I was a flight attendant in one of the best international airlines for half a decade. It seems glamorous but it is a very lonely job. Meeting new people every day doesn’t make for long lasting friendships. Moreover, hectic schedules inhibit the efforts made to stay in touch.
The job involves many meals eaten alone. Many days were spent without speaking to family back home because of the time differences. Additionally, one never gets over jet lag.
Understanding the effects this can have on our mental health, my organisation invested in hiring in-house psychologists and counsellors. They even made a group called ‘Peer to Peer’. This was in case we were more comfortable speaking to our colleagues.
The members of Peer to Peer were colleagues who had chosen to volunteer and were trained accordingly.
Mental Health has made its way to conversations over the years, especially in this time of COVID-19. Working from home has become the new norm. It has blurred the lines between signing in and out of work.
Additionally there are challenges such as balancing home without house help, reduction in salaries, layoffs and other factors.
However, mental health has been an issue since before COVID-19. A study by ASSOCHAM in April 2015 found that nearly 42.5% of employees in private sectors suffered from depression or general anxiety disorder.
48% of respondents felt fatigue on a regular basis due to general anxiety. Moreover, 27% admitted they suffered from regular headaches.
How does mental health affect the organization?
Acknowledging that mental health is important at work allows you to retain your employees and saves on retraining. But just talking about mental health without tangible action is like talking about exercise without ever moving a muscle.
Many organizations have workshops once or twice a year on mental well-being. Some give employees a helpline number for additional support. These are band-aid methods and shift the onus of looking after one’s mental health entirely onto the employee.
When unaddressed in organizations, the effects are counterproductive – hurting productivity at work and increasing absenteeism. It is of economic value to invest in the mental health of your employees.
The economic cost of not addressing mental health
A study showed how work related stress can be a huge financial burden on society. This study took into account Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the EU-15. The total estimated cost of financial loss ranged between US$ 221.13 Mn to $187 Bn.
Although this study did not include India, the WHO has estimated that India stands to lose $1.03 Tn between 2012-2030 due to mental health conditions.
Including mental health into the overall work environment
With focus on mental health being the need of the hour, here are some suggestions you can incorporate in your organization to cater to the mental well-being of your employees:
- Peer to peer support: Bringing in regular professional help may not always be feasible for organizations. In such situations, employees can volunteer or ask employees you believe are equipped with a high EQ to volunteer, and become part of a team that is available to other employees to speak to.
- 2. Support groups: Support groups with confidentiality clauses every month is another way to include the mental health of your employees into the work culture.
- 3. Awareness conversations: Many Indian organizations hold awareness weeks which include mindfulness and stress management workshops. Nitesh Batra of The Mindful Initiative highlighted how private organizations with proven practices such as Mindfulness Based Interventions, Compassion Cultivation Training can provide monthly content to make it a continued conversation and practice.
In Conclusion
The Mental Healthcare Act 2017 has now bound insurers to create provisions that cover mental illness in the same way as physical ailments. Educating your employees on these provisions is a step forward along with providing referrals for long term or short term counselling.
Work related stress and lack of concern towards the mental health of employees is usually seen as ‘it’s all just part of business’. But human resource is the most important aspect of business and taking care of employees is now everyone’s business.
This article originally appeared in People Matters.
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