TechHR
ex
L&D
UNPLUGGED
Sphere
About Us • Contact Us
People Matters ANZ
People Matters Logo
Login / Signup
People Matters Logo
Login / Signup
  • Current
  • Top Stories
  • News
  • Magazine
  • Research
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Podcast

© Copyright People Matters Media Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

  • HotTopic
    HR Folk Talk FutureProofHR
  • Strategy
    Leadership Csuite StrategicHR EmployeeRelations BigInterview
  • Recruitment
    Employer Branding Appointments Permanent Hiring Recruitment
  • Performance
    Skilling PerformanceMgmt Compensation Benefits L&D Employee Engagement
  • Culture
    Culture Life@Work Diversity Watercooler SheMatters
  • Tech
    Technology HR Technology Funding & Investment Startups Metaverse
  • About Us
  • Advertise with us
  • Become a sponsor
  • Contact Us
  • Feedback
  • Write For Us

Follow us:

Privacy Policy • Terms of Use

© Copyright People Matters Media Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

People Matters Logo
  • Current
  • Top Stories
  • News
  • Magazine
  • Research
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Podcast
Login / Signup

Categories:

  • HotTopic
    HR Folk Talk FutureProofHR
  • Strategy
    Leadership Csuite StrategicHR EmployeeRelations BigInterview
  • Recruitment
    Employer Branding Appointments Permanent Hiring Recruitment
  • Performance
    Skilling PerformanceMgmt Compensation Benefits L&D Employee Engagement
  • Culture
    Culture Life@Work Diversity Watercooler SheMatters
  • Tech
    Technology HR Technology Funding & Investment Startups Metaverse
The impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers

Story • 16th Jun 2021 • 4 Min Read

The impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers

Employee RelationsCulture#COVID-19#MentalHealth

Author: Ajay Patnaik Ajay Patnaik
14.5K Reads
Over the past year, healthcare workers have put their lives on the line in the fight against this deadly virus. But how has this impacted them? What are some measures to improve the experience of employees in the healthcare sector? Let’s find out.

For the past year, we have stayed home, stayed safe, and done our best to flatten the curve. We've worked from home, picked up new hobbies, revived old ones, and generally tried our best to stay sane through this turbulent time.

But there's one section of society that has come to the forefront during this pandemic. They've put on their masks, they've donned their PPE kits, and they've faced this menace head on - healthcare professionals. And over the past year, healthcare professionals have been fighting tooth and nail to bring us out of this terrible situation. 

A doctor's primary job lies in preserving and protecting life. However, sometimes, that is not the final outcome of their efforts, and during this ongoing global health crisis, that has become way too common an occurrence. While we have reflected on the mental health at the workplace and the negative effects the pandemic has had on the workforce, today, we shift that focus to healthcare workers and the immense psychological impact this pandemic has had on them. 

We spoke with several healthcare workers and administrators in hospitals big and small, and they shared their stories on the condition of anonymity. The names below have been changed on request. This is what we learned:

The sheer scale of loss is unimaginable

When the pandemic first hit, it caught everyone unaware. From Wuhan to Washington, we were all flabbergasted with the rate at which the virus was spreading, infecting, and taking lives. It felt unreal. While governments, industries, and individuals retreated behind closed doors and lockdowns, a select group of people stepped up and took the fight to the virus. Armed with masks and PPE kits, the medical community came together and faced the threat posed by the virus head on.

But despite their best efforts, as the world struggled with understanding, studying, and researching ways to beat the virus in the early months, the human cost was massive.

With ICU’s packed to capacity and medical staff running from pillar to post, doctors and nurses put their own health concerns aside to try and help. 

But in a lot of cases, it wasn’t enough. “With no vaccine in sight, those first few months had us simply treating patients for the fevers brought on with COVID. But as the infection spread in their bodies, all we could do was try and make them as comfortable as possible in the final stages of their lives,” said Dr. Neil Duncan, a doctor from a Southern California hospital.

“As doctors, we’re trained to deal with the loss of life. We’re used to it. But this… nothing prepared us for this.” he continued. 

Grief comes with the job 

Dr. Duncan’s sentiments are not unique.

As medical systems collapsed around the world and doctors witnessed a catastrophic loss of life on an almost daily basis, they struggled to cope as well. 

