Mental health concerns among US office workers have increased exponentially recently, due in large part to the global COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the need for businesses that wish to remain competitive to implement and maintain high-quality facility health and hygiene practices.
Improving Occupant Mental Health Through Facility Hygiene and Sanitation
Before the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, mental health issues were considered a quiet epidemic among American workers, with approximately 85% of employees citing the workplace as negatively impacting their mental health and wellbeing.
According to the National Safety Council:
Mental distress has long been a hidden issue in the workplace, with 85% of workers reporting the workplace itself affects their mental health and wellbeing.
One risk factor for mental distress is experiencing stress, which can be caused by workplace conditions.
Chronic exposure to stressful workplace conditions can lead to a variety of mental health conditions, including experiencing depression, anxiety, an inability to concentrate and emotional exhaustion.
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Additionally, according to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America:
Self-reporting of anxiety symptoms and prescription medication use is high among America’s employees, but diagnoses of anxiety disorders are dramatically lower.
72 percent of people who have daily stress and anxiety say it interferes with their lives at least moderately.
40 percent experience persistent stress or excessive anxiety in their daily lives.
30 percent with daily stress have taken prescription medication to manage stress, nervousness, emotional problems, or lack of sleep.
28 percent have had an anxiety or panic attack.
Only 9 percent have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Post-COVID-19, employees are reporting a significant spike in workplace-related stress and mental health issues that negatively impact businesses in several ways, including:
- Increased absenteeism.
- Decreased productivity and profits, and;
- Rising healthcare costs.
According to the National Opinion Research Center:
Over 40% of Americans report increases in mental distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving employers with their own crisis, resulting in increased absenteeism, negative impacts on productivity and profits, and an increase in health care costs.
Typically, one of the best recommendations for addressing workplace-related stress and anxiety is to get more sleep.
Unfortunately, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the pandemic has triggered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in many office workers--one of the most common side effects being insomnia.
Fortunately, there does appear to be a relatively simple cure for both stress and related insomnia.
In times of stress, sleep problems are common, and sensitivity to sleep disruption increases the likelihood of chronic insomnia.
Insomnia is a risk factor for post‐traumatic stress disorder when people are exposed to major stressors.
This, in turn, is associated with an increase in sleep disruption, which can create a spiral of stress, mental health issues, sleep impairment, and fatigue.
However;
Health behaviors such as enhanced personal hygiene (such as wearing masks and handwashing) and using psychological support systems among coworkers, family, and friends have also been shown to decrease workers’ anxiety, depression, stress, and insomnia.
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The Business Cost of Pandemic-Related Stress
The challenge of workplace stress is that it often goes unseen and is incredibly difficult to conceptualize and, therefore, nearly impossible to address.
In regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, that is not the case.
If we take the safe route and trace the start of the pandemic in the U.S. back to December of 2019 when several blood samples that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were submitted to the American Red Cross from 'normal donors,' then we can estimate that the cost of workplace-related stress to U.S. businesses, due to the outbreak, over the course of 4 months (December 2019 to April 2020), was roughly just under $6 billion per month.
According to Business.com:
Among employees reporting increased stress levels during the pandemic, 62% said they lost at least one hour per day in productivity, while 32% reported losing two hours per day.
That translated to the loss of nearly $23 billion in the brief window from the start of the pandemic to April 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, the lost productivity and the costs to employee health and well-being, continue to mount.
Managing Occupant Workplace Stress Post-COVID-19
Managing workforce stress is a complicated matter that will require an extensive investment on the part of a business to fully address.
However, the stress induced by pandemic-related fears can be remedied quickly and succinctly through a series of well-documented procedures that combine workplace hygiene, increased cleaning frequencies, fomite sanitization, and facility-to-occupant communication.
Studies have shown that a key trigger for office worker stress is concern regarding coworker hygiene, which can and should be addressed through a handwashing campaign that includes training and signage, especially in or near the bathroom or other handwashing stations.
Additionally, office workers also want to know that the building they are occupying is being cleaned regularly and in a way that is designed to promote and protect their health and the environment, which means the adoption of daily environmentally preferable enhanced cleaning with EPA-registered products that conform to EWG guidelines, as well as signage and other forms of communication alerting them to the process and products used.
Finally, keeping in line with the demand for safer, healthier, and environmentally friendly cleaning--occupants are increasingly demanding more targeted sanitization with safer products that are registered with the EPA to kill SARS-CoV-2, such as Hydrogen Peroxide.
Combining the various enhanced cleaning and sanitization protocols and telling occupants about your efforts to protect their safety will go a long way towards reducing their fears and related stress regarding the potential for acquiring the COVID-19 virus or any other dangerous infection.
References & Resources
- Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States (2020)
- Investing In Mental Health Good For Business
Takeaway
The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has tipped the scales in a negative way regarding office worker stress, and employers must step up to the plate and take on the challenge of addressing occupant fears regarding the threat of workplace pathogen transmission.
This can be accomplished through a combination of advanced cleaning, sanitization, and workplace hygiene protocols.
If you would like more information regarding the effectiveness of high-performance infection prevention and control measures, or if you would like to schedule a free, no-obligation onsite assessment of your facility's custodial needs, contact us today for a free quote!
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In Valencia CA, or Santa Clarita CA, call (661) 437-3253
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