The Little Blue Book

The challenge for workplaces (for team leaders and managers) in finding a way through the next months of teams working from home, will be in protecting the wellbeing of workers while maintaining engagement and connection. Whether working from home, or at the workplace, employers have obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act (2011) to protect workers “from psychological hazards as well as physical hazards”. While this legal duty applies under the changed circumstances of workplaces (and work arrangements) under lockdown, it nonetheless remains in the interest of employers - and simply good sense - to ensure that the mental health of people working from home is protected. Loneliness and disconnection, and the associated mood disorders and negative mental health outcomes that can come with it, is a real risk when working remotely. FIFO workers (fly-in, fly-out) experience depression, anxiety and other symptoms of stress at more than twice the rate of the general community, and more than one-in-four (28%) report feelings of “high to very high psychological distress”. For some individuals, those whose social connections are mostly found in the workplace, similar risks may attach to working in ‘lockdown’. Working from home, especially when living alone, can be totally isolating. In managing people and their welfare while working from home, businesses and team leaders have obligations to protect the mental health of individuals – and of all in the team – while engaged in work- related activities. That is not going to be easy, especially for those businesses facing extended disruption. However, taking simple steps to keep people connected and talking, to ensure that workloads and expectations are well managed and reasonable, will not only maintain the productivity, engagement and effectiveness of ‘the team’, but will also protect mental health. The dual-upside to this will be in improved loyalty, commitment and cohesiveness on the other side of this pandemic when people reintegrate with their workplaces. COMBATTING LONELINESS WHEN WORKING REMOTELY (1) Psychological distress in remote mining and construction workers in Australia https://www.mja.com.au Bowers J., Lo J.,, et al; 2018; The Medical Journal of Australia COVID-19: The Challenge 32