Women have additional difficulties teleworking.
Because she often combines several roles at home.
-
Pixabay
The rate of depression - especially severe - among employees exploded a year after the start of the health crisis, according to the barometer * carried out by OpinionWay for the firm Empreinte humaine and presented on Tuesday.
Young people, women and managers are the populations most at risk.
Almost non-stop teleworking, the economic pressure weighing on the company, partial unemployment, incessant reorganizations ... For a year, employees have been put to the test, and this is keenly felt on their morale.
According to the 6th wave of the Human Footprint barometer (a firm specializing in the prevention of psychosocial risks) carried out by OpinionWay * and unveiled on Tuesday, 45% of employees are in a state of psychological distress.
Even more serious: “The rate of depression requiring support among employees is exploding.
It drops to 36% (+ 15 points compared to December 2020).
The health crisis is becoming a work crisis, ”notes Christophe Nguyen, work psychologist and president of Empreinte humaine.
Young recruits without benchmarks
Figures that hide a different reality depending on the profile.
It is clear that young people are among those who suffer the most from the context, because 62% of those under 29 are in a situation of psychological distress (including 39% at risk of depression).
“Young recruits are losing their bearings with teleworking.
They no longer have anyone to help them understand their new profession, ”observes Christophe Nguyen.
“Young people like to work in tribes, have a strong need for socialization, which is thwarted with remote work.
And the fact that they live on parole the rest of the time is difficult to bear ”, adds Sandrine Lévy-Amon, psychology at the firm Stimulus, specialist in the field of psychological health at work.
“They went from a protective daily life, with managers and colleagues, to an uncomfortable work situation.
It's anxiety-provoking, ”also underlines the work sociologist Alain d'Iribarne.
The fact that they most often live in small apartments adds another layer: “Employees living in less than 40 m 2 are overexposed to psychological distress (65%).
The feeling of confinement is stronger there, ”continues Christophe Nguyen.
The crisis also underlines their fragile status in the company, according to Magalie Hus, psychologist at the occupational medicine in the Aisne: “Those who occupy a CDD are aware of the risk of precariousness that they run in the event of economic difficulty of the company. 'business ".
Mental health of weakened women
Another vulnerable public: women (53% in psychological distress).
A figure that does not surprise Sandrine Lévy-Amon: “For those who work from home, reconciling professional and personal life is more difficult.
Their mental load is stronger because they must constantly reorganize their family life according to health restrictions.
Especially since they often have less help than usual, not necessarily having kept a babysitter, and have more household chores to take on ”.
The situation is worse "for those with young children, because they have two days in one", summarizes Alain d'Iribarne.
The absence of a valve penalizes them a lot, also notes Magalie Hus: “Since the announcements of the government last Thursday, those who contact me via a listening cell explain to me that they live very badly not being able to receive relatives.
They no longer have an escape, which prevents them from taking a step back from work ”.
And what they have been going through for a year is likely to be felt for a long time: "They are more likely to think of asking for part-time work after the covid crisis (31%)", informs Christophe Nguyen.
"Managers absorb a lot of stress"
Managers are also in a delicate situation (48% say they are in psychological distress).
This leads to a strong feeling of isolation, since 60% do not allow themselves to talk about their difficulties before dealing with those of their collaborators.
“They show a form of self-sacrifice, over-invest themselves to help their team, and no longer have the time to talk with other managers, caught up like them by crisis management,” observes Christophe Nguyen.
“Those who call me feel helpless in the face of the ill-being of the people they supervise.
They also mention the rise in tensions, ”adds Magalie Hus.
Half also believe that teleworking prevents them from managing properly.
"They complain in particular that they no longer have informal moments with their team, which allowed messages to be conveyed during a coffee break", underlines Christophe Nguyen.
Crisis requires, they have even more the impression of being between a rock and a hard place: “Certain injunctions from above are more difficult to pass.
Especially since the sensitivity to change is very variable from one employee to another and can be very badly experienced ”, underlines Alain d'Iribarne.
A feeling of exhaustion that Sandrine Lévy-Amon also notes: “Managers absorb a lot of stress, are the receptacles of their team's discomfort and must multiply telephone contacts to maintain the cohesion of the service.
After a year, it's exhausting ”.
Urgent measures to be taken
However, there are solutions to reduce the risk of burnout among all these employees.
"There is an urgent need to put in place psychosocial risk referents in companies, responsible for directing distressed employees to psychological support structures", suggests Christophe Nguyen first of all.
"It is essential to offer employees a listening cell, because talking about their work problems prevents them from bringing them home," adds Magalie Hus.
Regarding teleworking, Christophe Nguyen also thinks that it would be necessary "to allow companies to decline the health protocol as they see fit."
This would allow certain employees who need it to come to the site more than one day a week depending on the tonnage ”.
Finally, according to him, top management should pay more attention to the mental health of managers: “We must encourage them not to start their day too early, not to organize a meeting between 12 noon and 2 pm.
And don't bombard them with organizational changes at the last minute ”.
Economy
Coronavirus: Teleworking, stress management….
How the health crisis transformed the role of manager
Economy
Coronavirus: Why the health crisis is a boost for the training of certain employees
* The 6th wave of the Barometer "Impact of the health crisis on the psychological health of employees" OpinionWay for Human Footprint was carried out online, from March 1 to 12, 2021, with a sample of 2,004 employees representative and constituted according to the method quotas, with regard to criteria of sex, age, activity sectors, type of employer and size of companies.
Teleworking
Covid 19
Coronavirus
Job
Employment
Economy