Psychosocial Support for Employees: A Brief Guideline for Managers and Supervisors(Specific to COVID-19)

COVID-19 is a world known phenomena which is trending everywhere these days. People have plenty of information about this and actively sharing the same with others without checking the authenticity of information. In this era of social media everything is easily accessible and spreads much faster than any bacteria or virus. In times of stress people tend to perceive everything negatively which is likely to create panic not only on individual level but also on the community level. During this critical time of pandemic, people are stressed, anxious, worried, sad and confused. There is nothing which is unlikely. Studies suggest that any natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic is likely to induce such conditions in mass.

A critical situation for the country where everyone is advised to stay at home and lock down has been declared, some of us are still working. They are working because they are considered to be a part of essential services. Since the situation is crucial and everyone has the similar fear of getting affected by this, a company or organization must take care of the psychological needs of their employees and ensure that they feel secure in work premises.

Following are the few guidelines for managers and supervisors to provide essential support to their employees.

• Emphasize that the situation is not going to resolve overnight and it will take certain amount of time to get resolved. Make up their mind to be ready for it for few more days.
• Ensure good quality communication with the employees. As superiors, you all must be very good with your communication skills and good speakers, but current time demands more listening skills. Allow your employees to express their worries freely in front of you. Listen to them with much care and attention.
• Ensure your availability for them in times of need.
• Don’t only arrange for the facilities. Tell your employees how much efforts the authorities are putting to ensure safety and control the spread of virus. List all efforts, even the smaller details. This will reassure the employees.
• Don’t forget to express gratitude towards your employees and their families. Their families must be worried about them and vice-versa. Ensure that they receive enough praise for the same.
• Make your employees aware about the available mental health care facilities where they can share their feelings and worries about the pandemic. There are plenty of them available these days online.
• Make buddy system to pair employees with low vulnerability and high vulnerability to stress. This will ensure close monitoring and support whenever needed.
• Take extra care of those who have pre-existing medical conditions Asthma, Diabetes, Hyper tension or any other chronic disease. Ensure them about the available health facilities in emergency cases. If they are denied such facilities in emergency it may create panic about current situation.
• Discuss preventive guidelines given by WHO (World Health Organization) to control the spread of virus and convince them to the best of your capacity that the virus is not going to harm if they follow the rules.
• Try to reduce the workload as much as possible which will allow them to electronically connect with their family members that are living far. It will ensure they are not indulging in apprehensions of family members facing any problem in the current restricted environment.

Note:

• Maintain social distancing while addressing your employees.
• Proper sanitation means should be available during the time of discussion as some of them or you may touch the doors, handles, water bottles etc.
• Ensure that if someone is not willing to share anything in group they may contact you personally.
• Ensure confidentiality of the information disclosed.