Mental Health: A priority at Workplace

Author: Bensely Zachariah , Global Head of Human Resources, Fulcrum Digital

India

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New Delhi, October 10, 2022:

The World Health Organization defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. The Covid-19 pandemic has left an impact not only on the physical but also the mental wellbeing of people. Globally, an estimated 264 million people suffer from depression and anxiety. The economic downturn and the job uncertainty caused by the pandemic added to the woes of the global pool of professionals, causing an increase in mental health issues which already existed among this section due to work stress and burnouts.

Though stress by itself is not an illness but when experiencing it frequently, it increases the risk of mental health conditions such as depression. Work related stress can be a major cause of occupational ill health and can result in reduced levels of performance and productivity and even manifest as various illness and lifestyle diseases. This may also be accompanied with psychological effects such as loss of concentration, poor decision-making skills, anxiety, and depression.

Data from different countries indicate that mental health problems is a global phenomenon that is affecting corporate employees in a big way. The Indian corporate sector is no different from their global counterparts is what a pre-pandemic survey by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) reveals, with over 40 % the employees in the private sector suffering from depression or general anxiety disorder. An online survey which was conducted in 2021 to predict the psycho-social factors that caused distress among the Indian population post Covid also found out that the most vulnerable group affected was the 21-35 years bracket, which also forms a large part of the working-age group in India.

Apart from the physical and psychological effects that they must undergo at the workplace, the stigma attached to mental health issues makes it more difficult for employees as they face prejudice at work or even while applying for jobs. Without help, such employees struggle to survive in a fast-paced corporate environment resulting in under performance, absenteeism, and many of them eventually dropping out from work. Hence, it makes sense for corporates to focus on nurturing mental health from an economic perspective too and not just a social one.

What is required to tackle this issue is a structured ‘employee assistance program’ on mental health which includes both preventive and remedial measures. This is missing in most of the corporates in India, though many of them might be conducting a few workshops or offering some services like counseling. It may not be easy for most of the smaller corporates to have such full-fledged programs, however, here are a few steps that they can implement to achieve the goal of helping their employees enjoy better mental health.

Provide a healthy work environment with strict policies against harassment and discrimination

Some of the most common reasons for office stress is relationship issues with superiors, colleagues, workload beyond capacity, high demand performance, work-life balance, and job security. The issues with managers may be usually in terms of unrealistic expectations, pitting one employee against the others, and being unable to find the right balance between work and family responsibility to name a few. Having a well-structured goal setting process, decreasing work role ambiguity, regular check-ins by the line managers with the employee to help facilitate the deliverables, a well-defined employee communication framework which would leave no uncertainty as to where the company is headed and what is their role in it, a structured employee grievance mechanism which will look into any sort of discrimination and harassment, policies and guidelines which keeps a check on extended work timings which does not encroach into their personal/family time are some of the measures that can be implemented to reduce some of the common sources of stress at the workplace

Accept and implement mental health and wellbeing as part of your employee welfare programs

Unlike many of the western societies where your health issues are considered confidential and discussed only with relevant stakeholders, Indians are comfortable revealing and discussing their physical ailments. However, there still is a strong stigma attached to acceptance or discussion of mental health issues. Organizations should take initiatives to address mental wellness at the workplace through a clearly articulated policy on mental health. They should be able to clearly articulate the approach that they would take to prevent an employee burnout or how to deal with it the same way when someone has a physical illness – a time to treat/heal and the support process that the organization would extend to get them back to work. This makes it easy for the employees to have confidence that they can accept, discuss, and seek help safely without being judged or discriminated. Address mental health issues at the leadership level by both communicating and demonstrating your intent of building a culture of caring for employee’s mental wellbeing.

Take a holistic approach towards employee mental health and wellbeing

The first step towards promoting employee’s mental wellbeing would be to create a workplace environment that is free of excessive fear and chronic anxiety. Encourage employees to live a balanced life and support it by policies that facilitate it. Invest in training the employees and their managers on mental health issues and how to identify the signs before it turns into an ailment, how to be empathetic towards employees who undergo it, and how to guide them to seek professional help. Offer employee assistance programs (EAP) which would deal with mental wellbeing in a holistic manner by helping them to focus on their mental health, conduct workshops on how to identify early signs and remedial measures to prevent it from aggravating, provide counselors to help those who need them, give access to clinical psychologists for those who are struggling with issues. The inclusion of mental illness to the regular health insurance policies by the IRDAI is also a positive step that allays employee’s anxiety of finances for facilitating external treatment when they or their families must go through such issues

We must bring the issue of mental illness out into the sunlight, out of the shadow, out of the closet, deal with it, treat people, have centers where people can get the necessary help.

As John Lewis sums it up, it is time for Corporate India to sit up and take notice of the elephant in the room and act on it by making the workplace a source of solution to the stress which many a times also happens to be the source of origin for the stress.

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