Jacki Craft, Author at TimelyCare

The Impact of End-of-Semester Stress on College Students

Jacki Craft — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 19:46:56 +0000

Overview

End-of-semester demands can intensify student stress, anxiety, and sleep disruption, especially during finals week. This article outlines common stressors, the health impacts leaders should watch for, and practical, campus-ready strategies to support students when stress peaks.

College students are often overwhelmed with a variety of stressors at the end of a semester. Eight in 10 college students experience frequent stress which can negatively impact their mental health, according to the American Institute for Stress (AIS). And TimelyCare’s research suggests that rates of seeking care for stress, anxiety, and depression increase as the semester winds down. So, how does end-of-semester stress impact student health, and what can higher education leaders do to help students destress?

College life is uniquely stressful. Students not only have to deal with a bigger academic workload than they did in high school, but they’re expected to function socially, plan financially, and deal with living away from home for the first time. Despite the various sources of stress, data reveals that “finals and midterms accounted for the top source of stress for 31% of U.S. students.” Similarly, internal data from the TimelyCare platform found increases at the end of the semester in rates of students seeking care for stress, anxiety, and depression – especially outside campus support service business hours.

Causes of stress in college students at the end of a semester

A study by the Healthy Minds Network and the American College Health Association (ACHA) shows student anxiety rose from 17-31% over a six-year period. The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on higher education didn’t help. In fact, students reported spikes in anxiety and depression during 2020, with 60% saying the ongoing pandemic made it harder to access mental health care. Given that students struggling with mental health issues are twice as likely to drop out, higher education leaders need to be familiar with the primary stressors for college students.

Here are some of the most common stress triggers surrounding the end of the semester and finals week, including statistics:

Final exams

During finals week, students deal with the daily effects of stress on top of end-of-semester academic requirements. This increase in stress can have various physical and emotional consequences, including fatigue, headaches, stomach problems, loss of concentration, binged or reduced eating, memory loss, mood changes, and feelings of loneliness and helplessness.

Researchers found that finals and midterms are the top two sources of stress for 31% of students; class and workload third (23%); and homework fourth (13%). Nearly 37% of college students pointed to stress and 29.5% listed anxiety as the biggest reason their academic performance suffered negatively over the past 12 months.

Family separation

The end of the semester is when many students start to look forward to returning home. Over 30% of college students feel homesick, with 69% of freshmen reporting a feeling of severe homesickness. As for international students, 92% of over one million in the U.S. say they miss home. The stress of academic priorities, such as exams and projects, combined with a longing to return home can make it difficult for students to concentrate and focus.

Financial concerns

Thirty-two percent of college and university students said their studies are sometimes neglected due to money/financial problems. For 60% of students, they worry about not having enough money to pay for their studies, and 70% are stressed about their financial health.

Working to pay for college only adds to the stress – 43% of full-time and 81% of part-time students work during off-study hours to afford their education. Due to student loans, nearly 30% of students reduced their class load, 16% took a break from attending school, and 13% transferred to a cheaper institution.

Bullying and harassment

Nearly 1 in 3 (29%) college students report being victims of bullying. Female students are more likely to be bullied at school compared to males (24% vs. 17%), but a higher percentage of male students report being physically bullied (6% vs. 4%). More females report being the subject of rumors (18% vs. 9%) and being excluded from activities on purpose (7% vs. 4%).

Graduation

For students approaching the end of their college career, preparing for graduation triggers the realization that adulthood is right around the corner. For many, this realization comes with a “feeling of loss, uncertainty, unrealistic expectations, and relationship changes which can all be triggering.”

Employment

The natural next step for most college students after they graduate from college is finding employment. However, seeking employment brings new stressors for students as they enter another period of life transition.

Regret and uncertainty about college major
Moving away from college friends and support network
Increased competition in the job market
Impact first post-grad job has on a career path

In the face of these stressors, TimelyCare’s recent survey found that college graduates (93%) are hopeful for their future and 88% are hopeful about their future. However, the pandemic’s impact on their mental health was the No. 1 reason that students felt less prepared to enter the workforce.

