Over the past year, many organisations have been forced to completely reevaluate how they do things in an attempt to adapt to the abnormal world we find ourselves in. COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on many businesses and left employees with a feeling of disconnection and detachment. The social, economic, and financial implications are squeezing resources and increasing pressure.

We’ve witnessed unprecedented changes to the way we work – which for many is no longer a destination – it has become an ‘activity’.  The global shift to remote working has created an ‘Always On’ culture. This was confirmed in the results of a recent poll conducted by Cigna, with 93% of participants affected by the ‘Always On’ expectations (1). People are struggling to switch off from work and finding themselves clocking up extra hours. Additionally, work-related stress levels were higher at the end of last year than any time since January 2020, with 68% of staff reporting significant work-related stress. A staggering 71% of participants admitted to working additional hours during December 2020 in comparison to April 2020 (2). A separate study on remote working echoed these findings as 84% of participants reported struggling with poor mental health and lack of distinction between personal and professional life (3).

The expectations of organisations and business leaders has also changed drastically. A 2020 global study by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence identified that 76% of staff believe their company should be doing more to protect the mental health of their work force. While 51% of participants noted that their companies have added additional mental health services and support due to Covid-19 (3). Standards are evolving rapidly, and these statistics demonstrate that organisations are listening and adapting to align with expectations.

While the challenges we face are unprecedented, the remedy for workplace stress and employee wellbeing remains the same. Throughout our years in the industry, we have delivered many significant culture change programmes and encouraged the adoption of a ‘people-based’ approach. The initial, and perhaps most important stage of this process is to analyse, identifying the strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. To simplify this process, we’ve defined three key factors which can be used to review and understand the effectiveness of teams:

• Performance – A measurement of whether the team is reaching full potential, considering any factors which could impact efficiency.
• Demands – A review of the workload, understanding the tasks being completed by staff members and possible strains or implications.
• Resources – An exploration of the resources and assets in place to support staff professionally, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Using these fundamental benchmarks, our expert team have carefully designed an effective questionnaire to identify strengths and areas for improvement. This software provides a clear, unbiased review and offers insight into beneficial developments.   We are pleased to make this available to you free of charge.

Click HERE to take our free questionnaire, created in collaboration with Overnight Design.

(1)  Cigna, 2021.  Available at: <https://www.cigna.co.uk/assets/docs/news-room/uk-market-cigna-covid-19-global-impact-study-report.pdf?elqTrackId=c57b981cfc954bd3a773ae5949452bbd&elqaid=209&elqat=2

(2) Dennehy, J. 2021. Workplace stress in UAE higher than during lockdown, survey reveals. [online] The National. Available at: <https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/workplace-stress-in-uae-higher-than-during-lockdown-survey-reveals-1.1175263> [Accessed 1 March 2021].

(3) Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, 2020. Available at: <https://www.oracle.com/uk/news/announcement/artificial-intelligence-supports-mental-health-2020-10-07.html