Uncertainty, anxiety translating into more stress for relocating employees (and most everyone else)

Uncertainty = anxiety, and that translates into "stress." 

Interesting, and yet not surprising, that internet searches for words related to panic attacks and acute anxiety increased from mid-March to mid-May. In fact, they were the highest they've ever been in more than 16 years of search data.

JAMA Internal Medicine just published the results from a study where they shared that:

All acute anxiety queries were cumulatively 11% (95% CI, 7%-14%) higher than expected for the 58-day period that started when President Trump first declared a national emergency (March 13, 2020) and ended with the last available date of data (May 9, 2020). This spike was a new all-time high for acute anxiety searches. In absolute terms this translates to approximately 375,000 more searches than expected for a total of 3.4 million searches.

Spikes in these searches increased after major news events and announcements, like when social distancing guidelines went into place on March 16, or when the U.S. surpassed Italy in the number of coronavirus-related deaths (April 11). Just prior to this report being published, the CDC shared survey data that showed a spike in substance abuse and those seriously considering suicide. In fact, that report shared a scary statistic that one in four people ages 18-24 had reported suicidal thoughts in the 30 days preceding their survey.

In some upcoming research from Plus, we'll look at the pandemic’s impact on the relocating employee experience and review things like the onboarding process, the timing of relocations, the need for exceptions and the added level of stress felt during the process. Sign up for our Mobility Mojo newsletter to ensure you receive that report.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a drastic impact on employee relocation, and mobility programs are trying to figure out how to safely move talent in this environment. We surveyed relocating employees and asked them for their advice on moving amid the pandemic — one relocating employee to another. Check out those seven tips for relocating in a challenging environment!