Sleep habits

Forty-five percent of adolescents get insufficient sleep on a school night, with this figure rising to 62% among older students, which can impact mental health and wellness. A survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that 80% of college students report feeling stressed by their academic responsibilities as a cause for their lack of sleep. Research confirms that high levels of stress can result in poor sleep quality and eventually lead to chronic insomnia. Prolonged sleep deprivation can result in the development of mood disorders, weakened immune systems, lower concentration, and poor memory, all of which contribute to student anxiety and can negatively affect academic performance.

Support students when they need it most

Learn more about how virtual care helps students get the mental health care they need

Talk to TimelyCare

The negative effects of stress on students’ physical and mental health

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), 80% of U.S. students report feeling stressed “sometimes or often.” Prolonged stress can lead to the development of mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, substance misuse, and more. It can also introduce physical conditions. Here are some common symptoms:

Emotional
Many students may feel overwhelmed with workload and deadlines, have worries about grades and academic performance, or face a fear of failure or not meeting expectations.
Physical
Just as stress can manifest mental health symptoms, there can be physical symptoms for students such as headaches or migraines, stomachaches or nausea, low energy, fatigue or exhaustion, and difficulty sleeping or insomnia.
Cognitive
Stress can also cause students to have difficulty concentrating or focusing on tasks, memory problems or forgetfulness, and difficulty making decisions or poor judgment.
Behavioral
For some students, stress may cause behavioral issues such as procrastination or avoidance of responsibilities, change in eating habits, and increased use of drugs or alcohol.

By being aware of these types of symptoms, higher education professionals can support and empower students in managing their stress and promoting their overall well-being.

Five ways to help students manage end-of-semester stress

Higher education leaders can take steps to support students in managing end-of-year stress through a variety of strategies and resources.

1. Promote healthy sleeping habits, diets, and exercise

Getting the right amount of sleep improves concentration, academic performance, and overall focus. Services like TimelyCare’s health coaches are a great resource to help students create a sleep, diet, and exercise schedule that works for them. By partnering with students, a health coach can help students develop sustainable behavior change based on their unique needs. For example, a health coach can help students create a plan for stress management, time management, healthy eating habits, healthy relationships, substance use/misuse, movement/physical activity, and sleep improvement.

2. Expand counseling center hours or resources

The rising rate of stress in college students reveals the increased need for mental health and counseling services on campus. Many campuses offer these services but struggle to keep up with the increasing rate of students coming in the door. For campuses that want to add to or complement campus healthcare services, telehealth offers 24/7/365 access to mental health care providers, even when the counseling center is closed.

3. Provide self-care resources

While counseling centers are a great resource for mental health, they can also have long wait times, a lack of diverse healthcare providers, or burnt-out staff. Creating and promoting virtual self-care services like TimelyCare’s Self-Care Journeys, can support students if they aren’t ready to talk to a provider or when in-person campus resources may not be available. Whether students need to navigate stress, maintain healthy relationships, or learn healthy eating habits, TimelyCare’s Self-Care Journeys supply students with the tools they need, anytime, anywhere. For students who are navigating healthcare for the first time, these types of resources can equip and empower them – improving health agency and literacy.

4. Promote peer-support resources

Engaging students in peer-to-peer mental health support activities is a critical prevention strategy that institutions can take to promote mental health and well-being, as well as strengthen the capacity for support when a student is in emotional distress or has a mental health crisis. It’s more likely for a student to reach out to a peer than to seek help from another source. So, enabling students to serve in this role will help create a network of effective peer support. Peer-to-peer programs, including Active Minds, Project LETS, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Peer-to-Peer, Lean on Me, and TimelyCare’s Peer Community, can help academic communities raise awareness and address the mental health stigma, reducing barriers of access to mental health support facilities.

