It took time to adapt to staying and working at home and social distancing—and now, as some workplaces are gradually shifting back to in-office operations, it will take time to adapt again. In this Lincoln Absence Advisor podcast, Dr. Glenn Pransky discusses the challenges of going back to the office, including:
AM-LABCE-AUD001 4/23 Z01 LCN-5614793-041023
© 2023 Lincoln National Corporation. All rights reserved.
It took time to adapt to staying and working at home and social distancing—and now, as some workplaces are gradually shifting back to in-office operations, it will take time to adapt again. In this Lincoln Absence Advisor podcast, Dr. Glenn Pransky discusses the challenges of going back to the office, including:
AM-LABCE-AUD001 4/23 Z01 LCN-5614793-041023
© 2023 Lincoln National Corporation. All rights reserved.
Hi again everyone. This is Karen Batson, marketing manager for leave and disability at Lincoln Financial Group. In this newest episode of Lincoln Absence Advisor, we discuss how employers can help address potential concerns or anxiety employees may have as we shift back to the workplace. Joining us for his third Absence Advisor episode is Dr. Glenn Pransky, an occupational physician and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, to share his thoughts on this trending topic. Welcome Dr. Pransky. Now that we've had a few of these interviews, I feel like we always start at a key point. Can you define for me what we mean by COVID related anxiety about returning to business?
Dr. Pransky:Yes. Everybody is worried about this virus and these concerns are having a significant impact on the workforce. According to a P&T community survey in the U.S., 58% of workers are feeling anxious because of COVID 19 and 35% say that it's interfering with their workplace productivity. And a recent Qualtrics poll found that two thirds of American workers are actually afraid of returning to work because of this virus.
Karen Batson:Now at a high level, many of us understand why we may be anxious, but what specifics can we discuss that lead to this anxiety about returning to work?
Dr. Pransky:It's easy to understand why people are anxious. Spread of COVID within workplaces has led to widespread employee concerns and fears. There is a lot that's unknown and unresolved about this virus. For example, we don't completely understand why some people get very sick and others don't, why some people spread it, but others don't and we don't yet have a vaccine or a perfect test of who is immune. All these unknown certainly do increase this anxiety.
Karen Batson:You bring up a good point that anxiousness can often come from not knowing in this situation and there's a lot of not knowing to your point how the virus operates, but also what going back to the workplace will be like with COVID. How do people often cope with the unknown?
Dr. Pransky:Uncertainty always creates some fears and maybe anxiety, especially when that uncertainty is about an issue that might seriously affect our health, but uncertainty isn't the only factor driving concerns, fears, and some anxiety. This is a complex risk. That's hard to fully understand and perceive. It's not like standing on a high cliff or on the side of a busy highway where you can see the risks of falling or crossing the road right in front of you. So we look for answers and unfortunately sometimes that leads to relying on information from the news or social media that isn't accurate or doesn't pertain to our own situation. That can make the concerns and feelings of anxiety even worse.
Karen Batson:I think it's important to note as well, that there's a wide range of anxiety levels that people are feeling.
Dr. Pransky:Yes, it's clear that anxiety about returning to the workplace, it isn't universal. We need to remember that this will affect each employee differently. Some will be less concerned and just happy to be back to work. Others more anxious and worried, especially if family members are concerned also. And there might be people who have recovered from a serious COVID infection or have loved ones or close friends who became very sick. This last group may have a lot of anxiety about returning to the workplace. They may need extra help to ensure that their transition back to work is as stress free as possible.
Karen Batson:Absolutely. It's a good reminder that we don't know exactly what everyone is going through. As coworkers, managers, heads of companies, we need to be considerate of all the different levels of anxieties others are feeling.
Dr. Pransky:Yes, Karen, that's very important. What's also interesting is how much the levels of concern and anxiety vary from workplace to workplace. Depends to a large extent on how the employer responds to these concerns in their workforce.
Karen Batson:As employers are developing plans to return to business. What do we know about best practices to help alleviate some of this fear and anxiety?
Dr. Pransky:Well, fortunately we can draw from experience, for instance, the SARS epidemic, and research on managing through crisis, and examples of companies that are currently weathering the storm successfully and especially now. There are good examples of companies making an essential product or delivering an essential service who kept their physical plants open with high employee morale and low levels of anxiety. I think the key is having worker safety as the number one priority.
Karen Batson:Looking back at other episodes we've done with this podcast, there seem to be themes when it comes to weathering the storm and eventually,"returning to land," transparent and empathetic communication, flexibility for the employee's needs, mindful tips and resources to help in the new environment. Do you agree that these continue to be vital as we move to another new normal?
