Even before the term COVID-19 had entered our vocabulary, burnout, stress and anxiety were significant issues in the workplace, and society generally. Throw the pandemic’s mental health impact into the mix, and work-related stress is likely to reach staggering levels in the coming months.
- The economy is now a significant source of stress for 70% of Americans
- The government’s response to the crisis is causing stress in 67% of Americans
- More than 1/3 of Americans have displayed clinical signs of anxiety, depression or both since the pandemic began
- Only 50% of employers are comfortable discussing mental health issues
- Nearly one in five Americans say they have a physical reaction when thinking about the outbreak
- In a March Pew study, 18% said they had experienced nervousness or anxiety most or all of the time during the past week
- Text messages to a SAMHSA disaster distress hotline increased more than 1000% last month
- Mental health is poorest among those unemployed for six months or more
- The long-term psychological consequences of collective traumas can last a decade or more
- Pandemic stress is significantly higher in young people