COVID-19: An Employer’s Guide from Inkblot

Ways employers can help reduce the potential negative consequences of this crisis on their employees’ mental health.

The global impact of COVID-19 is significant and far-reaching. It has caused significant suffering already, and many countries have yet to experience the peak of the pandemic. The global economic impact is hard to predict, and it will likely take months if not longer for businesses to recover from the disaster.

However, the most substantial impact of COVID-19 will be on our psychological health.

Similar times of crisis, such as the 9/11 terrorist attack, the 2008 financial crisis, or SARS, have had the most detrimental long-term effects on our individual and collective mental health.

Luckily, there are ways employers can help reduce the potential negative consequences of this crisis on their employees’ mental health. Not only is promoting employees’ psychological health synonymous with good leadership, but there is extensive research showing that it has positive effects on all business financial outcomes.

Here are the top three mental health strategies for employers during the COVID-19 crisis:

Take care of yourself

As they say during the safety instructions when boarding a plane, put your oxygen mask on first before helping others.

Our workplace assessments have shown that the stress level of employers profoundly impacts employees. Many leaders are great at giving but struggle with receiving help. Practice receiving help and support from family, friends and co-workers.

Employers are also often fearful of being transparent and vulnerable. They worry that employees will leave if they sense things are not perfect. Experience has shown that confident vulnerable leadership creates a more committed and productive workforce.

Our research has suggested that employers and executives report less anxiety and depressive symptoms than front-line employees, but have a significantly higher prevalence of problematic substance use. During these times, it is prudent to be mindful to avoid escalating intake of alcohol and drugs. Practice positive self-care and coping strategies.

Trust your employees

The most robust and consistent finding when we survey the employees of our corporate clients is that employees are most engaged, are most productive and have the highest levels of mental health when leadership trusts them.

The COVID-19 crisis has created a problematic situation for traditional workplaces and new opportunities for employers to demonstrate trust in their team members.

The social isolation necessary to curb the rapid transmission of COVID-19 has meant employees should work from home. If your employees have not been working mostly by remote, then it may be reassuring to know that most research has shown that when companies change policies to allow for remote work, their employees become more engaged and productive.

As well, during this time, employees may feel unwell, have to take care of sick family members and require time off work. During pandemics, the number of those affected by the infection increases very rapidly. The sudden increase in sick-leave requests may be overwhelming to business operations and deadlines. Plan for this probable sudden decrease in your workforce’s capacity: preemptively change deadlines, goals and expectations now as much as possible to mitigate frustrations in the next few weeks.

Respect psychological diversity

Although humans have a remarkable capacity for empathy and seeing through the eyes of another person, we also overestimate our abilities to do so.

Our past experiences, our sense of self, and our perceived resources affect how we react to a crisis. Our survey data show significant differences in the baseline mental health of employees of different age groups, socioeconomic statuses and roles in a company. As well, within each given subgroup, there is significant diversity.

As well, an individual’s resiliency- the ability to adapt to a stressful situation- is not necessarily the same as an individual’s baseline mental health. Most people overestimate their resiliency and are often surprised by their distress during a crisis. This discordance leads to guilt, pretence and contradictory behaviour.

As employers, it is crucial to recognize that we each differ in how an event such as COVID-19 affects us, that it can change rapidly, and that not everyone can be transparent about how they are doing. Be flexible, check-in often and expect employees’ statuses to change frequently.

The COVID-19 crisis will have long-term consequences for our mental health. As much as possible, take care of yourself and your team.


If your organization would benefit from additional support during this time, Inkblot is here to help. Consider offering sessions for anyone in need. Outcome analysis shows employees that talk to our counsellors feel better after just their first appointment—which is always free. Care is available as early as today. All sessions are completely secure and confidential.

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