusing drugs and substances. Having a holistic understanding of mental health menace due to the COVID-19 pandemic among HR professionals at the center of employee and organizational productivity is important for senior management.
State of Mental Health Wellness Due to Covid-19 Pandemic
As mentioned above, rising mental health cases is one of the serious consequences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, which is mostly associated with the current severe economic recession and job losses. According to Panchal et al. (2021), about 40% of adult Americans have reported some signs of anxiety and depressive disorder, increasing from about 10% reported before the pandemic's onset between January and June 2019. Further, the authors note that people have reported specific negative effects of the pandemic on their mental wellbeing. For example, 36% noted that they had sleeping difficulties, 32% eating problems, 12% increased alcohol and substance abuse, and 12% deteriorating chronic conditions due to worry and stress over the pandemic (Panchal et al., 2021). The impact of these worrying statistics is reflected in the labor sector, which also includes HR professionals. Analyzing trends in the employment sector, especially concerning the current pandemic, one will acknowledge that although the world is slowly returning to normalcy, the recovery may not be 100%. This means that people will continue losing jobs or organizations implementing cost-cutting measures.
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Mental health issues are spread across all ages, especially those with the productivity bracket, where many workers, including HR professionals, fall. Panchal et al. (2021) write that 56% of young adults between 18 and 24 years have reported anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms. Further, the authors argue that people within this age bracket are more likely to engage in drug and substance abuse (25%) compared to 13% of all adults. However, a worrying statistic is that job loss, and income loss is associated with 53% of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem (Panchal et al., 2021). Undeniably, HR professionals are not immune from mental health challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. When an organization's HR department fails, then it is expected that the rest of the labor force will be affected. Importantly, one should note that mental health due to the pandemic is associated with job or income loss and other factors such as isolation, death of loved ones, and uncertainty about an individual's career.
The implication of Employee Mental Health to an Organization
As implied above, employee wellbeing is a key determinant of how an organization performs in its quest to achieve its core objectives. Fundamentally, scholars have acknowledged that workers’ mental health is a critical pointer of their overall health which means that poor mental wellbeing due to internal and external stressors can be linked to poor performance and productivity (Rajgopal, 2010). For instance, poor mental health can result in burnout among HR professionals, negatively impacting their capacity to contribute significantly to their personal and career lives. Like other cadres of workers, HR professionals must be assured of a leeway to continuously improve all aspects of their lives. When an HR professional suffers from mental breakdown over an extended time, such as during the current pandemic, their professional progress will be negatively affected, implying that they may be considered unproductive by their employers. The aspect of unproductivity, in this case, is due to the rapidly changing employment landscape that requires employees to continuously improve their skillsets and knowledge. The classification of mental health as an occupational phenomenon by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) points towards the adverse effects of mental disorders in the workplace (International Classification of Diseases, n.d.). Such classifications give senior management an exceptional opportunity to speak on the sensitive subject evaded by many people.
However, it is important to note that the adverse impact of mental health disorders is not a preserve of junior workers, but employers are also affected. For example, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), anxiety alone costs proprietors about $35 billion from lost or declined productivity in the workplace (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2021). Connecting this with the importance of having a well-operating HR department, one recognizes that failure to ensure that HR professionals have optimum mental wellness can result in a company making unprecedented losses. Such huge losses demonstrate the impact of mental health issues at the workplace, but they are representative of the surface of the actual consequences of mental health to an organization. As indicated above, mental health problems have affected many adults since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing mental health problems with a department such as an HR division can be an expensive undertaking for an organization when not addressed on time and regularly.
Factors That Can Contribute to High Numbers of Mental Health Cases in an HR Department
Strained Relationship Between Superiors and Juniors
The onset of COVID-19 came with a need for organizations and HR departments to adjust to new ways of work. Governments across the globe and international organizations within the healthcare domain issued several guidelines to check the spread of the coronavirus. Among them was the need for people to avoid overcrowding by ensuring that they maintained social distance. Following this directive, many organizations opted to have a significant number of their employees work remotely. Although this arrangement was meant to ensure that businesses were not completely disrupted, working from home has had its share of problems. For example, according to Parker et al. (2020), the COVID-19 pandemic threw many managers into remote management, which necessitated them to have a different skill set than traditional face-to-face management. Due to the rapid manner associated with the paradigm shift in management, many leaders found their roles difficult, making the lives of their juniors stressful as they struggled to adapt (Parker et al., 2020). Trust issues within a department, working from home notwithstanding, is a recipe for mental health issues, especially due to strained relationships between leaders and subordinates. When doubts creep in, for example, in the HR department, the manager may tend to set unreasonable expectations such as requiring junior workers to be always available, ultimately disrupting their work-life balance, which is a foundation for more job-related stress.
Job Loss
Previously it was mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with job losses of unprecedented magnitude. According to Posel et al. (2021), many countries have had to deal with the heightened loss of jobs, rendering many people unable to access economic resources. Further, the authors write that due to loss of employment, there are elevated cases of depression, especially among previously employed people. When a person loses their source of livelihood, they will develop anxiety due to the uncertainty associated with their future. Fundamentally, it is important to appreciate that the pandemic provides a distinctive opportunity to assess the significance of job losses for mental health because the triggers are exogenous to individuals. Relatedly, individuals have no control over the trajectory their careers take during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, organizations may be reluctant to employ many people to salvage lost finances during the pandemic.
