“Perseverance in the face of adversity” seemed to be the inherent theme of 2020 for employers and employees alike. Workers were abruptly forced to depart from their routine office spaces – which long fostered environments of inspiration and collaboration – to the confinement of their homes. Working parents learned to juggle homeschooling and childcare with work, and many professionals logged significantly more hours on the job than they had pre-pandemic. Despite the many challenges that COVID-19 brought upon the workforce, many companies still managed to operate successfully – in large part thanks to the resilience of their people.
However, the combination of isolation and anxiety that many have experienced in the past year, and are still experiencing, has brought on a second public health crisis running parallel with the pandemic: a decline in mental health. There is no shortage of reporting on this issue; a January 4th article from CNN called mental health as “one of the biggest pandemic issues we’ll face in 2021.” While the recent progress in vaccine distribution has given our country a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, the road that lies ahead is still long and winding.