Many are finding the new social distancing conditions tough to deal with.

GreenKite’s Chairman Dean Fathers and Marie Chellingsworth from The CBT Resource share their insights on employee mental health in the Insurance sector.

We are all facing a situation we have never faced before. Many are finding the COVID-19 pandemic, new social distancing conditions, changes to the way we work and parent difficult, stressful and anxiety provoking. Stress in the workplace is not new, but remote working and the further challenges that the pandemic brings with it on top add a pressing further need for employers to have good employee mental health and wellbeing support. So, what is the extent of the potential problem to the insurance sector and what can be done to help deal with the additional impact of COVID-19 on the insurance sector workforce?

Prior to COVID-19, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that a shocking 28.2 million working days were lost in Great Britain in 2018/19. Stress and depression accounted for the majority of lost work days along with musculoskeletal disorders. With an average of 21.2 working days lost for each person experiencing stress, depression or anxiety. The Thriving at Work report (2017), shows that 300,000 people lose their job each year as a consequence of mental health problems. Lost working days as a result of mental health problems cost the national economy £99bn a year. Days off work are not the only cost of employee stress and mental health concerns that employers need to consider. They also found the cost to employers of presenteeism, employees being less productive as a result of stress, anxiety, depression or other mental health problems to be between £33-42 billion pounds annually.

Prior to the increase in recent stress as a result of the pandemic, Ecclesiastical’s recent survey of 250 insurance brokers showed 1 in 5 had already contemplated leaving the industry due to stress, and 78% of brokers felt stressed at work. The contributory factors given for this were stated to be heavy workloads, regulation, the high volume of paper work and feeling under pressure to meet targets.

A more recent Coping with COVID-19 Resilience Survey of 342 employees undertaken by Insurance Post (2020) found that insurance employees are most concerned about mental health and mass sickness as a result of COVID-19. With the biggest areas of concern regarding isolation while working from home, impact upon morale and engagement, missing colleagues and the social aspects of working within a team.

In terms of quality and type of support provided – for stress, anxiety and depression, the primary treatment of choice recommended is intervention based upon specific Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) principles for the target problem.

Stress can manifest in many ways, affecting concentration, sleep, productivity, increase tension and cause a range of associated physical problems such as headaches, aches and pains, gastro-intestinal upset and irritability. Working from home can affect usual routines which in turn can affect appetite, sleep regulation and along with the lack of usual social contact can begin to impact negatively on mood. The COVID-19 pandemic brings uncertainty, unpredictability and can feel largely out of control. This can increase anxiety and worries, all of which further contribute to the other symptoms and their impact.

When people experience stress, the nervous system activates sympathetic arousal, releasing cortisol, the body’s stress hormone and adrenalin. Sympathetic activation makes it hard for people to relax, keeping them in a state of alert, ready to act to keep safe from harm. It switches off the bodies rest and digest state, the state that keeps us feeling relaxed, sleeping well and tells our brain everything is going well. When the threat or danger is no longer a problem, the rest and digest state in the body then comes back into balance. This is a brilliant way the body keeps us safe from short term danger or threat in our everyday life. In short bursts, stress can be helpful and motivating.

When a situation is unpredictable, largely outside of an individual’s control and has no clear end date however, such as in the pandemic, or in an ongoing workplace stress issue for example, the body is fired up for action, but the situation remains unresolved. Stress can impact on the immune system from working optimally, making someone more vulnerable to infection, viruses or other health conditions. Ongoing stress leaves the person feeling burnt out and also more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

So, what can be done?

Early, focused evidence-based interventions to support employees can help short term stress, sleep difficulties and other problems from turning into something more substantial. With COVID-19 adding to employee concerns regarding stress and mental health, this becomes a bigger need for the sector than ever before. What action is taken though is a very important consideration. For mental health in the UK, specific intervention types are recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) so interventions should be evidence based and meet these guidelines in terms of content.

In terms of reducing stress, a great way of doing this is offering employees evidence-based techniques they can use from home such as the hints and tips below. Training from a good quality provider can also help HR teams and managers can help them to identify any early warning signs in employees and quality check resources put into place for employee wellbeing and mental health.

Having online resources on the company intranet pages for managing stress, sleep and mood can be a great way to enable employees to access evidence-based information at any time without speaking to anyone unless they feel ready. Many problems will naturally resolve with this support in place.

Benefits of supporting employees with their mental health can also have a wider knock-on improvement on customer and employee interactions during difficult or emotional insurance calls and in employees feeling able to respond to the needs of customers with known mental health problems.

Hints and Tips from The CBT Resource taken from our free Guide to Managing Stress and Worry during the COVID-19 outbreak:

• One of the biggest things that can be done is helping employees to keep to a routine. Our body clock relies on routine to keep us feeling well sleeping and regulating our mood. Keeping in a routine can help to prevent depression and aid sleep. Ideally getting up and going to bed at the same time each day. Keeping meal times regular each day is also important (even if what is eaten alters)
• A routine before bed each night is important to tell the body sleep is coming and for it to release the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Keep the rooms you will go in dark and avoid using screens and devices during this time as they release blue light which affects sleep. Try to do relaxing things in this time such as yoga, a warm bath, reading or practising relaxation. The Headspace app offers free mindfulness sessions that can be good during this time. If you are not sleeping well, avoid caffeine after lunchtime so they body has broken it all down before you go to bed.
• A good night’s sleep starts in the daytime! Our bodies need to produce melatonin and we need access to daytime light to do this during the day. The hours of 11am-3pm are the optimal time for this. Try to get outside in your garden if you have one, or at a window if necessary.
• Activities that require concentration are best in the mornings with those that require exertion like exercise in the afternoon for the body clock.
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a great tool that can be used once or twice a day to help your body to notice early warning signs of tension and let them know. It has been shown to improve tension, tension headaches, improve sleep and irritability and reduce worries. It only takes a few moments to practice. A guide on how to do it is available in the COVID-19 guide here: thecbtresource.co.uk
• Make a list of routine things you need to do, pleasurable things you enjoy (but may need to adapt because of the restrictions) and any necessary things you have to get done before a certain date or there will be a health or financial consequence. Each week tackle one or two of each of the things that needs to be done, breaking more difficult tasks down into easier parts.
• Keeping active is great for your mood. Many free online exercise classes are now available for people during the pandemic. Use your hour of exercise each day to combine with good access to light and to see things you really value and like in your local area.
• If you find worries affect your day, or stop you worrying at night, the worry time technique can help. You set a planned time each day, ideally before your time for bed routine, where you can worry as much as you want. Outside of this time you write any worries down on a list (keep a pen and paper handy and one at the side of the bed) then refocus your attention on a task in the present, using all your senses. The same worry many keep coming back, that is ok, just write it down, knowing you can deal with it in your worry time. At that planned time, take out your list and worry about them as much as you want to. The APPLE technique in the guide can help you to refocus your attention away from thoughts about uncertainty. See what you notice and how much time if frees up in your day and how it helps you sleep.

For help and further information on the tips and tools recommended in this article and for a free booklet and worksheets see Managing Stress and Worry during the COVID-19 Outbreak. Available here: www.thecbtresource.co.uk