How to be Mentally Healthy at Work

A survey called "Mental health and well-being in the workplace" was conducted by Deloitte in 2022 and collected opinions from 3,995 workers. Along with an estimate of the annual financial cost to Indian enterprises resulting from poor employee mental health, the poll looks into the main stressors as perceived by employees. The highlights of the survey revealed that India suffers majorly in financial revenue due to employee’s mental health and well-being. Different reasons being absenteeism, not coming to work when stressed and overworked, presenteeism, which refers to coming to the office just for the sake of it and lacking in the quality of work due to being under constant work stress, and last but not least, attrition, which accounts for the employees dropping out of work due to various occupational hazards.

Eighty percent of Indian workers reported having mental health problems in the previous year, according to the survey. Despite these concerning figures, around 39% of the impacted respondents are unable to manage their symptoms due to social stigma. Furthermore, according to our poll, 33% of all respondents kept working despite having poor mental health, while 29% took time off and 20% quit their jobs in order to better manage their mental health.

Another study done in 2021 conceded that on average, 50% Indian employees have symptoms of depression, anxiety and workplace stress.

In 2023, White Swan Foundation reported that nearly 2/3rd employees in India have mental health issues out of which around a quarter percentage of people feel that they have support from their workplace about it but only 1 in 4 people received mental health services at workplace. Employee assistance program which functions as an effective method to track employee’s well-being and ensures awareness regarding mental health, the survey revealed that only 1 in 10 employees had access to such programs at their workplace.

Problems Faced in a Workplace

Let us try to understand, one by one what constitutes to the numbers stated above when it comes to mental health at workplace.

1. Work-life imbalance

When employees from any field of work are made to do extra work, login or attend meetings outside working hours, then most employees suffer from overworking and getting less or no time for oneself. This behaviour can not only lead to a lot of resentment against work, but due to over-working, the performance output of employees also suffer.

2. High Workload & Burnout

At every stage in an employee’s life, they have to work according to deadlines and sometimes those deadlines become too much for an employee to handle. Furthermore, commuting to and from work in traffic causes burnout in employees, where they consistently deplete their energy without having the time to replenish it.

3. Workplace Harrasment

When any employee is belittled or threatened, along with inappropriate advances towards female employees, it all comes under workplace harassment. More so, in Asian and Indian Sub-continent, this kind of unfair treatment of employees by the upper management is seen quite often. Overbearing supervision, constant criticism, and blocking promotions are all considered workplace harassment.

4. Lack of Healthcare and Insurance

A lot of companies in India donot have a well-defined healthcare and insurance policy that provides its employees with benefits in case of any emergencies. Specially in India, due to many people working in unorganized sectors, their safety is not ensured. And while organised sectors do offer these insurance benefits, however, under healthcare, mental health is not considered and therefore employees struggle to find the right care for themselves at the right time.

5. Limited Leave Policy

Some companies have strict leave policy that makes it hard for employees with health issues to take leaves as they may be asked to submit hospital bills or prescriptions. Thus, many employees resort to continue working despite feeling and being sick. Furthermore, maternity and paternity leaves is still a new concept in India. Therefore, many companies show bias towards hiring female employees. Paternal leaves are also minimal which enforces the traditional gender roles.

6. Frequent Lay-offs

After Covid-19 Pandemic, a rise in layoffs was seen globally. Due to the lack of funds to sustain employees without going to office, the companies resorted to firing employees. This creates a sense of extreme stress for the worker who had to let their job go, and also to those who remain in the company as they constantly work in fear of losing their job.

7. Lack of Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction refers to employees having their needs met from the company. What they think should get or do in the company as an employee, matches what the company offers to them. Therefore satisfaction is a very subjective concept in work/organisations. However, despite that, a lot of employees report dissatisfaction with their company which leads to poor performance.

8. Office Politics

Hierarchical structure, discrimination and bias against a particular group of people, playing favourites, stealing credits from other employees are all examples of office politics which impact an employee’s career as well as mental health in the long run.

9. Generational Gap

As the times are changing, the workforce population consists of people who have a lot of age gap. With this issue in mind, certain difficulties are faced by employees and employers who value different mindsets and work ethics. Therefore, the subjective differences between generations can lead to added stressors in the workplace.

10. Lack of Open Communication

In an organization, where no proper channels of communication are established, the workers then have to go through a long chain of communication which often leads to misunderstandings. Furthermore, in times when an employee has to communicate their grievances but donot have adequate support systems in place for handling those issues then the employees end up suffering more in silence.

Mental Health in Workplace - How Does it Look Like

With the help of the Employee Assistance Program employees corporate journeys can be smooth sailing instead of rough. An EAP or corporate wellness program works on the model that helps mental health service providers and corporate offices to work together. It is a work-based intervention program for employees that helps them address different kinds of mental health issues that might be affecting their ability to perform. The program functions such that employees are given access to mental health services such as either one-on-one conversations with therapists and clinical psychologists as a form of therapeutic treatments, or it could be a self-help program. Furthermore, workshops on a mass scale level ensures that the right help is available to employees at the right time and help them understand and be aware of their issues.

Under the Employee Assistance Program, corporates collaborate with mental health-providing organizations in order to provide therapy sessions to their employees, the cost of which is borne by the company itself. This not only benefits the employees working in the corporate but also improves the corporate wellness as a whole, the side benefit being the improved business.

With the advanced digitalization of everything around us, therapy is also now available to every individual, and so employees can opt for online therapy from anywhere around the globe.

Steps to Take for Ensuring Mental Health at Workplace

1. Flexible Work Policies: Encourage work-life balance by putting in place flexible scheduling, remote work and fair job distribution.
2. Support for Mental Health: Start initiatives to raise public awareness of mental health issues lessen the stigma associated with them and improve access to counseling services.
3. Gender and Diversity Initiatives: Put in place regulations that support diversity and gender equality, such as inclusive hiring procedures, anti-harassment training, and mentoring programs.
4. Programs for Skill Development: Offer regular opportunities for training and development to help employees build their skills and stay competitive in rapidly evolving fields.
5. Transparent HR Policies: To lessen partiality and encourage meritocracy, make sure that career pathways are clear, promotion standards are equitable, and communication is open and honest.