How do I know if I am suffering from anxiety attacks, stress, or even some level of depression?
Habitat for Humanity Nicaragua’s HR department organized a series of workshops that allowed its collaborators to identify whether they were experiencing heightened levels of stress or depression, as a result of the crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a joint effort, the National Office (NO) and the Area Office (AO) worked together to develop a strategy that would allow staff to be more physically and psychologically protected during the pandemic. “In total, we did 8 workshops, all in virtual mode, focused on emotional health, but also on strengthening the team’s capacities because in this crisis we have had to learn to work from home. This is why we also held a workshop on remote team management, which taught us how to communicate better while working from home”, says Claudia Tellería, Human Resources Manager at Habitat Nicaragua.
One of the successes during this process was providing the team with access to one-on-one psychological support. Claudia affirms that those who attended these consultations not only identified the problem they were having but also developed a plan to solve it. “Overall, the team’s response was very positive, and those who went to the psychologist realized that as a result of the crisis and stress, they were turning to unhealthy habits, even suffering certain levels of depression, and those are the issues we don’t see in the day to day”, says Claudia.
Health questions
After living with Covid-19 for a year and a half, along with an information overload on social media, having up-to-date information and a medical specialist who answered the team’s questions was invaluable to the Habitat Nicaragua team. The collaborators participated in two workshops where they learned theoretical and practical matters to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
“It was very interesting and educational, sharing doubts and fears about topics such as vaccines, boosters, side effects, all things that were not even thought of a year ago. Having a specialist who would respond to us and in some way give us peace of mind was a very wise decision that HR made”, says Jessly Obando, Communications Officer.
Habitat Nicaragua has also provided the team with supplies to continue preventing the spread of Covid-19 and efforts will be continued in the coming months. “We cannot let our guard down and we will keep working in various ways to support all staff to be protected during the pandemic. We will also start working on another issue of interest for us: safeguarding,” concludes Claudia Tellería.