Dr. Angela Luiz, a cardiologist at a hospital in Porto Alegre says “People think doctors are uncaring, unfeeling beings who see patients as nothing more than bodies. But that is not true. Every time a patient comes in, we are acutely aware of the fact that we hold a living person’s life in our hands. Even the smallest misstep could lead to the worsening of their quality of life on a normal day. Now imagine that stress, and add the multitudes of patients we try and treat every day with COVID with no proper treatment. It is our job to save lives, but here, we are, in most cases, little more than mere spectators” 

The grief that comes with constantly witnessing the loss of life around them has taken a toll. A study published in the US National Library of Medicine has found that frontline workers face a higher likelihood of depression, anxiety, and even PTSD, with an increased risk of severe mental illness as a direct result of dealing with this crisis on a daily basis.

The biggest fear and threats faced by frontline workers

The anxiety, stress, depression brought on by fighting the virus seeps into other areas of their lives as well. Despite their best efforts to stand strong, healthcare workers are, at the end of the day, human too. The fear that we all felt of getting infected by the virus was ramped up manifold for them due to being in direct contact with the virus and people carrying it.  

Even as the vaccine was created and hospitals made vaccinations available to doctors, the risk of carrying the virus back home and infecting a loved one still remained.

A study by India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) states that concerns related to carrying an infection home to a loved one is the biggest fear faced by frontline workers.

As fear and anxiety gripped the world, people retreated behind closed doors under lockdown and started taking every precaution possible. In their desperation to avoid the virus and stay as far away from it as possible, however, some people turned on the very doctors who were trying to fight the virus. 

A report by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) found that India and Mexico saw 125 and 49 cases of violence against healthcare workers respectively since the start of the pandemic. 

The role of employers in the healthcare sector

With healthcare professionals continuing to fight the good fight, but facing all these hardships, employers and governments have stepped up to help them.

Hospitals, labs, and nursing homes have set up grief and trauma counselling access to their employees, while also providing free vaccinations to the frontline workers. 

Some hospitals have taken extra steps to try and alleviate their staff’s stress. Hospitals have started tying up with nearby luxury hotels to provide rooms for their doctors to rest and recuperate in when not on duty. 

In India, with the country ravaged by the disease and the medical system on the verge of collapse, final year medical students and interns have been brought in for emergency support. The country has also introduced an insurance scheme for its COVID warriors.

While the timeline of the crisis remains unknown, it goes without saying that employers in the healthcare sector will need to step up on the care extended to their staff, making their efforts more sustainable, scalable and compassionate.

Front line workers have spent the past year fighting the virus so we can come out the other side safe and secure. We cannot do their job. But we can appreciate what they’re trying to do every day, and empower them through this prolonged crisis. When we get to the other side, let’s make sure we remember to appreciate those who put everything on the line to help those who needed it most.

Read More

Did you find this article helpful?


You Might Also Like

Return to office: the legalities

STORY • 30th Apr 2025 • 3 Min Read

Return to office: the legalities

Employee Relations#EmploymentLaw
Employees tired of subpar workplace practices

STORY • 14th Apr 2025 • 4 Min Read

Employees tired of subpar workplace practices

Employee Relations
The "Great Resignation" 3 years down the road

STORY • 9th Apr 2025 • 3 Min Read

The "Great Resignation" 3 years down the road

Employee Relations
NEXT STORY: Enabling the ‘Great Reset’ with simplicity, conscious thinking and saying 'no'

Trending Stories

  • design-thinking-hr

    Skype is dead: Did Microsoft's leadership let a billion-doll...

  • design-thinking-hr

    Keeping the C-suite in the C-suite - how do we reduce execut...

  • design-thinking-hr

    Return to office: the legalities

  • design-thinking-hr

    The trust factor: Why modern leaders can’t afford to overl...

People Matters Logo

Follow us:

Join our mailing list:

By clicking “Subscribe” button above, you are accepting our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Company:

  • About Us
  • Advertise with us
  • Become a sponsor
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Contact:

  • Contact Us
  • Feedback
  • Write For Us

© Copyright People Matters Media Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Get the latest Articles, Insight, News & Trends from the world of Talent & Work. Subscribe now!
People Matters Logo

Welcome Back!

or

Enter your registered email address to login

Not a user yet? Lets get you signed up!

A 5 digit OTP has been sent to your email address.

This is so we know it's you. Haven't received it yet? Resend the email or then change your email ID.

People Matters Logo

Welcome! Let's get you signed up...

Starting with the absolulte basics.

Already a user? Go ahead and login!

A 5 digit OTP has been sent to your email address.

This is so we know it's you. Haven't received it yet? Resend the email or then change your email ID.

Let's get to know you better

We'll never share your details with anyone, pinky swear.

And lastly...

Your official designation and company name.