Job Burnout of COVID Warriors
The second wave of Covid-19 has thrust many frontline workers to a burnout point.
Reports from The New Indian Express have shown that an overwhelming number of healthcare workers sought psychological help to deal with the relentless demands of Covid-19. It has not only impacted healthcare workers but also all essential workers like the police and the journalists also.
India was the third country globally with the highest number of journalist deaths due to Covid-19. Yet, they have not even been officially recognized as essential workers in India. Although several states have now declared them as “COVID warriors’’, little has been done to ensure the physical and psychological safety of these first-hand witnesses of the crisis. The International Center for Journalists found that 38% of journalists they surveyed suffered from burnout and a third from dark and negative thoughts.
Instead of planned strategy and guidelines, they have so far only seen an ad-hoc response. There is an urgent need for a multi-pronged response to the unfolding mental health crisis focused on three aspects: prevention, de-stigmatization and clinical support. As a first step, organizations must try to make working conditions safer for the frontline workforce.
During the first wave of the pandemic, police departments were left to their own devices to arrange for masks, sanitizers and protective equipment kits. Neither the Union government nor the state governments helped ensure this equipment reaches the personnel on duty. The provision of proper protective gear is essential to make all frontline workers feel safer while performing their duties and the safety protocol must look beyond just the physical safety aspect. Organizations should re-strategize their leave policies in order to prevent burnout among frontline workers.
