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2020 has been the most stressful year in history for the global workforce and people want robots to help, according to a new study from Oracle and Workplace Intelligence.
The study of more than 12,000 C-level employees, managers, HR leaders, and executives in 11 countries found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress, anxiety and burnout in the workplace for people of all the world, and they prefer robots to other people to help.
The study found that people around the world are struggling with increased levels of anxiety and depression at work due to COVID-19.
- 70 percent of people have had more stress and anxiety at work this year than in any other year before.
- This increased stress and anxiety has had a negative impact on the mental health of 78 percent of the global workforce, causing more stress (38 percent), lack of work-life balance (35 percent), exhaustion (25 percent), depression from not socializing (25 percent) and loneliness (14 percent).
- The new pressures presented by the global pandemic have been superimposed on everyday stressors in the workplace, including the pressure to meet performance standards (42 percent), handle routine and tedious tasks (41 percent), and do juggling unmanageable workloads (41 percent).
According to the study, mental health problems at work are negatively affecting people’s personal lives.
The global pandemic has exacerbated mental health problems in the workplace and the impact is not limited to professional life, people also feel the effects at home, the study explains.
- 85 percent of people say that mental health problems at work (ie, stress, anxiety and depression) affect their home life.
- The most common repercussions were lack of sleep (40 percent), poor physical health (35 percent), reduced happiness at home (33 percent), suffering from family relationships (30 percent) and isolation from friends (28 percent).
- As the lines between the personal and professional worlds have increasingly blurred with people working remotely, 35 percent of people work more than 40 more hours each month and 25 percent of people work. have exhausted due to overwork.
- Despite the perceived drawbacks of telecommuting, 62 percent of people find telecommuting more attractive now than before the pandemic, and say they now have more time to spend with family (51 percent), sleep (31 percent) and do work (30 percent).
Employees want help and are turning to technology instead of people, the study found.
People want more from technology than collaboration tools, and instead want technology to support their mental health
- Only 18 percent of people would prefer humans to robots to support their mental health as they believe robots provide a judgment-free zone (34 percent), an unbiased outlet for problem-sharing (30 percent) and quick responses to health-related questions (29 percent).
- 68 percent of people would rather talk to a robot than their manager about stress and anxiety at work and 80 percent of people are open to having a robot as a therapist or counselor.
- 75 percent say AI has helped their mental health at work. The main benefits observed were providing the information needed to do their jobs more effectively (31 percent), automating tasks, and decreasing workload to prevent burnout (27 percent) and reducing stress by helping to prioritize tasks (27 percent).
- AI has also helped the majority (51 percent) of workers shorten their workweek and allowed them to take longer vacations (51 percent). More than half of those surveyed say that artificial intelligence technology increases employee productivity (63 percent), improves job satisfaction (54 percent), and improves general well-being (52 percent).
The report found that mental health problems at work are not going to go away and cannot be ignored.
Employees around the world look to their organizations to provide more mental health support and, if this help is not provided, it will have a profound impact on global productivity, as well as the personal and professional lives of the global workforce.
- 76 percent of people believe their company should do more to protect the mental health of its workforce. 51 percent noted that their companies have added mental health services or support as a result of COVID-19.
- 83 percent of the global workforce would like their company to provide technology to support their mental health, including self-service access to health resources (36 percent), on-demand counseling services (35 percent), tools of proactive health monitoring (35 percent), access to wellness or meditation apps (35 percent), and chatbots to answer health-related questions (28 percent).
- 84 percent of workers have faced challenges while working remotely, with the most important factors being the lack of distinction between personal and professional life (41 percent) and facing greater mental health challenges such as stress and anxiety (33 percent).
- 42 percent of people said that stress, anxiety or depression in the workplace causes their productivity to plummet and 40 percent said it leads to an increase in poor decision making. Eighty-five percent said work-related stress, anxiety, and depression affect their family life.
“With new expectations for remote work and blurred lines between personal and professional life, the cost of COVID-19 to our mental health is significant and something that workers in all industries and countries are grappling with,” he says Dan Schawbel, Managing Partner at Workplace Intelligence.
“The pandemic has put mental health at the forefront and at the center of its greatest workforce problem of our time and it will be for the next decade. The results of our study show how widespread this problem has become and why it is now the time for organizations to start talking about it and exploring new solutions. “
“With the global pandemic, mental health has become not only a broader social problem, but a major challenge in the workplace. It has a profound impact on individual performance, team effectiveness, and organizational productivity.” said Emily He, senior vice president, Oracle Cloud HCM. .
“Now more than ever, it’s a must have conversation and employees expect employers to step up and provide solutions,” he explains.
“There is a lot that can be done to support the mental health of the global workforce and there are many ways that technology like AI can help. But first, organizations need to add mental health to their agenda.
“If we can start these conversations at both the HR and executive levels, we can start to make some changes. And the time is now.”
