This is the fifth blog in a series written by Mary Ann Baynton, Director of Collaboration and Strategy for Workplace Strategies for Mental Health.
The days we were all afraid to sneeze
It was like we were all holding our breath at the same time – and not just because we weren’t supposed to breathe on one another.
Who can forget the day in March of 2020, when the first government-mandated shutdown due to COVID-19 happened? It came with little notice and even less information.
Shutdowns caused some employees to lose their income right away. The federal Canadian Emergency Recovery Benefit gave money to employees and the self-employed affected by COVID-19 from March 15, 2020. But the funds were not available until late September of that year. During these six months, there was a lot of stress and uncertainty for those without a source of income. Added to this was the fact that we did not know if or how we could treat this virus. This made the fear of contracting Covid even worse.
From 2020 to 2022, every workplace felt the strain of an unprecedented global health emergency. Virtually all employees around the world faced a life-threatening event at the same time. As the death tolls rose and no end was in site, there was a significant impact on their mental health and on work. While 53% of Canadians rated their mental health as excellent or very good in 2019, this figure dropped to 38% by December 2020 (Kronfli, C., 2021).
Frontline workers became heroes, but at what cost?
While many workers went home to do their jobs during pandemic lockdowns, there remained those whose jobs couldn’t be done remotely, and others who were classified as essential. These were largely first responders, health care workers, hydro, natural gas and other utilities workers, and those deemed essential to supply critical goods such as food and medicines. Some workers classified as essential simply refused to continue to go into the workplace during the pandemic. Others became ill or had to care for family members. This left heavy workloads for many of those remaining on the job. Grocery store clerks, truck drivers, healthcare workers, and hydro workers were hailed as heroes… at least in the beginning. But this pandemic seemed to continue on and on.
Supply chain problems for accessing protective gear like masks, gloves, and other PPE meant that some workers, especially healthcare workers, were exposed to the virus. Nurses, required to wear the same mask all day, knew that this was placing them and their patients at risk. For some, this was traumatizing, causing moral injury (Norman, S.B., & Maguen, S., 2025). Nurses left their jobs and the profession in unprecedented numbers.
The fear of either contracting the disease or bringing it home to their family meant these workers could not simply clock out and head home. They took measures to protect their families that included stripping down and showering at work and washing their work clothes separately. For some who just could not put their family at risk, they didn’t go home at all between shifts. They slept in hotels, in trailers, in rented rooms, or even in their cars.
Many essential workers grew tired and frustrated by high work demands, inadequate resources and shifting expectations. Conversely, many employees deemed non-essential, including those in healthcare, felt undervalued. Essential workers were the focus, though those working from home did important work behind the scenes.
Many others employed in frontline services such as grocery stores, gas stations, and delivery services were also deemed essential. They had to come to work even though some were paid minimum wage and were expected to face health risks from customers who refused to wear PPE. They could also experience violence and abuse, due to the high anxiety and stress many felt at that time.
Many people definitely did not find being “essential” all it was cracked up to be in the early days of being hailed as heroes.
What did we learn?
The global pandemic indeed created some tough times, but it also taught us a few things. It had a significant influence on employers’ appreciation for how employee psychological health and safety impacts performance and productivity. The psychological health and safety experts interviewed by Workplace Strategies for Mental Health observed that organizations with a focus on fostering psychological health and safety were better equipped to effectively support their employees through these difficult times.
Monika Mielnik, Managing Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at CPP Investments, summed it up this way: “If your organization already had policies that supported psychological health and safety, your people would feel more at ease tapping into those resources during tough times.”
In the next blog in this series, I’ll look at the many uncertainties that plagued everyone during the pandemic. This included the decision of whether to vaccinate, which was a heated debate in many circles. Explore the History of psychological health and safety and read all of the blogs in this series.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Canada Life or Workplace Strategies for Mental Health.