Mindset Matters: Cracking The Code And Adjusting To The New Normal During The COVID-19 Epidemic

We are watching social norms and basic decorum changing before our eyes in real time. In a period where social distancing has become not only a regular occurrence but an integral part of our daily conversations making it even more critical that organizational leadership confront one of the most enduring features of this pandemic, the need to deal with the mental health of their employees which is a game changer in creating a pathway through this storm and building a foundation for solid growth as we move beyond this crisis.  

It cannot be overstated that mental health issues are one the leading causes of disability in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) the most susceptible are those ages 15 to 44, however, with a worldwide crisis such as this, the impact of invisible disabilities such as depression and anxiety is magnified and the residual impact on business beyond this catastrophic event will become evident. So, one of the fundamental questions that all businesses need to think about either large or small is how to utilize strategies and tactics to help weather this storm and implement safeguards that can be deployed after this pandemic subsides. By developing a new paradigm to define a healthy business for both employers and employees the objective is help chart a path for the future of business to tackle potential challenges while continuing to grow in a positive direction.

As we have seen many organizations are not prepared for a crisis, and while a crisis of this magnitude seems to be out of some dystopian movie, it sheds light on the fact that organizational leadership needs to be prepared to deal with crisis management. When it comes to the arena of invisible disabilities and mental well-being the first step is articulating a system through a Needs Assessment which often begins with a singular question:

·      What Does Our Organization Need To Create A Healthy Work Culture So That Employees Can Thrive And Business Can Grow?

In developing a needs assessment, the goal is to define both internally and externally what an organizational readiness plan can look like. As professor and psychologist Michael Csikszentmihalyi has characterized in his principles of good business he writes that “the leader’s sense of responsibility is not focused primarily on coming up with an improved product or service, but the task of aiding employees, customers, suppliers, and community in general to lead a better life.” Taking this cue, business leadership must look at mental health and invisible disabilities as paramount in defining a new language for business stability and growth.

However, in this time of great flux where society is being challenged to see what exactly this state of the new normal looks like, business leadership should take a lesson from one of the great American art forms, jazz. As the great jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins once said, “I feel that jazz improvisation is the ultimate. You have to create on the spot.” Leadership are today forced to improvise and create on the spot to not only keep their business afloat but redefine how to operationalize their organization in troubled times.

In this moment where social distancing and remote work has become the new normal, organizations are not only faced with recalibrating and identifying new ways of working, but focusing on increasing their ongoing needs assessment in real time to assist in finding  and creating solutions for what their employees actually require to not only feel productive but supported as they traverse the emotional waters of this new reality. It cannot go without saying that in this time of great change employees are feeling a flurry of emotions ranging from anger to grief and sadness contributing to various fluctuations in their mental wellbeing.  It is essential that in order for organizational leadership to crack the code of the workplace culture of the 21st century they must highlight the need to connect with their employees on an emotional level to necessitate the importance of community while shaping an empathetic pathway that is vital for not only business in crisis, but a vision for the business of tomorrow.