Oracle and Workplace Intelligences have published the findings of a study on the impact of the pandemic on the global workforce’s mental health. The percentage of affected workers is already enough of a shock (78%), but what is really mindblowing is the question of trust. More precisely, the lack of trust towards company officials. The researchers discovered that 68 percent of people would prefer to talk to a robot than to their manager when they feel stress and anxiety at work! There is more: 80 percent of the interviewees like the idea of having a robot as a therapist or counselor. 

There is something deeper going on here than simply “stress.” One bad day at work is easily cured. Gaming, for example, is an excellent therapy for lighter discomfort. There are many offers available, like those from nj-licensed-casinos.com, that can offer quick and easy relief from passing stress. A year of disruption of regular habits, though, needs a complete reset of how mental health at work is considered. When 76% of workers are convinced that companies are not doing enough to support their employees’ mental health – another finding of the Oracle study – a huge issue of trust must be taken into consideration. 

A cheeky way to put it is cruising social media, in this format: 

EVERY COMPANY: We’d like to promote mental health in the workplace. 

EMPLOYEES: How about hiring more people, so we feel less pressured & increase our pay so we can keep up with the spiraling cost of living so we’re not so stressed out. 

EVERY COMPANY: No, not like that. Try Yoga. 

(credits: Patrick Dyl, “professional geek”) 

The above is a pre-pandemic sketch, one more proof that these issues have much deeper roots and are not going away with cosmetic measures. Another indicator of this epochal shift is the finding, from the same Oracle study, that only 18 percent of people would prefer humans over robots to support their mental health. The motivations are tale-telling: the interviewees believe robots provide a judgement-free zone (34 percent), an unbiased outlet to share problems (30 percent), and quick answers to health-related questions (29 percent). 

And it does not end here. AI has an unsuspected “psychotherapeutic” effect, as 75 percent of responders say AI has helped their mental health at work. How did it happen, specifically? Here are the top benefits of using AI listed by employees: providing the information needed to do their job more effectively (31 percent), automating tasks and decreasing workload to prevent burnout (27 percent), and reducing stress by helping to prioritize tasks (27 percent). There are more, indirect, benefits. The majority (51 percent) of workers say they can thank AI for achieving shorter workweeks and longer vacations. A vast majority (63 percent) of employees estimate that AI technology increases their productivity and improves job satisfaction (54 percent). The result is improved overall well-being, says the majority (52 percent) of the respondents to the Oracle survey. 

Employers should respond to this evident call to action. As we have seen, an overwhelming majority (76 percent) of employees who are dissatisfied with the measures taken by their companies to take care of their mental health: they are not doing enough, is the opinion of the global workforce. Only 51 percent reported that their company had activated some forms of mental health services in the workplace, to help them cope with the pandemic’s consequences. Now, the interesting addition to this is the wish of a whopping 83 percent of the interviewees to have technology, provided by their employer, as support to their mental health. More in detail, what the empoloyees want is self-service access to health resources (36 percent), on-demand counseling services (35 percent), proactive health monitoring tools (35 percent), access to wellness or meditation apps (35 percent), and chatbots to answer health-related questions (28 percent). 

There are also negative aspects to this techno-psycho revolution. An overwhelming majority of workers (84 percent) have faced challenges while working remotely. Not surprisingly, the most frequent problems reported are the lack of boundaries between personal and professional lives (41 percent) and increased stress and anxiety (33 percent). In 85 percent of cases, family life suffers from work-related stress, anxiety, and depression affects their home life. 

Carl Williams

It is time gaming journalism takes its rightful place as proper sources and not fanboys giving free advertising. If you wish to support writers like Carl please use the links below. https://www.paypal.me/WCW https://www.patreon.com/CarlWilliams