Corporate Employee Resilience

In the past, HR has focused on minimizing the cost of employee health and maximizing productivity. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive shift in thought about how to survive its traumatic impact on employee health and well-being. It is understood that productivity cannot be maximized without a sincere effort to address this traumatic effects of the pandemic on the workforce and their families. Leading HR departments accept this reality and incorporate customized resilience strategies.

Isolation and job insecurity lead the list of factors that have taken a toll on American employee mental health to reduced pandemic-era productivity. In the past few employees took advantage of mental health support offered by Employee Assistance Programs due to the stigma. However, COVID-19 has created a playing field on which absolutely no one can claim that they have not been at least mildly traumatized. If there is a silver lining, it is that the pandemic has diminished the fear of stigmatization for those seeking trauma support.

Some companies have remained remarkably productive during the Covid-era, capitalizing on the latest technology to safely maintain communication and support longstanding performance strategies. Others have struggled with employee distractions, resulting in reduced motivation and productivity, versus early 2020. The key difference between the best and the rest has been how to understand and address the personal and family trauma delivered and compounded by the pandemic. The best understand that successfully managing this trauma is the gateway to restoring and exceeding the productivity enjoyed pre-pandemic.

Employees performance is maximized when they feel their employers care about their families, not just what they contribute to the company’s bottom line. This primary need of personal and family well-being — especially during a pandemic — can best be demonstrated by the employer addressing the trauma being experienced by employees and their families. This is exactly the mission of HLN. Greater care for the employee’s primary needs leads to happier employees, fewer claims, reduced absenteeism and greater productivity.