Dive Brief:
- Seventy-one percent of HR professionals responding to a recent survey said 2020 has been the most stressful year of their career. Reward Gateway's results, released Oct. 28, included responses from 751 HR leaders across the UK, U.S. and Australia.
- Respondents also said that connecting the workforce and keeping up workplace culture remotely have been big challenges.
- Approaching 2021, 48% said they expect remote work to become standard; the same amount will look to use technology to create an enhanced, streamlined employee experience and 45% anticipate that HR teams will become more involved in company-wide digital transformations.
Dive Insight:
Many employers have shown an awareness of the impact the pandemic is having on employee stress and mental health — and it appears HR pros are no exception. Recruiters, likewise, reported spiking stress levels in a recent survey.
The average employee's capacity to absorb change without becoming fatigued "has been cut in half" this year compared to last year, researchers at advisory firm Gartner said in October.
To combat stress and anxiety, some employers provided increased access to mental health benefits, employee assistance programs and flexible scheduling, according to speakers at a virtual conference in August. Eighty-eight percent of employers in a recent Business Group on Health survey said they had virtual service offerings for mental health; an additional 8% said they were adding such services in 2021 or considering them for 2022 or 2023. Large employers have been quick to embrace virtual healthcare delivery, especially in the area of mental health treatment.
