As more restrictions due to the coronavirus are removed, we need to assess a number of factors. I have long contended that we will evolve into a new normal and there will be no going back to the normalcy we knew before the coronavirus. One particular aspect is employee wellness.
The Commissioner for Mental Health has long been harping on the importance of mental health at the place of work. His efforts and those of the team he leads have made sure that, as a minimum, we discuss the issue, whereas before it was unmentionable. He has actually achieved more than that as several companies have launched initiatives to promote wellness at the place of work. The Chamber of Commerce has set up a Health and Wellness Committee to encourage its members to take this matter seriously. As such, employee wellness is now on the HR agenda.
It is important to ensure that we do not misrepresent employee wellness and believe that having a summer party with lots of booze, or offering breakfast at work, or organising fun activities and games, are a way of promoting employee wellness.
I make this point as we have already been through a total misrepresentation of employee engagement.
Ask employees whose employer provides breakfast at work and they tell you that what they want is respect and not breakfast from their boss.
We cannot sacrifice employee wellness at the altar of the economy
MISCO has studied the issue of employee wellness through a survey with employed persons which it had conducted before the start of the spread of the coronavirus and another survey which it conducted earlier this year. The top line results of the 2021 survey demonstrate the urgency of the issue. This is not an issue of a few employees or a few businesses. It is widespread. The question I put is whether we have a crisis coming our way.
Here are some of the results:
• 63 per cent experienced mental health issues such as stress and anxiety related to work.
• 31 per cent rate their mental wellness negatively.
• 47 per cent stated their job is often stressful.
• Pressure, heavy workload and tight deadlines are often experienced at work.
• 68 per cent have never disclosed unmanageable stress or mental health problems with their line manager.
One may start to believe that this is all due to the lack of social interaction caused by the coronavirus. Admittedly, this lack of social interaction has not helped, because it has weakened the sense of belonging that employees need to feel at their workplace.
It has weakened to the point that employers now report that some of their employees do not even feel the need to belong, which is very sad indeed.
However, this is only part of the story. Another part of the story is the high staff turnover, across all sectors, even those sectors that are recognised as high payers. This has nothing to do with coronavirus. This has to do with employees being unhappy at work.
External circumstances are another part of the story. For example, the exorbitant (even extortionist) price of property is forcing young employees to have a working week which is longer than 40 hours to have that extra income to pay for their home. It is known that in a number of sectors and for a number of roles, real wages have stagnated.
There can be other facets to the issue such as having to deal with increased regulation at work, uncertain market conditions, commuting to and from work and an unreliable infrastructure that makes working from home more difficult.
There is no doubt that employee wellness is a challenge we have to face. We cannot allow it to become a crisis. We may all be happy with our growth in the gross domestic product but the quality of our work life cannot be allowed to deteriorate.
The discussion on the quality of life that has been initiated, thanks to President Emeritus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, must also look at employee wellness. We cannot sacrifice employee wellness at the altar of the economy.