Employees' mental health is the secret sauce for that competitive edge

COVID-19 has exerted unprecedented pressure on individuals' mental health and well-being across all levels of the community and corporations. What was largely an invisible issue that was seldom talked about is enjoying a moment in the limelight: Mental health and wellness is now a topic that is clearly in the national and corporate consciousness.

In a recent survey that The Straits Times and market research firm Milieu Insight conducted on the impact of the pandemic, 76 per cent of the 1,000 respondents polled online expressed feeling sad or depressed, and 65 per cent feeling lonely.

It is therefore heartening that many corporate webinars and conferences are addressing mental health issues ranging from anxieties connected with the pandemic, mental health pressures brought about by a lack of downtime from work, and significantly reduced in-person interaction that is the consequence of extensively working from home. These challenges have affected all equally - from leaders to the rank-and-file.