Tag Archives: Covid-19

Apr27

Got COVID Fatigue? Here’s How You Can Help Your Team

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Got COVID Fatigue? Here’s How You Can Help Your Team

By now, everyone’s got COVID fatigue. Most of us have turned into mask wearing, hand sanitizing, disinfectant spraying neat freaks. The global pandemic has immersed us into choppy waters, but you can do a few things to help each other ease the significant stress brought about by trying not to get sick with the virus.

First, how do you spot Covid burnout in a teammate? The truth is, Covid burnout looks different for everyone. But these are the most common signs:

  • Lack of motivation
  • Emotional exhaustion
  • Anxiety
  • Brain fog
  • Reduced productivity on certain days
  • Other signs in this excellent infographic from Employment Hero

When you spot these signs, ask your teammate if there’s anything you can do to help. Here are some other ways that managers and teammates can help their team manage Covid burnout.

1. By making an employee assistance program (EAP) program available
An employee assistance program is a service that allows employees to access health care professionals via confidential counseling services when they need it most. Stress that the service is absolutely confidential to encourage your team to seek help and counseling.

2. By having the option to take a mental health day
If your organization allows it, remind your team that they have an extra day of paid leave to take a mental health break so that they can switch off from work and enjoy a de-stressing day with loved ones.

3. By providing some tips – tips like:

  • Stop doom scrolling
  • Mix up your schedule to shake things up
  • Remind your team that they can take their annual leave and that they are not expected to do any work while on that leave
  • Recommend mind calming apps (Calm, Headspace, Balance, Fabulous are just some apps that can help with mental clarity and structure). Personally, the fabulous app has done wonders for me in terms of providing structure to my days and setting goals – a very important factor in mitigating burnout since it gives you something to look forward to everyday. Balance also has some great meditation tips to help calm you down, especially for those who have trouble switching off and going into relaxation mode at the end of the day. Calm and Headspace have similar meditation walk throughs/coaching modules available for when you want to be mindful or just switch off from overdrive.

4. By having the option to work flexibly
If your organization allows hybrid work, then remind your team of that option. The ability to choose where and when a teammate can do work and how best to do it does wonders for their mental well-being as well as increases employee retention. When teams know that they have the ability to prioritize their tasks according to what is important to them (as opposed to mandating business and income generating business tasks) they will feel that they are valued as significant contributors and not just cogs in the wheel.

Do you have tips to help others through Covid burnout? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Jan19

4 Ways To Support Your Team Through Omicron

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4 Ways To Support Your Team Through Omicron

The Covid-19 Omicron variant has replaced the Delta variant as the new variant of concern. As of writing, the total number of registered cases surpassed the 300 million mark with 34 countries setting new infection record highs. The dizzying speed of transmission has prompted experts to suggest that getting the virus is not a case of if, but when.

However, we are not completely helpless. Two years of lockdowns and strict health protocols have honed us to be able to keep infections in check and avoid getting sick altogether. Still, we all need to be careful and practice the minimum safety protocols religiously. One slight misstep can mean the difference between wellness and illness.

In these trying times, we need to look out for one another. Here are four ways you can support your team through the rampaging Omicron variant.

1. Encourage vaccination and booster shots.

Vaccination still remains the best way to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, or death from Covid-19 and a booster, even more so. So encourage your team to get vaccinated by sharing helpful and validated information. If you are in a position to provide access to vaccinations, do so. Employers should allow flexible scheduling or paid time off for team members who are getting the vaccine.

2. Revisit your return-to-office plans.

Last year, the workforce was getting ready for the highly anticipated return-to-office. Like a splash of cold water, Omicron has put a damper on these plans. Teams should consider continuing their work-from-home arrangements until infection rates start to dwindle down. If this is not feasible, a skeletal workforce should be deployed.