5. Prioritize well-being on campus

When students feel supported and valued, their academic performance, retention, and graduation rates increase. Experts recommend that colleges and universities implement “upstream solutions, including teaching programmes focussed on resiliency, stress management, and other behavioral challenges. These may help prevent downstream problems.” Utilizing the types of programs that focus on resilience, stress management, and other behavioral challenges can help students develop coping skills that will serve them well beyond their college years. Additionally, conducting continuous surveys and assessments to determine students’ stress levels and needs can ensure that leaders are meeting students where they are and providing the resources and support necessary to promote their well-being. These steps enable higher education leaders to not only invest in their students’ collegiate success, but also in the community’s success as students enter the workforce.

Emory University addresses some of these issues by offering tips for students on handling stress during finals. By providing resources and services like these, colleges and universities can help students manage end-of-semester stress, prioritize their mental health and well-being, and build student resilience.

Timely services to support your students

The collegiate environment of coursework demands, financial concerns, and being away from family results in increased stress for many students. For college and university leaders, recognizing that stress can be amplified during specific times during the academic year is a crucial first step in addressing it. Though stress isn’t completely avoidable, reducing its influence and impact on students is important.

TimelyCare provides virtual medical and mental health services to over 1.5 million students at over 250 colleges and universities across the U.S. Their services are available 24/7 and include medical consultations, mental health counseling, and psychiatry sessions. The virtual health and well-being resources of TimelyCare make healthcare more accessible and convenient for college students. A virtual care platform starts with the technology students want to use. The TimelyCare platform is built for digital natives with care available through phone, video, or chat.

Interested in a virtual health and well-being solution for your campus? Contact TimelyCare to learn more.

Key Takeaways

End-of-semester stress often rises due to finals, workload, finances, and major life transitions.
Stress can show up emotionally, physically, cognitively, and behaviorally, and may affect academic performance.
Access beyond business hours matters, especially when demand spikes late in the semester.
Self-care resources and peer support can expand support capacity and reduce stigma.
A campus-wide well-being strategy helps strengthen resilience and improve retention outcomes.

FAQs

What are common signs a student is overwhelmed during finals?

Look for sleep disruption, missed classes, withdrawal from peers, persistent worry, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and increased substance use.

Why does demand for mental health support rise at the end of a semester?

Academic deadlines stack up, sleep declines, and students may face financial and family pressures. These stressors often compound at the same time.

How can campuses support students outside counseling center hours?

Options include telehealth access, 24/7 crisis pathways, and self-care tools students can use immediately, plus clear after-hours communication.

What role can peer programs play in stress prevention?

Peer support can reduce stigma, encourage early help-seeking, and provide an accessible first step for students who may hesitate to contact staff.

How can leaders identify emerging stress trends on campus?

Use pulse surveys, utilization data, and feedback loops with student-facing offices to spot patterns, then align staffing and outreach accordingly.

The post The Impact of End-of-Semester Stress on College Students appeared first on TimelyCare.

The Role of Mental Health in Workforce Development

Jacki Craft — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 19:55:12 +0000

TimelyCare conducted a nationwide survey of over 1,000 college seniors planning to begin their careers when they graduate. Despite their overall optimism toward life after graduation, the survey revealed that nearly 7 out of 10 graduating seniors feel that the pandemic made them less prepared to enter the workforce due primarily to mental health issues. What can higher education do to better prepare students for the workforce?

What do college graduates say about their mental health?

Sixty-nine percent of survey respondents said the pandemic made them feel less prepared to enter the workforce, followed by concerns over physical health (46%) and academic struggles (41%). Clearly, the class of 2022 is still working through the effects of COVID-19.

Regarding anxiety about starting a new career, the TimelyCare survey found that 70% of graduating seniors feel stressed or anxious about entering the workforce. They report feeling most worried about finding and keeping a job (65%), supporting themselves financially (52%), and being self-reliant (49%).

All these factors resulted in 92% of graduating students believing that companies should offer mental health or emotional health benefits. Thirty-four percent said a company’s mental or emotional health benefits were just as significant for them as the availability of a 401(k) or alternative retirement plan. And, 19% said mental health benefits are more important than a company’s mission and values.

