The deaths by suicide of actor Robin Williams in 2014 and fashion designer Kate Spade in
2018 shocked the world and forced us all to look at the very real consequences of mental
health problems like depression. But the more recent death by suicide of Cafe Coffee Day
(CCD) owner, V.G. Siddhartha hit us Indians hard much closer home. It forced us all to look
again at mental health; this time, especially of a large and very important segment of the
population – employees and entrepreneurs. A 2018 study conducted by the Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India1 (ASSOCHAM) found that 43% of private
sector employees in India are afflicted with mental health issues at work.
According to the World Health Organization2 (WHO), for any person, to be in a state of
good mental health, they need to be able to work productively, cope with the normal
stressors of life, be able to make their contribution to the community and realize their full
potential.
49.8 percent of the 1.37 billion strong population make up the Indian workforce – that’s
nearly half the Indian population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one
in every five Indian employees suffers from workplace depression. For some context, that’s
almost 137 million people – larger than the population of many big European countries like
Germany, France.
Common mental health issues faced by the working population range from stress & anxiety
to burnout and even depression in many cases. Depending on the individual concerned and
the severity of the problem, these issues can manifest in various, sometimes innocuous,
ways. In some employees, it may show itself as absenteeism, inability to meet deadlines or
manage time (showing up late to work, meetings etc.). In others, it may show itself as
presenteeism (working even when sick), angry outbursts, inability to work in groups,
frequent quarrels or fights with colleagues, to name a few.
Typically, most employees and employers operate from a ‘curative mindset’ – they intervene
only when the manifestations of mental health problems have become undeniably obvious.
The most common response is to address the action rather than the cause behind it. For
example, employers and colleagues take notice when somebody has frequent angry
outbursts, or when an employee is continually late to work/meetings. The usual response is
to make the employee remedy this behaviour. However, simply addressing these
manifestations does not resolve the underlying mental health problem causing it. It is like
someone continually taking medication for a recurring fever, but never really attempting to
understand the cause behind it’s regular recurrence.
Mental health concerns are usually accompanied by productivity loss. Most employees
instinctively try to offset this productivity loss by working longer hours. They even come into
work when sick (presenteeism) and end up not giving themselves the downtime they need
to recover and come back refreshed and energized. This starts a cycle of increasing
unproductivity and deteriorating mental health, eventually resulting in erratic behaviour,
error prone output, poor decision making ability and ineffective people management, which
negatively impacts other employees in the wider workforce too.
The need of the hour is for employers to understand the direct correlation between mental
health of the workforce and its impact on productivity. Let’s consider a few simple examples
to illustrate this close relationship.
Employee A, who is usually a high performer, is currently dealing with depression making
him feel overwhelmed at work. His inability to cope with work stress makes him take a lot
longer to complete each task and also deliver lower quality work. If left unaddressed, it will
only worsen and lead to increasing underproductivity day after day, week after week and
may even extend to months or years. This will also directly impact the financial results of
the organisation and may even impact the relationship with some long standing customers.
Further, the same employee, operating from his inability to deal with work stress, may have
frequent altercations with others or excessively find faults with team members or make
incorrect decisions and mete out unfair treatment to others. Given the proximity and
frequency of interactions between team members, his behaviour will affect other
employees in the workforce too. It must be understood that the state of one person’s
mental health negatively impacts multiple employees. Critically, this has the potential to
multiply rapidly across the organisation resulting in significant reduction in morale and
productivity. Alternatively, the employee and/or team members may decide to look at
opportunities outside leading to the organisation losing motivated and high performing
employees.
Mental health wellness becomes even more important in light of the very demanding work
environment in India. Employees are now working longer hours with lesser returns and
lower job security. The reward structure in India is that of a “developing nation” and
therefore, is almost six times lower compared to the developed nations. Archaic labour laws
also tend to add to the pressure and stress faced by employees. Furthermore, there is very
limited focus on the intangible aspects of the workplace benefits.
Most organisations offer very little to employees in terms of health insurance, family
welfare benefits and other similar benefits. Some progress has been made in recent times
which may show the way forward in the future. A recent successful measure for the well-
being of the employees is Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). EAP are programs designed
for employees to assist them with problems that impact their physical, mental and
emotional well-being. Under the EAP, employees have access to free and confidential
assessments, short and long-term counselling for employees and their family members.
These programs may also have benefits that allow employees to take a break from their
daily routine during their working hours. Involving employees in various CSR activities, for
example, is a mutually beneficial and effective way to help de-stress the workforce.
Another popular initiative is allowing flexible working for employees by giving them an
option to work from home and manage their own working hours. There is evidence to
suggest that flexible working boosts productivity and morale of employees and their
families. This is particularly important in the case of new parents. It allows parents to share
responsibilities, thereby leading to happier and more successful families.
Additionally, formal support mechanisms, by having a full time counselor in the workplace
or providing some monetary allowance to employees for seeking mental health support can
also be effective initiatives. This could be further supplemented at an informal level by
initiating a buddy system to support each other not only professionally but also personally.
Employees should also be encouraged to have open conversations about mental health to
help break the stigma around mental health concerns.
Raising awareness among the workforce is also of critical importance since mental health
issues may be compounded by factors outside the workplace. Regulating food habits and
ensuring proper sleep patterns are very important and effective ways to deal with stress.
Avoiding work as much as possible outside the workplace and switching off completely at
the end of the work day may also make a very positive impact.
It is important that everyone understands the importance of mental wellbeing. Everyone
needs to take care of their mental wellbeing to fulfill their potential. This shouldn’t just be
limited to people with mental health problems because one in every five people may have
mental health problems, but five in five have mental health!