Dr. Pransky:Oh yes, absolutely. And I think having the right priorities, solid plan, effective and frequent communication, being responsive and taking the right action. All these seem to also be key to managing employee concerns and anxiety.
Karen Batson:So where should employers start their process?
Dr. Pransky:Well, I think they should consider starting right now before they reopen. They should start communicating now that they're developing a plan.
Karen Batson:Now, going back to what we were just talking about moments ago regarding the unknown, assuring employees that their wellbeing is the most important focus of the plan could help curb some of the anxiety. Am I right in that thinking?
Dr. Pransky:Oh yes, absolutely. It's very important to establish early on that employee safety is the number one priority and demonstrate that through not just words, but also consistent actions. That seems to me to be the common thread among successful companies that have stayed open without problems. Show that you are getting input from experts, up-to-date Federal and industry specific recommendations, regulations and experience elsewhere. This reduces uncertainty and leaves employees more confident. It's also important that as the plan for reopening is being developed, you're asking supervisors, workers, and customers to comment and offer suggestions and show how you have used this input to refine the plan. This helps not only create a better plan, but also opens the door for their input. As challenges arise and the plan evolves, employees are going to be more confident if they feel that their concerns are being addressed.
Karen Batson:Asking for feedback or thoughts must help understand key employee concerns. What are some ways to deal with specific concerns that employees might have? Some which may lead to their anxiety?
Dr. Pransky:Well, I think it's important to start with finding out before the return to business what employees are most concerned about and answer these questions directly. It's also important to educate employees about what to expect and specific steps that you're planning to take to keep them safe. Make sure that everyone understands what to do if they think they're encountering a situation that's too risky, whether that's in the office, in the workplace, or at an external location. It's a good idea to anticipate situations that might arise and think about how you'll deal with them, such as a coworker gets sick or is exposed to the COVID virus or an employee is exposed to someone with the virus at home or an employee has to quarantine at home for two weeks, or someone is concerned about a coworker possibly having the virus. This will also reduce uncertainty. So even if a difficult situation arises, if everyone understands in advance how it will be dealt with and why, there's likely to be less anxiety about it.
Karen Batson:Now, kind of bridging on that. Many employees haven't been in their work space for weeks, maybe even months and in that time our focus has been on avoiding any unnecessary contact with other people. That definitely took time to adapt to and now we're looking at adapting again to gradually resume more contact with people. Will this shift in employee stress level maybe as much or more than us adapting to like a fully work from home environment.
Dr. Pransky:Yes, I agree. I think it's going to be more stressful than making the shift from being at work to home. I mean that was inconvenient. It led to more family stress for some people but it reduced the risk of contracting this virus. However, the return to the workplace is different. There is this perceived increase in risk of contracting the virus when going back to work, taking appropriate measures to keep employees safe and informing them about these measures before they come back can help to decrease some of this stress and concern. Another way to manage this is to bring people back very gradually in stages. That gives employers an opportunity to make sure that the procedures that were put in place to keep everyone safe are in fact working as expected and make adjustments if needed before bringing all employees back. This gradual approach will provide a group of employees who have become comfortable coming back to the building. They can then help the next wave of returnees also feel better about coming back. The results from this phased approach and the continuous improvement that comes with it are important topics that top management should communicate to all employees. Talk about how it's going, what problems were encountered, and how this led to changes in the return to business plan. Consider doing this through video messages. Some companies have found extra things that they can do to show appreciation for employees who stay on the job or are first returning and allay some fears. For example, one company closed their cafeteria but they provided delivered wrap sandwiches for everyone to have for lunch. Another company was able to assign each van to a single driver, thus eliminating initial concerns about shared vehicles.
Karen Batson:Your comment about the cafeteria is an interesting one. I think about the benefits of the workplace that employees come to depend on and, and having the employers find an alternative, the environment will be different, but if we can provide some of those benefits they depend on, it may ease some of the anxiousness that comes with change.
Dr. Pransky:Yes, I agree. Employers will have to find creative ways of preserving as many normal aspects of work as possible, of course, while still maintaining social distancing and the other measures that will keep workers safe.
Karen Batson:Yeah, of course. Can we talk about the longer term, as companies adapt to make changes, could that anxiousness for the employee continue or even evolve?
