{"id":77734,"date":"2022-09-01T13:21:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T17:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=77734"},"modified":"2022-09-08T13:20:26","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T17:20:26","slug":"pandemic-and-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/pandemic-and-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pandemic and Mental Health Crisis: Who Suffers Most?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How are the Covid-19 pandemic and mental health correlated? What do the statistics say? Which group of people are most affected?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic has taken a toll on workers\u2019 mental health\u2014some perhaps more than others. Anxiety and depression<\/a> have increased for previous sufferers and manifested in people who\u2019d never before struggled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to learn how the pandemic has disproportionately affected some workers’ mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Pandemic and Mental Health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the pandemic hit, most aspects of daily life got exponentially harder. Workers who weren\u2019t fired or furloughed were forced into remote work, erasing the critical boundary between work and home. Enter: prolonged isolation, Zoom fatigue, and a relentless stream of work emails and Slack messages.\u00a0However, the pandemic has also negatively impacted mental health, and at a staggering rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who were already dealing with depression, anxiety, and other issues felt their struggles snowball, especially as the pandemic made coping strategies\u2014like spending time with loved ones, going outdoors, and finding stability in a regular routine\u2014practically impossible. People who had previously managed to keep their heads above water began to sink. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the percentage of people reporting anxiety or depression more than tripled since 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These struggles with mental health won\u2019t decline as the pandemic infection rates go down\u2014instead, they\u2019re boiling over, and they\u2019re highlighting the need for consistent mental health care<\/a> at home and at work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Workers Are Hit Hardest?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the pandemic has been hard on everyone, some workers face disproportionate challenges that have impacted their mental health.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, many working mothers\u2019 loads grew heavier when schools closed, as they generally took on more home and childcare duties than working dads. Now, as many offices prepare to reopen, mothers worry more about having the flexibility they need and facing stigma for balancing their work and caregiving duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, women in senior-level positions are burning out faster than their male peers because they feel they have to work harder to earn and keep those jobs. Additionally, Black women are juggling pandemic mental-health stressors at work and in public life, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n