Long hours and diminishing work-life balance post-shutdown are causing their own silent mental health epidemic.
Bosses and workers alike have found the last six months the most stressful since the pandemic hit our shores.
A recent survey by Employment Hero of 1000 New Zealand employers and employees found that the majority of respondents from each group were worried about their mental and physical health as well as financial wellbeing.
HR software company Employment Hero's head of HR Alex Hattingh said working long hours, ongoing uncertainty about snap lockdowns and the inability to plan ahead has taken a toll on workers' mental health.
She says her own business had to ensure staff were taking time out to spend time with family, and have a work-life-balance as employees were starting work before sunrise and logging off after sunset.
"Being tired at work is flowing into other parts of people's lives," Hattingh said.
Auckland cafe owner Greg Cornes told Newsroom last month he was disappointed by the lack of mental health support for employers in this year's Budget, as hospitality businesses such as his own faced increasing pressure to help with the country's recovery while resources were being stretched thin.
He says over the past year, hospitality business owners have been struggling with their mental health.
"The parameters for operating are constantly moving during a very challenging time. That's why I thought some help for mental health and wellbeing support was paramount."
"The trouble is a lot of businesses are thinking 'I wonder where all the water's gone', while at the horizon there's a tsunami on its way and businesses are not going to survive that." – Jarrod Haar, AUT University
Restaurateur Chand Sahrawat said she and her husband, celebrated chef, Sid Sahrawat decided to sell one of their three restaurants earlier this year because they were concerned the toll running the restaurants as well as their retail sauces brand in a post-pandemic world would take on them. Workers in the service sector have also found it difficult to work long hours while being short staffed due to labour shortages.
Hattingh said there's an "absolutely massive" cost involved with not prioritising workers' mental wellbeing.
"Employees won't be operating on the top of their game. They'll be disengaged or may even leave the company."
The annual cost of serious mental illness is about $12 billion annually according to a 2018 report by the Government into mental health and addiction.
Interestingly, Employment Hero's survey found employers felt they were less responsible for supporting workers' mental health than workers did.
Only half believe that workplaces should bear the burden of employees’ mental health problems, signalling a culture that does not encourage accountability and care for employees’ wellbeing, Hattingh said.
Only 20 percent of employees believe that workplaces should not bear the burden of employees’ mental health problems.
Hattingh said employers need to take on responsibility for supporting workers employee's mental health, "if that means providing physical help, or directing them to mental health resources, checking in on them."
She said it could be as simple as acknowledging workers' hard work in a email shoutout or a hand-written card.
"Engage with your staff, ask them how they're feeling. Carry out a survey or show them you're making an effort to ease the pressure on them by hiring more staff.
"It's important to let workers know there's light at the end of the tunnel."
"It is like a tsunami. The trouble is a lot of businesses are thinking 'I wonder where all the water's gone', while at the horizon there's a tsunami on its way and businesses are not going to survive that." – Jarrod Haar
AUT University human resource management professor Jarrod Haar said the difference between firms performing well and those struggling, was how they retained their staff and plan for the long term.
"A business is like an organism, everything is interconnected and people sometimes think they can save money by not doing wellbeing initiatives. But you're actually cutting off blood supply and limiting your firm's performance."
He warned there may be a growing workplace mental health crisis as the world adjusts to working from home.
"It is like a tsunami. The trouble is a lot of businesses are thinking 'I wonder where all the water's gone', while at the horizon there's a tsunami on its way and businesses are not going to survive that."