3. Observe and reinforce safety protocols.

The minimum safety protocols are:

  • Wearing a face mask – the mask should cover up to the bridge of your nose and all the way down to your chin. It has to be snug and must not have gaps. The CDC recommends wearing an N95 mask. If you have an extra one, share it with your teammate who is using a cloth mask as it provides little to no protection against the Omicron variant.
  • Regular handwashing and sanitation – always have alcohol or hand sanitizer ready and share that with your colleagues to encourage frequent sanitation. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or the length of 2 rounds of the “Happy Birthday” song. Bonus points for singing out loud.
  • Social distancing – stay 1 meter away from your colleagues. Please don’t go to work if you feel ill or have symptoms.
  • Avoiding the 3 Cs – which are confined/enclosed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings.

4. Support mental health care.

This disruption has left a lot of people in a state of anxiety and has a huge impact on our mental well-being. Now, more than ever, teams should strive to support each other. Stay connected, encourage virtual check-ins or virtual water coolers, create a chat group where you can trade health tips, send sympathy cards for colleagues who have lost their loved ones.

We are all going through the same thing, but some might have it worse than others. So, as a general rule, be kind. We all need each other’s help, especially during these times.

How do you support your team through the Omicron surge? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Jul6

Adapting Healthy Habits in the New Normal

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Adapting Healthy Habits in the New Normal

In the new normal, we must never forget the behaviors we’ve learned to make sure that we and our loved ones are healthy and safe. Great strides are being made to make the vaccine available, but we are a long way off to getting everybody free of the COVID-19 virus. It is always good to constantly be reminded (and remind our friends and family as well) of healthy habits.

Here are 5 important tips to remember:

1. Take Vitamins and Eat Healthy

We can never get all the required nutrients from food alone, especially when you are admittedly eating more junk food than usual (we’ve all been there). That’s why we need to make sure to drink our supplements daily to make sure we get all the required nutrients and boost our immune system as well.

2. Don’t Forget Masks and Hand Sanitizer

I recite a short list whenever I go out. The list goes “phone, wallet, and keys.” However, face masks are still required in most places. So, it would be good practice to add that to the list of things to bring when you step out of the house. It’s also good to include a small bottle of hand sanitizer or a small spray bottle of alcohol just in case you need to clean your hands or disinfect high contact things like knobs, grocery carts, or elevator buttons.

3. Follow Social Distancing Protocols

Make sure to stay at least 2 meters away from other people to reduce the risks of virus transmission. The distance varies in each location though. You can always greet someone with a wave.

4. Avoid Touching Your Face

According to studies, people touch their faces approximately 16 times in an hour. That’s a lot of face touching that you probably weren’t aware of. Face touching could significantly increase your risk of infection to the common cold or flu, but the thing to watch out for is the deadly coronavirus. Make it a point to be mindful about your intentions to avoid touching your face. Avoid habits like resting your chin on your hand or scratching your eyes. Keep reminders like post-its or, better yet, keep your hands busy. Your hand sanitizer or alcohol bottle will come in handy here. Scented ones will be a big bonus as the smell will draw attention to where your hands are.

5. Wash Your Hands Regularly and Properly

Make sure to scrub all parts of your hands with soap and running water. Twenty seconds or the length of 2 “happy birthday” songs is enough to remove pathogens. You can even wash your hands to these songs too, bonus points for singing out loud:

  • Row, row, row your boat
  • Twinkle, twinkle little star
  • Shape of My Heart – Backstreet Boys
  • Mambo No. 5 – Lou Bega
  • Love on Top chorus – Beyonce
  • Jolene – Dolly Parton
  • Mr. Brightside – The Killers
  • Africa – Toto

What are your healthy habit tips for the new normal? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Apr14

Coronavirus Quarantine Preparations Part 5: How to stay optimistic and resilient in the face of uncertainty

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Coronavirus Quarantine Preparations Part 5: How to stay optimistic and resilient in the face of uncertainty

Many of us are experiencing anxiety over the uncertainty that the next few days will bring. Not even the world’s health expert can say for sure how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is going to affect us in the foreseeable future. This is why a lot of us are struggling with keeping our mental health and our optimism in check.

Our brains like predictability and order. Which is why we look for patterns, rhythms, and routine. When we go out of this comfort zone, our brain perceives this as a threat and tells our body to go into stress response mode. We feel agitated and on high alert because our body responds as though it is under attack.

