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Fifth of IT and Comms Workers Struggling to Adjust to New Ways of Working and in Need of Support

  • 20% IT workers are finding it difficult to get to grips with the new ways of working and 34% are getting anxious about work
  • Nearly half (44%) of IT workers have seen a decline in their mental health since the beginning of the pandemic
  • IT workers want extra wellbeing support (33%), mental health support (30%) and long-term changes to the way they work (40%)
A fifth of IT workers are struggling to get to grips with new ways of working and are in need of wellbeing support as the UK economy starts to open up, according to an exclusive study by Westfield Health.
For its latest report – Coping after Covid – the corporate wellbeing provider also found that wellbeing-enhanced productivity could add £61bn to the English economy by 2025, if UK companies, including IT companies, can create effective wellbeing strategies and improve underperforming ones.
What challenges are IT workers facing?
Westfield Health uncovered that to bridge the gap IT companies must help the 20% of their workers that are struggling to get to grips with new ways of working and the 34% that are getting anxious about work.
While 44% of IT workers felt their mental health decline during the pandemic, financial services workers were most likely to be affected. Over half (52%) said their mental health had worsened in the last year, followed by manufacturing (48%), professional services (47%) and construction (46%).
How IT and communications companies can help
When asked what they would like to see from their employer in the next few months to improve their mental health, IT workers asked for extra wellbeing support (33%), mental health support (30%) and long-term changes to the way they work (40%).
As a result, the corporate wellbeing provider is encouraging businesses to examine their wellbeing programmes to achieve the benefits that other HR leaders are getting.
Dave Capper, CEO of Westfield Health, said: “This past year has shown that the recovery of the UK economy will rely on the health and wellbeing of its people. The findings from our research highlight that when wellbeing is done right it can directly improve a business.
“There are hundreds of thousands of wellbeing programmes out there that aren’t giving the most they can to their companies. And as the world of business begins to pick up the pace again, it has never been more pressing to make sure that IT companies take it upon themselves to care for the mental and physical wellbeing of their employees.
“To create a successful wellbeing strategy, we must continue to personalise policies and recognise different individual requirements. In the past 12 months, some have thrived whereas others have struggled. The different experiences for parents, those on furlough, single people isolating alone, or any number of situations has created a workforce that is united by its division and businesses must prepare for that.
“This data provides boardrooms with a powerful argument for investing time to getting wellbeing right as a core, strategic element to strengthen a company. Happier workers, better retention rates, and higher productivity are outcomes that all businesses want, and wellbeing is crucial to achieving that.”
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