The world is attempting to adjust to a new reality, so it is vital for us to see things in terms of the workplace and human behavior. For instance, defining ‘invisible’ disabilities such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and others is essential during the time of COVID-19 as people are dealing with mental health issues that can impact them professionally.
A silver lining during these dark times is that hopefully moving forward, leaders will have a better understanding of how important mental health is in the future of work.
In order to be as efficient and effective while remote working, leaders need to have a grasp on how to have a healthy corporate culture, offer remote workers a strong mental and physical health strategy and build more effective talent scouting strategies to be inclusive to older or disabled workers.
It is also up to employees to understand how to value their own mental health needs if possible, particularly when dealing with the inevitable challenges that will come with this new way of life. This may include deviating from traditional five-day work weeks in order to attain a better work-life balance. Exploring and implementing this option may be as effective in the future as it is during the era of COVID-19.
Still, some employees that deal with mental health issues can find it to be a challenge to shift away from traditional structure, it is worth exploring various options that can potentially create a more supportive and nurturing work culture.