Albury Business Connect: Study shows business owners felt ‘hopeless’ in lockdown

Borders may be open and restrictions eased, but the mental health impact of COVID-19 has sent shockwaves through the Albury business community.

More than half of Albury business owners reported feeling hopeless during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than half of Albury business owners felt hopeless about their work during COVID-19 shutdowns, a local mental wellbeing survey revealed.

The survey was conducted with 335 local businesses as part of the Better Place Project, a joint initiative by Albury Business Connect and The Personnel Group.

The survey catalogued the mental wellbeing of Albury’s workforce during COVID-19 and the subsequent border closure.
While the NSW/Victorian border was closed in October 2020, 70 per cent of businesses surveyed said their worries often overwhelmed them and they had trouble staying focused.

Alarmingly, nearly half of local businesses said they often did not feel in control of their mental health – a 25 per cent increase on the national average pre-COVID.
The study showed the mental wellbeing of the local workforce was significantly impacted by the pandemic.

Albury Business Connect’s general manager Carrick Gill-Vallance said this result was expected, with the change businesses have endured this year being “fatiguing”.
“Owners and managers have been forced to make difficult decisions, while employees have had little certainty or security around their ongoing employment,” Mr Gill-Vallance.
Albury City mayor Kevin Mack said it came as no surprise that business owners and employees had struggled during the lockdown.
“We always knew that COVID was taking a toll on people’s mental health, which is why we as a council worked hard to support the sector,” Mr Mack said.
“We can be optimistic that with the right level of government assistance, our businesses can bounce back and thrive once again.”

Many businesses surveyed also expressed the sentiment that it is difficult to access mental health resources in the border region, with wait times for mental health services sometimes taking up to six months.
Personnel Group chief executive Tracey Fraser said there were services available to assist employees experiencing poor mental health to maintain their employment.
“This includes Work Assist, which is a free Australian Government program we deliver here at Personnel Group,” Ms Fraser says.
The report recommended a comprehensive support package be supplied to Albury businesses by the NSW Government, including providing dedicated personnel who can assist businesses individually with accessing support materials and financial grants.
“There needs to more on-the-ground support allocated to assist businesses, to help them recover not just financially, but mentally as well,” Mr Gill-Vallance said.
“It’s our responsibility as a community to look after each other, and right now the business community needs our support”.