The pandemic was more than a devastating health crisis. The ripple effects changed the way we work and live our lives. While this may seem insensitive, the Covid-19 outbreak led to some positive changes to our culture. For the first time, corporate leadership is paying close attention to the mental health and well-being of their employees.
We spent nearly two years working from home, feeling isolated, suffering from anxiety, afraid of catching or spreading the virus and worrying about our job security and livelihoods, while millions of Americans were fired or furloughed.
These—and other related mental health issues—were widespread across all types of demographics. There’s no discrimination when it relates to suffering from mental health matters. It impacts gig-economy workers and CEOs alike.
I interviewed Yvette Cameron, Oracle Cloud HCM senior vice-president, to learn more about how technology, artificial intelligence and robots can help workers with their mental health matters and careers.
She is positive about the future of work, stating, “The last year set a new course for the future of work.” Cameron continued, “Surprisingly, amongst the stress, anxiety and loneliness of the global pandemic, employees found their voice, became more empowered and are now speaking up for what they want.”
She added, “The evolving nature of the workplace shifted the way people think about success and reset people’s expectations for how organizations can best support them. To attract and retain talent, businesses will need to help employees develop new skills and career paths so they can feel in control of their careers again.”
Seemingly overnight, the economy snapped back. The stock market went parabolic. Real estate values hit record highs. Recent accounts of government data reflect there are over 10 million jobs open. Businesses of all sizes are facing the trends of a war for talent and Great Resignation. It's become incredibly hard to attract and retain workers.
Cameron points out that this new mindset is attributed, in large part, to the realization by many people that life is short, and you need to make the best of it. If you’re not appreciated at work and are paid poorly, it's time to leave and find a place that treats you with respect and empathy. She referred to this trend as the “Great Awakening.”
To better understand how workers feel and what they’re going through, Oracle, the large technology company, conducted a survey of 14,600 employees, managers, human resources leaders and C-level executives across 13 countries to find out how the pandemic affects the mental health of workers around the world.
The study, also involving Workplace Intelligence, an HR research and advisory firm, explored how the pandemic has affected different jobs, generations and geographies around the world. Some of the findings may surprise you, including “executives have struggled the most to adapt to remote work.” Evidently, while “45% of employees said that their mental health has suffered during the pandemic, 53% of C-level executives and 52% of HR leaders said that they struggle with ongoing mental health issues in the workplace.”
This was largely attributed to the stress of “leading dispersed teams, especially teams that are not used to working remotely.” This type of leadership “requires a different skill set than in-person leadership. This change may have caused some of the distress executives experienced.”
Cameron maintains that artificial intelligence and robots can help people with their mental health issues. At first blush, this seems counterintuitive. We’ve all been conditioned to think of lying on a couch and speaking with a therapist, as the go-to thing to do when you’re coping with a crisis.
If you start to think about it more deeply, most of us, particularly those in the older Gen-X and Baby Boomer demographics, didn’t grow up talking about and sharing their feelings and emotions. It just wasn’t a thing back then. Now, it's different. We’ve evolved as a society and have learned to become more empathetic, caring and understanding of what others are going through.
Nevertheless, it's still hard for some people to change. An employee may reasonably be concerned that if they speak with human resources about their mental health issues, they may get stigmatized. Word may spread and you’ll worry that people are whispering behind your back. They may also feel awkward sharing their innermost feelings and anxieties with the boss. You’ll feel it's not worth the risk.
The alternative, according to Cameron, is to engage with software, specifically made for this purpose. You could follow a program that prompts you to share what you are going through. The AI will then offer suggestions of what to do next and direct you to appropriate healthcare providers, experts and benefits offered by your company. It's private, discreet and no one else will know about it, she says.
The survey shows that in addition to being impacted by mental health issues, “C-Level executives are the most open to mental health support from AI.” Globally, 62% of the workforce reported that they would prefer to speak to a robot than their manager about mental health. That number substantially increased for executives and HR leaders (73% and 69%, respectively.) Comparatively, only 65% of employees reported that AI has been helpful in this regard.