“These insights should be a wake-up call for employers,” said Luke Hejl, TimelyCare CEO and co-founder. “Despite the excellent care they may receive from virtual, on-campus, and community health centers today, college students’ mental health issues won’t vanish when they become college graduates. We must continue to prioritize their overall well-being to help the class of 2022 make a successful college-to-career transition.”

How does the mental health of students today impact the workforce tomorrow?

Early adulthood is a developmental period that has become more nuanced and difficult in recent years. These challenges and fears are a part of why today’s college graduates take longer to reach traditional life milestones such as leaving home, finishing their education, entering the workforce, gaining financial independence, committing to significant others, and becoming parents – compared to earlier generations. Young adults today face challenges, burdens, barriers, behavioral health needs, and mental illnesses that are unique to their generation – all of which can negatively impact and undermine emotional health and wellness, including but not limited to substance use disorders. (Read more about the risks of drug use from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at samhsa.gov).

These contemporary realities also mean that there are more people at work with mental health conditions than ever before. The evidence-based Stevenson/Farmer report on mental health and employers called “Thriving at Work,” reports that approximately 15% of people in workplace settings have symptoms of an existing mental health condition. Inherent consequences occur with employers who don’t attend to the mental and emotional behavioral health care of their employees. The report outlines five specific workforce planning elements on which emotional well-being has ill effects:

Sickness absence: Employees taking days away from work due to poor emotional health.
Presentee-ism: Employees attending work when they don’t feel emotionally well, resulting in a lack of productivity (and sometimes worsening a person’s condition).
Limiting progression: People feel as though they won’t be able to progress professionally if they reveal struggles with emotional health.
Impact on the wider workforce: Other team members can suffer from coworkers’ poor emotional health.
Employee turnover: An emotionally unwell person may leave a position if they don’t feel capable of maintaining it, leading to costs for employers in recruiting and training new employees.

What does this look like at a personal level? At Handshake’s Access 2022 conference for employers and career services professionals, three students spoke about their journey with mental health. Listen to their stories.

Take proactive measures to support students' mental health journeys

Learn more about how virtual health care can set your students up for success prior to entering the workforce.

Talk to TimelyCare

What can schools do to mentally prepare students to enter the workforce?

The Jed Foundation (JED) is a nonprofit organization that protects the Nation’s behavioral public health and helps to prevent suicide in teens and young adults, giving them the competencies and support they need to thrive. To answer the question about how to mentally prepare students to enter the workforce, the organization published an extensive white paper. Here are its recommendations for health practitioners, clinicians, and social workers in higher education:

Create opportunities for students to learn skills that are simultaneously protective of emotional well-being and help prepare students to have successful careers.

Schools should adopt career counseling and student affairs models that facilitate identifying appropriate career pathways in conjunction with gaining life skills and emotional awareness that support workplace success.

Create an expectation of student commitment to college-to-career transition preparation

Career services’ activities should be focused on the college-to-career transition, and be integrated into students’ day-to-day activities. This preparation should be a requirement to graduate for all students.

Seek and incorporate student voices to create college-to-career transition support activities

Engage student liaisons to partner in developing, launching, and implementing college-to-career transition initiatives and incentives (i.e., partnerships).

Plan early for the college-to-career transition (don’t wait until senior year)

Support for the college-to-career transition should begin in the first year and be systematically integrated across all years of college life.

Emphasize emotional health and wellness, not only mental health

Behavioral health providers should frame support as “emotional health and wellness” to reinforce emotional health as part of overall health, and to address possible concerns regarding stigma and mental health.

Expand the range of campus offices engaged in educating students about the college-to-career transition

Human resources at schools should increase the capacity of their community-based workforce (e.g., faculty, residential advisors, campus security, health workers, peer support specialists, workforce shortages, etc.) through specialized education and training to understand and respond to issues and concerns specific to the college-to-career transition.

