A large health insurance organisation in South Africa uses monitoring software to measure staff’s level of attention on the computer screen – and equates lack of attention with lack of productivity. Aside from the fact that such micromanagement is known to be deeply unproductive, it is deeply ironic that the employer is probably contributing to mental health issues.
A new study shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has increased workplace stress and anxiety for people around the world – and they prefer robots instead of other people to help. At least, that’s what they told researchers in the new AI@Work Study 2020 by software company Oracle and HR research and advisory firm Workplace Intelligence.
The global survey of 12,347 employees, managers, HR leaders, and executives showed unprecedented levels of stress. Contrary to a widespread belief that remote working has given people more family time, more than a third of respondents reported a lack of work-life balance, and a quarter suffered burnout.
A clue to this impact lies in two another findings: that a quarter of these working people also suffered depression from lack of socialisation; and boundaries have increasingly blurred between personal and professional worlds with people working remotely. Well over a third of people find themselves juggling unmanageable workloads.
The study should come as a warning to organisations that are intent on micro-managing their remote working staff. All in all, a huge 78 percent said that increased work stress had negatively affected their mental health.
Of course, this is the downside. There are tremendous benefits too, and half the respondents (51%) indeed found they had more time to spend with family, while 31% had more time for sleep and 30% were getting more work done. But that barely makes up for the 40% who reported sleep deprivation, 33% reduced happiness at home and 30% saw family relationships suffering.
No wonder three quarters of respondents also believed their company should be doing more to protect the mental health of their workforce.
Read more on the next page about how mental health has not only become a broader societal issue because of the pandemic, but also the main workplace challenge.
“With the global pandemic, mental health has become not only a broader societal issue, but a top workplace challenge,” says Emily He, senior vice president of Oracle’s Cloud HCM division. “It has profound impact on individual performance, team effectiveness and organisational productivity. Now more than ever, it’s a conversation that needs to be had and employees are looking to employers to step up and provide solutions.”
In a fascinating twist, however, the study found that the very technology that was allowing companies to stress out their employees, could also be used to take the pandemic weight off their shoulders.
“People want more from technology than collaboration tools and instead want technology to support their mental health,” the study found. And they would prefer humans over robots to support their mental health, because:
- they believe robots provide a judgement-free zone (34 percent),
- robots are an unbiased outlet to share problems (30 percent);
- robots can give quick answers to health-related questions (29 percent).
“So far, so what,” one might say, at least if one is in management: “less than a third of my people would turn to machines”. But that is just the tip of the iceberg.
“In our survey, 68% of respondents say they would prefer to talk to a robot over their manager about stress and anxiety at work,” say the researchers. “People have grown more confident that technology innovations can help them in exciting new ways. But it also reflects that there is still a stigma, and therefore some hesitation, around discussing mental health at work.”
The manager, in other words, is literally the last person the stressed employee expects to help resolve stress and anxiety issues. There is even more damning data: 80 percent of people are open to having a robot as a therapist or counselor. If anything, this is a massive indictment on the ability of companies to deal with such issues through regular human resources processes.
Many companies have recognised this reality, and have started introducing the equivalent of robot assistance: artificial intelligence (AI) software.
In fact, exactly three quarters of participants in the study said AI had helped their mental health at work. The main benefits should make managers sit up and pay attention:
- AI increased employee productivity (63%),
- AI improved job satisfaction (54%);
- AI improved overall well-being (52%).
- it provided the information needed to do their job more effectively (31%),
- it automated tasks and decreased workload to prevent burnout (27%);
- it reduced stress by helping to prioritise tasks (27%);
And, most of all, it helped 51% of workers shorten their work week and allowed them to take longer vacations.
The researchers warn: “Employees worldwide are looking for their organisations to provide more mental health support and if this help is not provided, it will have profound impact on global productivity as well as the personal and professional lives of the global workforce.”
Dan Schawbel, managing partner of Workplace Intelligence, stated the case in no uncertain terms: “With new remote work expectations and blurred lines between personal and professional lives, the toll of COVID-19 on our mental health is significant – and it’s something that workers across every industry and country are dealing with.
“The pandemic has put mental health front and centre – it’s the biggest workforce issue of our time and will be for the next decade. The results of our study show just how widespread this issue has become, and why now is the time for organisations to start talking about it and exploring new solutions.”
Read more on the next page about the key findings from the study.
Key findings:
- The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of 78% of the global workforce.
- 85% of people say their mental health issues at work negatively affect their home life.
- 68% of people would prefer to talk to a robot over their manager about stress and anxiety at work.
- 76% of people believe companies should be doing more to support the mental health of their workforce.