High Demand for Performance
The current pandemic and work-from-home model has seen businesses reduced the size of their labor forces. This reduction in the number of employees is necessitated by the need for an organization to cut costs (Rossi et al., 2020). The remaining employees are expected to assume responsibilities previously undertaken by their colleagues who have been relieved of their duties as a cost-cutting measure. Setting unrealistic goals in conjunction with overloading retained employees can have serious mental health repercussions on them. For example, such tendencies put pressure on workers, which is a tremendous source of burnout, stress, and suffering. Overloaded workers are forced to work for long hours, which can drain them emotionally.
Job Insecurity
Job security is an important factor that any employee holds dear regardless of their industry, department, or specialization. As indicated above, governments across the globe advised their masses to social distance to slow down the transmission and spread of the virus. Consequently, many non-essential businesses were closed down to execute stay-at-home orders. Also, many businesses have resorted to terminating employment contracts of some of their workers as a cost-cutting measure. Given the ravaging nature of the pandemic on the global economy, as indicated by the soaring unemployment rate, apprehensions about employment status and financial stability continue to cause psychological problems such as anxiety and depression among workers (Wilson et al., 2020). Jenna et al. (2020) continue to state that immediately after COVID-19 was initially reported in the US, the number of unemployed people rose by about 1.4 million, with 33% of US adult citizens reporting that they had lost their source of livelihood due to the pandemic. Periods of untold job insecurity are associated with this pandemic, with research projection showing that employment uncertainty will continue long after the pandemic. This implies that even those that are currently employed are not sure that of their job security.
Recommendations: Alleviating Mental Health Issues within the HR Department
Addressing mental health issues among HR professionals is an important endeavor that any senior board of management must undertake to ensure that the productivity of their workforce is optimum. Failure to address mental health issues among HR professionals will have detrimental consequences on the rest of the employees. As mentioned above, the HR department is mandated with highly sensitive responsibilities such as recruitment, training, ensuring compliance with labor laws, and employer-employee relations. Therefore, one recognizes that HR workers in an organization have immense influence over the other sectors of an institution. Leadership should strive to maintain critical infrastructure and other necessary support for employees, including those working in the HR department. Nevertheless, top leadership must understand this may necessitate modifying existing strategies, tactics, and roles. The bottom line is to ensure that all staff, especially those in the HR docket, are protected from chronic stress associated with mental health so that they can discharge their mandate as expected.
In conjunction with the HR managers, there are several strategies that the top leadership can undertake to shield or alleviate cases of mental healthcare issues with the HR department. Important to note is that the senior management must understand that combining these strategies can have maximum benefits compared to relying on a single solution. First, the senior management must consider adjusting staffing procedures and schedules within the HR department. For example, it is advisable that when within applicable legal boundaries, the HR manager rotates employees from high-stress to low-stress functions. According to Goonrey (2016), flexible work arrangements such as job rotation and variable start and completion times can cushion employees from adverse mental health issues. One of the common trends associated with COVID-19 pandemic remote working is associated with strained relationships between seniors and their juniors ( American Medical Association, 2021 ). To avoid instances of mental health issues for remote working HR professionals, the management must find ways of allowing their workers a work-life balance vital for their psychological wellbeing.
The second strategy that can alleviate mental health issues within the HR department is offering access to psychological support to employees. According to American Medical Association (AMA), providing one's staff with the source of psychological support and making this a priority can greatly improve the mental wellness of HR professionals and the entire workforce (American Medical Association, 2021). Many factors contribute to the mental wellbeing of individuals, with robust psychological support being an important one. According to Mental Health First Aid, a good support system can be any person who can make a mentally troubled person feel comfortable sharing their ordeal ( Mental Health First Aid from National Council for Mental Wellbeing, 2021 ). It is the top management's prerogative to ensure that it masterminds the establishment of a supportive culture whereby employees help each other address their mental issues. Further, the organization can consider recruiting a professional counselor who will offer sound advice to HR employees with psychological problems.
The last strategy that the management can use to help HR employees suffering from mental health problems is creating an environment that supports open communication. It is important for management to encourage HR employees to speak openly about their concerns, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the HR manager can always provide brief and regular forums whereby HR workers are updated on the status of the practice and how their challenges are being addressed ( American Medical Association, 2021 ). Similarly, it is pertinent that HR professionals are given mechanisms through which they express their worries, ask questions, and encourage each other.
Conclusion
Today, the world is grappling with a ravaging COVID-19 pandemic that has significantly disrupted employment, with many people losing their sources of livelihood while others have to put up with reduced earning. Due to such reasons, the pandemic is associated with an increase in the number of adults dealing with mental health problems. Although the world is slowly returning to normalcy, the labor sector will remain largely affected by the pandemic, such as having many people having to deal with mental health issues. Human resources employees are an important aspect of any organization due to their nature of work, especially regarding the achievement of core objectives of an organization. The mental wellbeing of employees from any department is important because it influences the attainability of its core objectives. As such, mental health issues affect the productivity of employees, which will eventually affect a business's bottom line. Some of the factors that have led to an increase in mental health cases across the globe include tense relationships between managers and their juniors, job loss, unjustified demand for performance, and job insecurity. The recommendation that stems from the research conducted is that senior management should endeavor to alleviate mental health problems among HR professionals. Several strategies are applicable in ensuring that cases of mental health are significantly reduced with the institution. These strategies include adjusting staffing procedures and schedules, offering access to psychological support to employees, and supporting open communication.
References
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