Abstract

COVID-19 will ultimately have affected some employees directly or their close friends and family. To make matters worse we have nothing to compare these current times against. The last comparable event would be the Spanish flu in 1918, though I think it’s safe to say that the way we live our lives has significantly changed and the current pandemic is a whole new Pandora’s box.. and it’s wide open! To say these are uncertain and anxious times is an understatement.

Throughout the UK individuals are facing uncertainty, change, fear and anxiety, not least for the health, safety and wellbeing of those operating as frontline essential key workers and for the financial implications of the self-employed, small and large businesses alike.

One might think that those who are ‘lucky’ enough to work from home have fewer concerns, other than the impact of isolation that social distancing generates. Indeed, the internet is now awash with a plethora of guidance and tips for homeworkers to stay sane during these times of confinement.

Though I can’t help feeling the onus is once again placed on individual workers to develop and utilise adaptive coping strategies to maintain their own positive mental health during these turbulent times