While the Covid 19 pandemic has had a negative impact for our life, we should care about our mental health and wellbeing.
The Covid 19 pandemic has posed the greatest challenge to mental health and well-being since the Second World War and its negative impact the on economy would affect our mental health. Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to consider their own mental health and the wellbeing of their staff as very important
Starting a business or working in the financial industry often requires a lot of hard work and clever skills but the pandemic has crippled many businesses. The Covid 19 pandemic has created problems for your mental health and wellbeing. Many people face up with anxiety and depression caused by social isolation, lockdown measures, hospitalisations and bereavement and those who suffer from the long impact of Covid 19 are particularly vulnerable because they face long-term health issues and fears over financial hardship and bankruptcy.
At this difficult and uncertain time, while the responsibilities of people who work in financial services can be great, they should have the skills to manage the mental health and wellbeing of their staff. High-performing people fully understand that they have to maintain their mental health and support the well-being of their staff. They can improve mental health and wellbeing if they can stick to the five ways below:
1. Connect with others.
In this difficult time, being alone is not good idea. Making connections with others will bring yourself a sense of belonging and self-worth. Hence, talking with friends and family members is helpful or playing your favourite games with them will improve your mental health significantly.
2. Exercise
When you are active and exercising, your mental and physical health will be improved gradually. You do not need to work out every day but do an exercise you like at home or attempt an exercise challenge via at home fitness apps will make you better and happier.
3. Learn and brain games
When you learn something new and beneficial, your brain is working. There are some evidence suggests that you can boost your self-confidence and mental wellbeing if you try to learn new skills for your businesses venture, for example, enrolling an online project management project course is good way to boost your self-confidence.
Doing some brain games will activate your neural circuits and keep your brain young. If you can start doing crossword puzzles or Sudoku games, it will be good for your mental health.
I found it beneficial for my mental health when I started playing these brain games every day since 2018. It was hard at the beginning, but like other work, you will find that these games get easier and your mental health will be better if you consistently practice these games.
4. Flexibility and Support
Plenty of employees are fear of losing their job and financial hardship during this difficulty time caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. Business owners can make changes for their employee’s mental wellbeing at work by adapting to the flexible changing environment. They should prioritise the needs of your employees first before considering how these decisions will affect them, for examples you can set up realistic times to avoid causing stress or set up new rules for not checking work emails before the specific time in the day also a great help for your employee. The pandemic makes most of us work from home. Sometimes communicate with employees to see how they’re doing and ask friendly questions about what’s going on in their life.
Acts of kindness can create positive feelings and a sense of reward. I often organise a Christmas party for my employees. However, I postponed the 2020 Christmas party, instead giving them a voucher for subscribing to virtual health care services. In doing so, I showed acts of kindness to them and gave a benefits package covering their mental health
According to a survey of 5,000 US employees conducted by a leading global advisory firm Willis Towers Watson, almost of respondents 47% used virtual care services and they also rate virtual care with high marks compared with face-to-face consultations and eight in ten employees would use virtual care in the near future, paving the way for would-be entrepreneurs to explore this potential business.
5. Mindfulness
Some recent research showed that mindfulness practice can help people manage anxiety and increase well-being. Taking a meditation class is also a good way to help reduce stress and increase well-being. When you do meditation, you will pay attention to the present moment and understand your thoughts and feelings.
Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, investigates the therapeutic value of online mindfulness sessions for people who had problems with their emotional health during the pandemic. The study showed “after an experimental online mindfulness session, 89% of participants reported that the experience had been helpful”. I have done some meditation classes and I found these classes very useful for my mental health.
These are useful ways for people to manage mental health and the well-being of your staff and these are not ultimate guides. The Covid 19 pandemic has caused a mental health crisis for the financial industry and most importantly, people can adopt their own suitable ways to maintain their mental health and support the well-being of their staff. If you can manage these well, you will continue with your business more successfully.
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Source: Vietnam Insider