Workplace Survivor Syndrome
In a Post-Covid 19 World
A new study by Hack Future Lab has found that ‘Workplace Survivor Syndrome’ (WSS) is now so common that it may affect more than two-thirds of the UK workforce. The condition describes the adverse psychological and emotional effects that workers feel in the wake of redundancies. It affects those who keep their jobs while friends and colleagues lose theirs, often amid mass downsizing.
WSS could have a devastating impact on employees’ long-term mental health, well-being and on the British economy. A drop in staff morale and decreased performance and productivity could prove the final straw for thousands of businesses across the country already struggling under Covid-19 trading restrictions.
Companies must take urgent action to address the situation if Britain is to make the economic ‘bounce back’ that Boris Johnson is expecting when the second lockdown ends on December 2.
The key findings of this Work Trend study include:
That the prevalence of WSS has increased from an estimated pre-Covid level of fewer than one-in-1,000 employees to 67 per cent (or the equivalent of over two-in-three people) – in just eight months.
That 69 per cent of employees say the guilt they shoulder for keeping their job when others had been laid off is “crippling”, and 70 per cent say intense feelings of guilt and anger have reduced their ability to cope with routine tasks.
That 83 per cent admit the stress caused by having to justify their own value – by continually performing at their best - is causing them anxiety.
That 71 per cent have or still are harbouring so-called ‘quit-and-stay thoughts’ where they have resigned in spirit but not in practice.
That 77 per cent of employees with WSS do not know how to access support within their company or realise that counselling was an effective treatment.
How workers with WSS were likely to generate just £59,000 per year in revenue for their employers – 50 per cent less than the UK employee average.
How to recognise its main symptoms, and why companies must take urgent action to deal with the trauma if Britain is to make the economic ‘bounce back’ that PM Boris Johnson is expecting when the second lockdown ends on December 2.