MENTAL HEALTH AT THE WORKPLACE IN PANDEMIC TIMES. A VIEW OVER RECENT RESEARCH IN ORGANIZATIONS
Keywords:
mental health, work, pandemic, COVID-19.Abstract
Year 2020 marked a fundamental shift inside societies, economies and work management worldwide, affecting the usual perspectives, upon work development, tasks fulfillment, employee health management at the workplace in a global crisis. Current and ongoing pandemic solicitations generate an uprising concern around the mental health of individuals at the workplace. The present study explores, through various examples, the thematic presence of mental health at work in pandemic times, from the existing scholarly literature. Results showed, so far, the existence of a first trend which has been addressing the pandemic-mental health relation on the emergency and immediate effect argument, focusing on pre-existing mental health conditions and incidence cases in vulnerable groups. Our analysis also outlined a second trend which consists of studies exploring the pandemic impact on the health care system and frontline workers, followed closely by a third trend, which raises attention upon the young facing the challenges of a generalized health crisis in various organizations. In conclusion the pandemic itself uncovered a long list of challenges that the world of organizations was not prepared for and to which current and future research still have yet to explore and understand. There is a need for conducting in-depth analysis and long-term effect study, developing accurate tools for prevention and intervention, establishing clear policies and procedures for handling mental health inside organizations, in a pandemic framework.
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