There could be another reason why executives turn to AI, as opposed to speaking with someone: executives are more apt to feel that disclosing mental health issues can be seen as a sign of weakness. This could be perceived as detrimental to their stewardship of the organization. If leaked, it could be twisted and become a public relations nightmare. This is one of many reasons why talking about one’s feelings and challenges should be normalized within companies.
Here are some more highlights from the study:
- Over 75% of people feel “stuck” personally and professionally.
- Since the start of the pandemic, 88% of people believe their meaning of success has changed.
- Eighty-five percent of people want technology to help define their future.
The global workforce feels lonely, disconnected, and out of control
Continued, unrelenting uncertainty, due to the pandemic, has left many workers in emotional turmoil, feeling like their lives and careers are out of control.
- Eighty percent of people have been negatively impacted by the last year, with many struggling financially (29%), suffering from declining mental health (28%), lacking career motivation (25%) and feeling disconnected from their own lives (23%).
- Sixty-two percent of people found 2021 to be the most stressful year at work ever. More than half (52%) of people struggled with mental health at work more in 2021 than in 2020.
- The amount of people who feel little to no control over their personal and professional lives doubled since the start of the pandemic. People noted they have lost control over their futures (43%), personal lives (46%), careers (41%) and relationships (39%).
- Seventy-six percent of people feel stuck in their personal lives, feeling anxiety about their future (31%), trapped in the same routine (27%) and more loneliness than ever before (26%).
People are motivated to make changes, but are facing big challenges
Despite struggles over the last year, people around the world are eager to make changes in their professional lives.
- Ninety-three percent percent of people used the past year to reflect on their lives and 88% said the meaning of success has changed for them since the pandemic, with work-life balance (42%), mental health (37%) and workplace flexibility (33%) now top priorities.
- Seventy-five percent feel stuck professionally, feeling like they don’t have growth opportunities to progress their career (25%) and are too overwhelmed to make any changes (22%).
- Seventy percent of people say feeling stuck in their career has negatively impacted their personal lives as well by adding extra stress and anxiety (40%), contributing to feeling stuck personally (29%) and taking focus away from their personal lives (27%).
- Eighty-three percent of people are ready to make a change, but 76% said they are facing major obstacles. The biggest obstacles include financial instability (22%), not knowing what career change makes sense for them (20%), not feeling confident enough to make a change (20%) and seeing no growth opportunities within their company (20%).
- Going into 2022, professional development is top of mind with many willing to give up key benefits, such as vacation time (52%), monetary bonuses (51%) and even part of their salary (43%) for more career opportunities.
- However, 85% of the global workforce are not satisfied with their employer’s support. They are looking for organizations to provide more learning and skills development (34%), money (31%) and opportunities for new roles within their company (30%).
Employees around the world are hungry for new skills and turning to technology for help
To retain and grow top talent amidst changing workplace dynamics, employers need to pay attention to employee needs more than ever before and leverage technology to provide better support.
- Eighty-five percent of people want technology to help define their future by identifying skills they need to develop (36%), recommending ways to learn new skills (36%) and providing next steps to progress toward career goals (32%).
- Seventy-five percent of people would make life changes based on robot recommendations.
- Eighty-two percent believe robots can support their careers better than a human by giving unbiased recommendations (37%), quickly answering questions about their career (33%) or finding new jobs that fit their current skills (32%).
- People believe humans still have a critical role to play in career development and believe humans are better at providing support by offering advice based on personal experience (46%), identifying strengths and weaknesses (44%) and looking beyond a résumé to recommend roles that fit personalities (41%).
- Eighty-seven percent of people believe their company should be doing more to listen to their needs and 55% are more likely to stay with a company that uses advanced technologies, like AI, to support career growth.
Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, said about the study, “The past year has changed how we work including where we work and, for a lot of people, who we work for.” Schawbel added, “While there have been a lot of challenges for both employees and employers, this has been an opportunity to change the workplace for the better.”
“The data clearly shows that investment in skills and career development is now a key differentiator for employers, as it plays a significant role in employees feeling like they have control over their personal and professional lives.” He points out, “Businesses that invest in their employees and help them find opportunities will reap the benefits of a productive, engaged workforce.”
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October 26, 2021 at 10:21PM
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Why Many People Are Turning Toward Robots And AI To Help Support Their Mental Health And Careers - Forbes
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