We might feel worried, short-tempered, distracted, unable to focus, temperamental, or scared. We might even exhibit physical symptoms like insomnia, muscle aches, headaches, faster heartbeat, tension, neck pains, etc. All of which are stress responses. It’s our mind and body going through its fight or flight programming in response to stress.

We won’t be able to cure uncertainty for we will never know what the future holds. However, there are some things that we can control. We can teach our brain to actually reframe our way of thinking and create a few strategies to build resilience and keep our focus.

Rest
Restful sleep is the first thing to go when your mind is full of worry. However, rest is essential in order to boost your resilience. A well-rested mind and body is more equipped to combat stress than a tired one. Make sure to prioritize sleep by working out how many hours of sleep you need to feel well-rested and then make that a daily target.

Move
Outdoor activities may be hard to come by when you’re in quarantine or self-isolation. However, there are exercise videos on youtube that you can move along to. There are also a lot of movement apps that you can follow along. A few things you can do at home include yoga, Zumba, Kinect games (if you have an Xbox Kinect), bodyweight exercises, jump rope, etc. If you’re lucky enough to live in a neighborhood where outdoor exercises can be done while still practicing social distancing, then go for a quick run, hike, or even walk the dog. Exercise will help you release those valuable feel-good hormones called endorphins. You will need that so that you can stay resilient and optimistic.

Connect
For the sake of our mental health, all of us need to feel that we are part of something greater than ourselves. Our sense of belonging and of the community suffers when we put ourselves in quarantine or self-isolation. This is why we have to stay connected. Schedule calls to family and friends. Commit to giving back to your community. Find ways to help out, even from your homes. You can donate, help organize a feeding program, purchase and send protective gear to frontliners. Thinking of others helps build resilience, and being able to help creates optimism and spreads hope. We all need those during these dark and uncertain times.

What are your tips to stay optimistic and resilient? Let us know in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Mar30

Coronavirus Quarantine Preparations Part 3: How to Stay Healthy While Working from Home

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Coronavirus Quarantine Preparations Part 3: How to Stay Healthy While Working from Home

As the pandemic situation worsens, a lot of employees are being told to work from home to limit social interaction and help #flattenthecurve. While many of us are taking vitamins and boosting our immune system like crazy, we might forget that our mental health is also important.

Our health can take a downturn when we’re cooped up in a house for a long period of time. We are social creatures, and keeping a social distance is highly unnatural for us. However, it is essential during these times. In this light, here are some important mental health practices that you can do while you’re on self-quarantine:

Setting a schedule and taking breaks
Now that most of us are working from home, it could be hard to draw the line between work and personal time. The line where work ends and your personal time begins can be blurry. It is extremely important for you to assign a “core schedule”. This is a period of time where you start work and stop working (for example 9am to 6pm). Stick to this work schedule as much as you can. Set yourself an alarm for a “hard-stop” where you must walk away from work and leave it for tomorrow.

Remember to schedule breaks throughout your workday. Just like on-site work, two 15 minute breaks and a lunch break can refresh your body and mind and improve your productivity and focus.

Sleep
The blurry boundaries between work and personal time can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule. You might not be able to leave your work stress at the office because home is now the office. To combat this, you must practice proper sleep hygiene. Studies show that having a consistent routine of waking up and going to bed at the same time each day, helps regulate your sleep schedule. Also, don’t work from your bedroom so that you don’t associate it with work. Have a separate work area. You’re also probably chugging a lot of coffee so watch your caffeine consumption. Experts advise to stop drinking coffee at least seven hours before bed.

Exercise and fitness
It is scientifically proven that too much sitting can lead to a lot of health complications. So, try to pencil in workouts into your work from home schedule. Take advantage of online workout classes. Don’t forget to set yourself a reminder to get up and stretch once every hour.

Stock your pantry with healthy snacks and meals. You can’t go wrong with leafy greens, whole grains, and fresh fruits and veggies. Stock up on foods that are fortified with vitamins A, B, C, and minerals Selenium and Zinc. Take note that you cannot get Vit D from supplements. You can only get it through sun exposure which could be extra challenging when you’re cooped up at home. If feasible, open a sunny window for a few minutes to get some sun exposure.

How do you stay healthy during a lockdown? We’d love to hear your staying healthy tips. Let us know in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp