More than one in four workers say their mental health has suffered during the pandemic – and they want their employers to be empathetic about that fact.

They also want the tools and training to help them adjust to working remotely and other aspects of the new normal.

Those are two findings from a workplace survey by The Adecco Group.

“The support employees need includes not only technology and training, but also support for workers’ mental and emotional well-being,” according to this US Chamber of Commerce report on the survey. “More than a quarter – 28 percent – of workers said their mental health deteriorated from the stress and isolation of the pandemic.”

What can law firm employers do? Work on their “soft” management skills, experts suggest, starting with communication, empathy and wellness support.

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Here are some of the highlights from the article, “HR Execs Reveal How the Pandemic Is Forcing Companies to Rethink Worker Needs,” by Mark Hamstra for the US Chamber of Commerce.

• 77 percent of workers said support for their emotional well-being will be important to them after the pandemic.
• 74 percent said it is important for managers to show empathy.
• One consequence of the pandemic has been to expose the management flaws of weak leaders.
• “As workplace disruption continues amid the ongoing spread of COVID-19, organizations need to rethink the support they provide for their employees,” writes Hamstra.
• “I don’t think we fully appreciate the extent to which this could be a barrier to [economic] recovery,” said Mary-Clare Race, chief innovation officer at LHH, a division of The Adecco Group, as quoted in Hamstra’s article. “There is a need for organizations to do more to improve the mental health literacy of their leaders.”
• 75 percent of C-suite/executive managers believe additional training is needed for managers who supervise remote workers. 69 percent of managers and 60 percent of workers feel the same way.
• 75 percent of employees want flexibility around office and remote working after the pandemic.
• “Workers seeking to advance their careers will need to be able to adapt to different technologies. Some of the skills most in demand will revolve around data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and software engineering.”
• Managers are rethinking how they evaluate performance. “Rather than focusing on the number of actual hours worked, it might make more sense to focus on the actual output of individual workers and the overall impact they have on company performance,” writes Hamstra.
• Successful leaders going forward will need to develop strong interpersonal skills.

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