Dr. Pransky:Well, we've seen that companies who demonstrate that worker safety really is their number one priority--by their actions--their employees seem to become less anxious over time about coming to work. They are confident that their employer's taking all reasonable measures to protect them from COVID infection. So even when a problem arises, for example, a coworker who's in the workplace develops a COVID infection. If it's handled well, employee confidence may not be shaken. If the workplace is doing a good job on physical distancing, personal hygiene, cleaning surfaces, efforts to exclude people with symptoms from entering and other strategies, the likelihood of spread from one employee to another will be low.
Karen Batson:And do you have any thoughts regarding an employee's expectations of things going back to normal and the effects that might have on their anxiety?
Dr. Pransky:Yes. I'm sure that anxiety levels will go down as the number of cases in the community goes down and hospitalizations and fatalities decrease.
Karen Batson:Now would you say it's important for all of us to mentally pace ourselves when it comes to our expectations and returning to a world that resembles before?
Dr. Pransky:Yes. Karen, this is something I always have to keep reminding myself that this is going to take time, potentially months. We shouldn't have too high expectations because no workplace is going to return to the old normal for quite some time. And how long isn't possible to predict right now. So it's helpful to try to adapt to this new normal in past situations like these, those who adapted did have less stress and anxiety.
Karen Batson:Hmm. Interesting. Should employers consider maybe training on these things around anxiety for their managers and supervisors as part of their reopening plan? You think?
Dr. Pransky:You mean training on supporting employee mental health during this time of COVID virus? Absolutely. Yes. One benefit of education is that they will learn that some anxiety about returning to work is expected and they will learn some of the strategies that they can offer to their employees to help manage it. And training will also help ensure that the messaging about the plan, new procedures and changes in benefits and other policies is consistent.
Karen Batson:So what advice can senior leaders give to employees to help them manage their anxiety with COVID 19?
Dr. Pransky:Well, encourage employees to connect regularly with friends and family, especially those who they can trust to discuss their fears and concerns. Exercise, getting outdoors, maintaining a regular routine and getting good sleep are all important to reduce stress and anxiety. Limit the time spent watching news and sensational online media. Much of this is designed more to engage than inform and can provoke more anxiety. Refer instead to the CDC and other sites that have accurate and trusted and updated information. Provide suggestions for keeping the family, sane at home, having a routine, getting outside and other strategies we just mentioned as this can be a major source of stress that can spill over to work. These suggestions are most credible if a senior leader can talk about their own experience and every supervisor should also know the signs that indicate if anxiety or other emotional problems are becoming serious and how to refer an employee to the EAP or healthcare provider for help
Karen Batson:Of those physically together, they will need to interact differently with a focus on social and other aspects that we've talked about today. How will this affect the employee's anxiety where their interactions are different than they're used to?
Dr. Pransky:Oh, that's a good question because I think the work community is an important source of support. We've discussed this actually in a previous podcast, so employers should think about how that can be maintained even when we have to have procedures in place to keep people apart. So this may mean continuing what we've learned over the last few months. Things such as setting up virtual coffee breaks or lunchtime virtual chat rooms or an employer could look at physically distance activities such as bingo and other games during breaks. Some employers could open up a large unused space for a few employees to take a physically separate break but be able to be in the same room together while maintaining appropriate distance. There is a balance between perfect physical isolation and allowing a reasonable amount of social interaction to improve the quality of work life.
Karen Batson:Do you have any parting words to help us conclude our conversation here on anxiety and returning to the workplace?
Dr. Pransky:Yes, I think first we have to remember that this will be with us for a while. Each employer needs to have a solid plan, effective communications and a way to respond rapidly as things change or new conditions arise and part of this response needs to be a strategy to understand and address employee concerns and anxiety. Skilled managers will check in to see how employees are doing over time and look for opportunities to provide support, referrals to resources and other help as we all go through the process of adapting to a new normal, but we must remember that we're all in this together. It's easy to see the negatives of the COVID epidemic and the impact on business, but I'm confident that we are already seeing a lot of positive learnings out of this experience. For example, look how creative some employees have become and finding ways to reconnect with coworkers, manage operations and supply chains remotely and maintain high levels of customer service.
Karen Batson:Dr. Pransky, thank you so much for joining us today. It was a really great conversation.
Dr. Pransky:Thank you.
Karen Batson:To everyone listening. Thank you for joining us. We will continue to cover topics that help employers and their employees navigate through this new environment, so be sure to subscribe to Lincoln Absence Adviser on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Disclosure:The information contained in this podcast is for general use and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney or your human resource professional. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln national corporation and its affiliates. Affiliates are separately responsible for their own financial and contractual obligations.