I was asked to contribute to the debate on mental health in the workplace as we all start in 2021. “What are your top tips for mental wellness in 2021?”

Were you desperately waiting for 2020 to end, somehow thinking that if you made it to the end, the new year would magically make things different? The stress of constantly changing work (remote, office, back to remote, schools open, schools closed, visiting family, bubbles, not visiting family, traveling, not traveling, etc.) would miraculously cease with the turn of the calendar.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise when we woke up on January 1 to find that there were still movement restrictions, the virus was still present, and we were just as concerned as the day before. New Years resolutions seem even more useless than usual, unless it’s to try and lose the “lock weight.”

Studies carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO), Deloitte, PWC and many more before 2020 highlighted the importance of mental health and wellness in the workplace. This was already a topic in the media, visibility in the UK with the “Virgin Media Mental Health Marathon” in London 2017, supported by the Royal Family charity, promoting mental health charities such as MIND, Samaritans, CALM and many more. . The issue of mental health has been raised and supported by charities, celebrities, and social media for some years now. Then came the unexpected, a global pandemic that changed everything, and even those of us who were fortunate enough not to have mental health problems in the past have been exposed to immense stress.

I speak from my experience as an IT professional, there are many other occupations that have been affected, but I will stick with what I know. For most of us of working age, in ‘good IT jobs’, in the UK, this is our first experience of such a global crisis – we have experienced epidemics in the past, AIDS, SARS, foot-and-mouth diseaseBut none that has had such a global influence and caused such a universal commotion. In the UK we have not been affected by conflict and war (although many have been around the world); We have experienced some economic crises, but nothing on such a large scale has affected us in all aspects of our lives. We have been safe, society has been protected, we are in the thriving “first world” economy. I’m not implying that there have been no struggles, but looking back with clear 20/20 hindsight, we have to acknowledge that overall, we have been fortunate, perhaps even privileged. Those of us who have had good careers, a good education, and a generally comfortable lifestyle (by which I mean we have had access to clean water, shelter, and food), have been protected from some of the horrors of the world.

Then comes 2020 and Corona virus COVID-19.

We have had to deal with the changes and pressures of a volatile situation that affects everyone in terms of work, social interactions and grief. Losing contact with loved ones, being physically separated from family and friends, creating different relationships with our co-workers. Some of us have enjoyed solitude (I’ve spoken about introverts before), others have been frustrated by lack of contact and stimulation (our extroverts), but we’ve all had one thing in common: this has had an effect. Suddenly pushed into an even greater spotlight, IT provision suddenly became the glue that held society’s communication together. We become front-line personnel, not in the magnificent way of healthcare workers, but quietly in the background, managing the survival of businesses, education, families, and global communication. The pressure to succeed, to maintain the status quo, to increase provision to meet the new demands of our organizations has been intense. In addition to that work pressure, new remote work experiences for some, or the need to continue mingling with others in the workplace, have created their own personal safety and wellness challenges. And it has been relentless.

Whichever industry you are in, you will have experienced similar challenges of your own. You may have had to deal with being jobless, purposeless, perhaps feeling that your role in life is shallow and worthless. Perhaps your frustration has been that the perception of your role as useless is wrong and your valuable contribution to society has been ignored. Perhaps it has been more fundamental and it has been an extreme economic crisis, without work, without money or without salaries that do not cover their needs. Feelings of letting your family down, out of control and overwhelmed by the stress of money, family and work worries. Perhaps you have been fortunate, you have been able to continue working, safely, without being affected financially, but even then, you will have been affected by changes in society and the safety and health of you and your loved ones.

What is the impact of all this? EVERYONE should be aware of our mental and physical health. What can we do? Should we expect ‘they’ (you know, the ones in charge) to do something for us? Organizations offering ‘one-time fixes’ of Monday Mindfulness, Wednesday Yoga, and some lovely apps can make you feel like you’re not managing your mental health because these things don’t work for you. They are all tools that we can use, but we must have a comprehensive and comprehensive approach as part of our organizational culture. That is a topic for another day. Until that happens, what you can help make happen, by the way, what can we as individuals do?

We can build resilience; we can work on our own mental health. This is a bit like the instruction we all used to hear when we were flying (remember those days?): “Please put on your own oxygen mask before helping others with yours.”

Your oxygen mask for mental health is resilience. Learn the techniques that will allow you to experiment without feeling overwhelmed; respond by choice, not by reflex and habit; accept what you can and cannot control; adapt to change with confidence. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help and talk to people about your feelings. Tell your boss, share your experience with your colleagues, even if they can’t help, they will be supportive just because they know you need some space. Seek help from professionals, counselors, and your GP if necessary.

To get started, these are my best tips for helping yourself, in an acronym: TERMINATION #TopTips for the individual in 2021: love yourself

Rest is essential

Commit to your feelings

Personal care takes time

Individual stress response, no comparison to others, your journey is yours

Listen to your inner voice (not the one that tells you to go crazy with an ax)

Improve your understanding of your needs

Experience your feelings fully, acknowledge them, even the most difficult

Necessary, you can not do without this, do not ignore your mental health

Change your behavior, your response, recognize that you can choose how to behave

Exercise the behavior until it becomes a habit (ha! You thought I was going to go for a run, didn’t you!), Embed it, that’s resilience