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Advice to HR Managers during Covid19
Julia Davies
HR Managers: Supporting staff during Isolation and the Coronavirus
I recently found myself reading an article in People Management about managing people remotely.
Kindness involves patience and that isn’t easy when you have a million things to do, but here are a few things you can do.
If someone is Mentally unwell here’s some basic Mental Health First Aid:
And finally BE KIND to yourself. You work hard. You have a lot of people to care for. You deserve kindness too. Well done for trooping on despite all this. If you get stuck then do get in touch with me. I’m not an HR Manager or a therapist but I do understand Mental Health First Aid. There’s more information on my website blog. Stay healthy and good luck.
It focused heavily on those underperforming, ‘the rotten apples’, ‘sneaky ways’ to get people to report in when suspected of ‘slacking off’ and others way of trying to monitor ones’ workforce. Don’t get me wrong. I understand that businesses are in dire straits at the moment and need people to pull their weight now more than ever. But this tone and attitude is deeply unhelpful.
Time and again profitability and longevity of a business is linked to the culture within. Profits improve when employees feel valued and trusted. We all instinctively know this and yet employees are too often seen as the asset that can be squeezed the most.
HR Managers often feel they are in an impossible position, standing at the cross-roads between the companies need to increase performance for achieve their goals, and the employees’ needs which can be seen as conflicting.
As HR Managers you will know far better than I, what legal frameworks you have to adhere to. However, from a Mental Health First Aid viewpoint, things are quite simple: be kind.
- Set up groups that can check in with each other. There will be natural teams which can get in touch via things like Zoom, however it’s also important for colleagues to have one to ones and be able to chat. These won’t always be work related but that actually is the value to you. Giving people time to step from their isolation is important.
- Those with autonomy perform better. Giving people the chance to shine can be rewarding and profitable all round.
- Trust: there’s not much you can do unless you do plan to practice ‘sneaky monitoring’ and what will that achieve realistically?
- This is a great time to practice better working practices. Do you really need everyone to come to work? Some people will perform better having more freedom. Have those conversations with them.
If someone is Mentally unwell here’s some basic Mental Health First Aid:
- Listen
- Reassure them. They won’t lose their job for this. You don’t’ judge. This person is fighting their own person hell at the moment, be gentle with them. It’s fine to say ‘I can’t imagine what that’s like but I’m here for you’. Empathy not sympathy – this is a great video.
- When they are ready ask questions to establish basic information: have they had a mental based illness before, establish how bad things are at the moment (if they indicate they are suicidal ASK THEM STRAIGHT OUT ‘Are you thinking of suicide’ (this is the right question, you are not encouraging them. If they say yes, then they need medical support immediately), what symptoms they are suffering, has this happened before, what happened then.
- You are not a therapist. Please don’t try to fix them or work out the ailment. Mental ill health can be a multitude of factors. Your employee is on a long complex painful journey. At this stage they just need to know you are with them on it.
- Get them an appointment with their GP. That’s hard at the moment, but still possible. The GP is able to establish if there are any physical reasons behind the illness, it’s free and the GP can suggest the next step.
- There are lots of charities dedicated to mental health ailments.: ones for OCD, Depression, Anxiety etc etc. I will list a few good ones below. Ask them to have a look at those for advice and support.
- Keep in touch with them. Encourage them to get exercise and speak to loved ones.
- If in doubt, be gentle, be kind. Not only will you feel better in yourself for this approach, but it’s the core of changing a business culture to one that gets employees to produce the best work. In 2018, 87% didn’t like or were ambivalent to work. Mainly they felt a lack of trust and autonomy. Now is a great opportunity to give them both.
And finally BE KIND to yourself. You work hard. You have a lot of people to care for. You deserve kindness too. Well done for trooping on despite all this. If you get stuck then do get in touch with me. I’m not an HR Manager or a therapist but I do understand Mental Health First Aid. There’s more information on my website blog. Stay healthy and good luck.