I’d expected productivity to decline during the pandemic. As a psychologist who studies focus, I’d predicted people would be distracted by homeschooling, exhausted by being always on and anxious about their health, finances and family.
It would be harder to focus and get work done with remote work, constant change and high-stress levels. But as the stats came in, productivity didn’t decline; it stayed stable or even increased slightly. Why is that? And at what cost?
Long days and longer nights
The reason productivity hasn’t declined is clear – most people are working longer hours. A study of three million workers showed that they averaged nearly an hour more a day than when they went to work at an office. These longer hours come from an explosion of virtual meetings and e-mails. What used to be a five-minute exchange at your desk became a 30-minute full-on Zoom call.
What could be a friendly banter in the tea room is now a flurry of WhatsApp’s multi-tasking while you are on a video call (with the camera off, of course). Then add in some “forced fun” with virtual coffees or drinks to suck up another hour.
Work-life boundaries became so blurry as the working day now starts earlier and finishes later. What was commuting time became working time. There’s no reason to stop work at the end of the day to go to football practice or pick up the kids. As a result, many people find it harder to switch off and relax − this always-on feeling leads to exhaustion. A few are thriving, most barely surviving
Dig below the general productivity statistics and we see the situation is not the same for everyone. It’s no surprise to find that working parents, new employees, singles and Gen Z are barely surviving. Working parents are struggling, with 23 per cent of female and 13 per cent of male parents considering leaving the workforce. Of concern is that Gen Z (18-25 years old) are struggling with motivation and engagement.
Unfortunately, business leaders are not seeing this. Many business leaders are middle-aged men who can afford a larger living space, paid childcare and dinner delivered. These leaders are well out of touch on how exhausted their people feel and their impact on their employees’ engagement and turnover.
The pandemic has been a major eye-opener in recognising the importance of mental well-being in the workplace
Social isolation
Dig deeper into the productivity statistics and I’m not surprised to find that productivity varies by the type of work people are doing. For example, solo works but collaboration doesn’t. Over three-quarters of people felt they maintained productivity in individual tasks like analysing data, writing reports or administration. However, they felt less productive for collaborative work where they needed to bounce ideas around with other people.
We’re intensely social animals and we don’t thrive in isolation. Social connectedness makes us feel we are part of something bigger. Unfortunately, over the pandemic, it’s much harder to network and find your place in the team and a complex organisation. This leads to isolation and lower engagement, especially for new people and Gen Z.
Burning out
These positive productivity statistics mask the real issues around mental well-being from an exhausted and isolated workforce. However, we also see burnout rates at a level never seen before. In a recent US survey, 42 per cent of women and 35 per cent of men have felt burned out in the last few months (up from 32 per cent and 28 per cent respectively last year).
Mental well-being is not a personal Issue
Many employers see mental health as a personal issue. But with the collective mental well-being of the workforce being worse than at any other time in recent history, it is now a workplace health and safety issue.
Companies need to have a comprehensive mental well-being strategy that includes:
• Regular communication about mental well-being to raise awareness;
• Training managers to recognise symptoms and encourage employees to get professional support;
• A comprehensive range of support from mental health first aid to healthcare professionals;
• Leaders who are openly talking about mental well-being;
• Programmes that help employees manage stress and well-being;
• Reducing workplace stressors like low psychological safety, high job demands, low control and insecurity.
The pandemic has been a major eye-opener in recognising the importance of mental well-being in the workplace. We see the cumulative strain of the pandemic in lower engagement, higher absenteeism and turnover. These impacts will stay long after the COVID pandemic restrictions end. The second pandemic of burnout is coming down the track unless employers implement along-term mental well-being strategy now.
Jane Piper is an organisational psychologist and bestselling author of Focus in the Age of Distraction. She will be one of the keynote speakers at a conference in Malta on Mental Wellness at Work on Tuesday, April 5. Both in-person and virtual tickets are available. For more information, visit www.mentalwellnessconference.eu.