One in five employees say they are struggling to cope with Covid-19 restrictions and 26 per cent disclosed that their mental health has deteriorated due to the pandemic, according to new employee research for Group Risk Development (Grid).
The research, undertaken during January 2021, showed that 76 per cent of employees, to the best of their knowledge, had not had Covid-19, but 13 per cent said they had contracted the virus and 11 per cent were ‘not sure’. Of those who have had the virus, 46 per cent, said they were struggling to recover.
Grid says this highlights the importance of ensuring swift access to health and wellbeing benefits to minimise the impact on the individual.
The body says mental health support in relation to Covid-19 has been accelerated, remote/online consultations are more widely available, and early interventions for Long Covid have been developed that address both the fatigue and neurological side of the condition.
Grid says mental repercussions of both the restrictions and the virus itself impact not just the individual but can also have consequences for partners, children and other dependants and within a business context, immediate colleagues, their wider team and the business as a whole.
Grid spokesperson Katharine Moxham says: “At present, the focus of the pandemic is very much on counting individuals: those who have tested positive, those who are in hospital, those who have died and those who have received the vaccine. However, there is great potential for a ripple effect to occur where impact is felt much wider.
“Group risk products: employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness are continually developing and over recent years we’ve seen a marked increase in the capacity and diversity of embedded support. However, it’s true to say that as in other areas of our lives, the pandemic has hastened developments. Therefore as well as providing comprehensive financial help for employees when it’s most needed, the breadth and depth of support within group risk products
