Killeigh man hosts event to explore pandemic-related employee anxiety

One of the biggest challenges facing organisations during Covid-19 is navigating pandemic-related employee anxiety and trauma.

On Friday, June 18 a virtual event for business leaders from all sectors will be hosted by Malachy O’Connor, Business Strategy Consultant and Director of Uspire Ireland, an international training consultancy and networking group for leaders.

The event 'From Crisis Control to Flourishing Teams' will explore the tools needed to manage wellbeing and motivation among employees impacted by the effects of the global pandemic.

Malachy, from Killeigh developed the theme of the event fuelled by recent research he undertook with people in his business network.

“Clearly the pandemic has taken its toll on peoples’ lives. 70% of respondents stated that they worry about the impact of the pandemic on their mental health. 64% stated that they are feeling more anxious since the pandemic,” he said.

“More than half (59%) stated that they worry about the pandemic impacting their job and future spending power. 61% feel like they are working longer hours than ever and over a third (34%) are drinking more. And sadly, almost half (45%) of respondents don’t feel they can talk openly about their worries because sure ‘we’re all in the same boat’.”

Anxiety in the workplace impacts performance, concentration levels, ability to meet deadlines, creativity, and the capacity to interact with colleagues and customers. All these things can contribute to loss of productivity, which affects both the employee and the business, and can lead to high staff turnover.

Tackling these issues head-on at an early stage is imperative for leaders and businesses. Malachy’s advice to business leaders is that if you look after your people now, then you will have a competitive edge when exiting the pandemic.

“This means doing more than an engagement survey and Zoom coffee mornings,” said Malachy. “It means ensuring that your leaders and managers are the best they can be, skilled in recognising anxiety and trauma, in themselves and others, and having tools to address it.”

To celebrate the launch of Uspire Ireland, this is a free event and all attendees will be offered a complimentary 30-minute commercial mentoring session.

Keynote speaker at the Uspire event, Dr James S. Gordon MD, is author of The Transformation, Harvard-educated psychiatrist, and founder of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) in Washington, D.C. With over 30 years’ experience,

Dr Gordon is internationally recognised for using self-awareness, self-care, and group support to heal population-wide psychological trauma. His team has worked with whole societies such as Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and Gaza and Israel after the 2014 war. At the event, Dr Gordon will discuss the impact of trauma on societies, recognising trauma for you and your team, and will share his thoughts on successfully transforming teams.

Malachy will delve into the key leadership challenges of navigating pandemic-related employee anxiety and trauma. He will share his insights and learnings gleaned from living through the Northern Ireland Troubles, and explore tools for business leaders to approach the challenge practically.

To register for this free event visit, uspireevents.com.

If you would like to know more about Uspire, contact Malachy O’Connor at malachy@uspire.ie.