Develop targeted supports to address the unique concerns of identified student populations

Targeted support can be developed to meet the needs of unique student populations (e.g., female students, students with parents born outside the U.S., international students, students of color, and first-generation college students) that have identified increased emotional stress and concerns specific to the college-to-career transition.

What is the role of virtual care in preparing students for the workforce?

For Gen Z, the role of technology is central — they’ve never known the world without it. Boomers grew up as television evolved, Gen X grew up as the computer revolution developed, and millennials grew up during the expansion of the internet. But Gen Z is the first generation of digital natives, coming of age with technological advances and mobile devices like the smartphone. As such, online platforms and technical assistance for medical and mental health services have become the solution for expanding behavioral health services and the mental health workforce — and with good reason. PubMed studies show that virtual health can effectively treat depression, anxiety, sleep, stress, alcohol use disorders, PTSD, and eating disorders in college and university students.

Given these successes, colleges and universities should consider expanding virtual care treatment services to support students preparing to become a part of the workforce, making it clear that on-demand emotional and mental support for anxiety over internships or job interviews can be a key component in career development. Health coaching training programs for developing healthy lifestyle behaviors in preparation for leaving school – and incorporating young paraprofessionals into this coaching – could be an integral solution for helping students and recent grads in the world of work.

Telehealth has demonstrated its effectiveness in delivering the primary care needed by college students during a global pandemic. Now it’s time to implement virtual health care to support behavioral health workforce development for a new generation of workers.

Contact TimelyCare to learn how virtual care can support student mental health in workforce development.

The post The Role of Mental Health in Workforce Development appeared first on TimelyCare.

College Graduates: Entering the Workforce in the Wake of COVID-19

Jacki Craft — Mon, 16 May 2022 17:09:42 +0000

Since 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic has shaped what every day looks like. It changed human interaction. For higher education, it fundamentally altered the college experience for students who were sent home for multiple semesters. In the workforce, it took people from the corporate office to the home office. Unsurprisingly, all of this change and stress affected mental health. But it also created a space for important conversations to happen around health and well-being.

According to a recent national survey by TimelyCare, college students who are graduating with the class of 2022 and entering the workforce are some of the most affected when it comes to mental health and their preparedness to enter the workforce. In light of these survey results, TimelyCare’s Gen Ztressed webinar series featured a panel discussion on the topic of mental health, the college experience for this unique class of students, and students’ thoughts about entering the workforce after graduation.

The Gen Ztressed panelists included:

Andy Chan, VP for Innovation and Career Development at Wake Forest University
Christine Cruzvergara, Chief Education Strategy Officer at Handshake
Luke Hejl, CEO and Co-Founder of TimelyCare
Seli Fakorzi, Director of Mental Health at TimelyCare
Moderator: Paul Fein, Founder and Editor at The Job and Contributing Editor at Work Shift

Here’s what they had to say about how the Class of 2022 feels entering the workforce, the state of their mental health, and what they’re looking for from employers.

Responding to the ongoing college mental health crisis

The pandemic cast a bright light on the mental health crisis impacting college students. It also made college and university leaders take a closer look at mental health resources and what support was available for students both on- and off-campus. What’s clear is that students need support both inside and outside of the classroom to thrive both academically and mentally.

During the panel discussion, Fakorzi said that student mental health was a significant issue and concern on college campuses prior to the pandemic. Though students are more resilient as a result of the pandemic, they still need support. According to Fakorzi, one of the biggest learnings is that students need –and often expect – to be able to reach out for support at all hours of the day. So, it’s important to offer students options.

Crises don’t always happen while an on-campus health center is open, and often an emergency room or urgent care visit is out of the question for college students who can’t afford the medical bills. By offering 24/7, virtual mental health resources, you can actively support students whenever they need it.

“The more we talk about it [mental health], the more it’s normalized.”

