OUR WORK-LIFE BALANCING ACT
NEW research reveals a growing disconnect between employee and employer views when it comes to mental health.
Workers’ compensation insurer Allianz has released data showing workplace mental health injuries are on the rise, with active psychological claims increasing by 5 per cent for the past financial year.
Covid has not only raised concerns about employee mental health, but also a lack of support strategies from organisations, with 43 per cent of those surveyed saying their workplace had not introduced mental health initiatives since the start of the pandemic.
The Allianz research of Australian employees and senior managers across industries shows that while employees and employers agree there are challenges in the workplace, they also see a disparity between their challenges.
Experiencing worries or concerns with balancing work and personal life since the pandemic (67 per cent) and increased pressure and workload
(31 per cent) were the main pressure points for employees.
Employers said employees working remotely (68 per cent), maintaining a positive culture (28 per cent) and completing targets/deadlines (28 per cent) were the biggest negative impacts from a management perspective.
Herne Hill‘s Jesse Drever, 30, worked as a lawyer before switching industries last year, and now works as a community development co-ordinator in recreation and health.
“I was still at the same desk, but completely changed jobs overnight,” said Mr Drever, who was diagnosed with epilepsy and welcomed his first child this year.
“I’ve been really lucky in terms of the organisation I’m with,” he said.
“I think that’s something I really noticed, that stigma around mental health discussions doesn’t really exist.”
Mr Drever said he had found physical boundaries useful at home.
“I try to keep work to the office space at home,” he said.
“The moment I close the door, I try and say that’s the end of my work day.”
Mitch Wallis, founder of organisation Heart On My Sleeve, said since the pandemic, it had become harder to learn to balance work and personal life.
“We no longer have those physical cues when we finish work for the day – the leaving of a building, closing of a laptop or a social interaction with colleagues,” he said.
“The pandemic has presented challenges in the workplace that have increasingly blurred the lines between professional and personal, across all industries. Employees want to feel supported, and to know that they can switch off and transition to their personal life at the end of a day.
“It’s more important than ever to foster an open, empathetic and educated culture that respects work-life balance by providing a space that nourishes and supports mental health and wellbeing.”