INVESTING in the health and well-being of employees is needed in local organisations now more than ever. While insisting that employees return to the physical work environment after what was considered a psychologically challenging two plus years when fears, anxieties, grief and stress were heightened due to the pandemic, I implore leaders not only to consider the needs of the organisation but also those of the employees.

Consider that some employees may need a little help to re-acclimate into the organisation — particularly for those organisations that are not keen on a hybrid approach to work. While it may seem prudent to request that employees return to the organised space, consider the effects of the past two years and how individuals may have been impacted.

Certainly, once back into the system they are expected to perform optimally; however, chances are, they may appear well-adjusted but be mindful that psychological upheavals do not just vanish, they tend to stay with us for a while. They stay longer when ignored and, over time, can have serious implications for our mental wellness and organisational productivity. Once back into the system, employees must continue doing the job of pleasantly interacting with customers, making customers feel valued so much so that they look forward to their next transaction. They are expected to interact successfully and productively with their peers in teams as per usual. Leaders, too, are expected to continue to lead – because that’s what they are mandated to do – but they also have suffered from the pandemic. They too are struggling with many different challenges and, unfortunately, sometimes forget that none of us, however strong and powerful, can separate ourselves from our emotions, our feelings.

Furthermore, some jobs/roles have been expanded to allow for the achievement of profits that were not made during the two-year mental and physical hiatus. Additionally, salary increases are not even ‘a thing’ because organisational earnings are low. That for many has added to low motivation, low morale, fear — as increased supermarket bills cannot be met – and increased anxiety, resulting in high levels of stress and burnout due to increased workloads. Expecting everything to return to normal in the organisation because we’ve opened the proverbial curtains and it looks relatively harmless and normal outside ignores the fact that those psychological challenges that people are dealing with are authentic and are personally and professionally dangerous. It cannot be business as usual.

Organisations are social systems; they cannot be without people. However technologically advanced the world becomes, people will always be a necessity. I therefore implore our ever-so-valued organisational leaders to pause for a minute and think about the emotions/the feelings that are currently rampant inside your organisations. Pre-pandemic, some organisations were working towards building positive or close to positive environments by way of workplace/employee wellness programmes. These activities were primarily aimed at reducing stress and burnout while demonstrating to employees that they are valued. I bet many saw improved work relations and increased productivity. I applaud those entities and encourage them to reinstate these programmes as soon as possible; they are critical for the health and success of the organisation. Other leaders who have not yet felt the need to invest in workplace/employee wellness programmes or some form of employee intervention of this nature, please do not just think about it — do it. View the levels of dysfunction, conflict and toxicity that currently exist in your organisations not as the norm but recognise that this time — when people are returning to work in their numbers — represents an opportunity to challenge the status quo. Productivity may be a challenge in the latter context, with leaders being challenged to regain pre-pandemic business figures.

Let us remember that employees do not leave their emotions at home or pack them in a Ziploc bag and leave them at the front desk or in a locker. Emotions are with us every second of our lives; they are activated whether we invite them or not. Do not expect that, without investing in workplace/employee wellness programmes, things will return to ‘normal’. It is not that simple. Now that people are back or still thinking about coming back, be mindful that they may be there just to do what they are expected to do and nothing else. More and more the term ‘quiet quitting’ or, according to the psychological literature, ‘psychological withdrawal’ is a conversational piece. This means that employees are doing just enough to get by.

Research by Fugate, M, Prussia, GE, & Kinicki, AJ (2010) recognises the challenges with this type of organisational existence and while it may not be obvious now, it is important that leaders take note. Note also the public displays of anger, lawlessness and crime we see around us. Yes, these behaviours have been around for some time now — after all, we are a spirited people — but ask yourself these questions: (1) What is different in today’s Jamaica? When will we see clear manifestations of societal behaviours inside our organisations? It’s only a matter of time, can you afford it?

Corent McDonald, PhD, is a process consultant and lecturer at The University of the West Indies and a process consultant with a focus on organisational/individual development and change as interactional process; sociocultural and contemporary/historical analysis of people and organisations; the effects of emotional-cognitive defensiveness as against transcendental openness and learning and; mapping the distribution of structural power. E-mail corentmac7@gmail.com.