Andy Chan, VP for Innovation and Career Development at Wake Forest University

Prepare students for post-graduation life

Equipping students with a virtual health & well-being platform eases the transition to the workforce

Talk to TimelyCare

Mental health concerns don’t disappear after a student graduates

Fein noted the alarming stat that 76% of bachelor’s degree students who considered stopping out in the past six months say emotional stress was a reason. However, Cruzvergara said that, instead of being surprised by this statistic, it was important for employers to understand the issues that are happening in college. These concerns and emotional stress don’t disappear or go away once students receive their diplomas. These issues come with them to the workforce.

Though conversations around mental health continue to increase and the stigma of seeking care is lessening on college campuses, that openness and willingness to communicate doesn’t always continue into corporate America. But that can change as a new generation of college graduates enter the workforce.

“Let’s talk about [mental health], let’s normalize that, let’s make it okay.”

Luke Hejl, CEO and Co-Founder of TimelyCare

5 ways to support college graduates entering the workforce

As employers prepare to welcome the class of 2022 to their ranks, consider these five ways that employers can make sure these new employees feel supported.

1. Offer flexible working options

A one-size-fits-all approach is not typically what works best for how people work. Plus, students are looking for flexibility when it comes to work hours and environment. Cruzvergara mentioned that 50% of Black and Latinx women prefer a virtual environment because they are able to avoid issues such as microaggressions. Hejl shared that only about half of TimelyCare employees are located close to the Fort Worth headquarters, with many people working across the country. It’s a fact that remote and hybrid jobs get significantly more applicants. Employees want you to trust them, and they see flexibility as a huge perk.

2. Empower employees to take mental health days

As the push toward making mental health days just as important as physical sick days continues, offering mental health days to employees helps with retention and minimizes burnout. It also allows employees to feel comfortable and confident that how they’re doing mentally is important to their employers.

3. Integrate mentorship programs

Hejl discussed the importance of mentorship in a business. How are you encouraging employees, no matter their ages or titles, to find mentors within your company? Mentorship can lead to an increase in self-confidence, job satisfaction, loyalty to a company, and a feeling of fulfillment.

4. Focus on culture and recruiting

Culture isn’t something that’s created one day, and then it’s done. There are iterations and changes that must happen as your company and employees continue to grow. Hejl recognized that there are layers to culture, and it’s important to think about how you’re taking care of employees. Work-life balance must be more than a buzzword added to your website. It must be practiced so that it’s integral to the success of your company through employees that are less stressed and more satisfied with their work.

5. Evaluate programs annually (or more)

Chan noted how important it is to be reflective of what programs and resources you’ve implemented, as well as what you have planned for the future. It’s important to be persistent because what worked one year or one quarter might not work for the next year or quarter. Similar to a budget review, make sure you’re taking a look at what you’re doing to support employees.

The resources needed to ensure students thrive through the college-to-workforce transition

The first step is having the resources that employees (and students) need to thrive. But educating a workforce to know how to access the resources is different. Resources, such as healthcare (i.e. access to mental and medical virtual care), career resources or even extracurriculars (like an employer-sponsored team) are great places to start. Again, what works for one person might not work for another employee/student. According to Hejl, it’s important to offer a wide variety of options and support resources.

Now that you have the resources for your employees, the next step is to help them navigate and utilize what’s available. Hejl mentioned that though this might be a wake-up call for some employers, sometimes these resources that you’ve put a ton of time and money into are neglected because people aren’t sure how to access them. Whether you’re in higher education or working in corporate America, it’s imperative to plan how best to support employees, select the right resources and educate them on how to utilize what’s available.

“Removing barriers helps people to become more effective in their field, and we open up the playing field for professional advancement.”

Seli Fakorzi, Director of Mental Health at TimelyCare

To hear more from these career readiness and mental health experts, watch the panel discussion on Gen Ztressed – Catch 2022: Students, Jobs, and Mental Health. If you’re a higher education leader who wants to proactively support the next-generation workforce, contact TimelyCare to learn more about how a virtual health and well-being platform can help students thrive and transform your campus.

The post College Graduates: Entering the Workforce in the Wake of COVID-19 appeared first on TimelyCare.