All in the Mind: The state of mental health in Corporate India

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe

New Delhi, April 21 (SocialNews.XYZ) A study highlighting the role of the workplace in causing, furthering and perpetuating mental illness, launched by Gi Group India, a leading human capital solutions and services provider. The study titled 'All in the Mind: the state of mental health in Corporate India shares a birds eye view into the state of mental well-being of Indias corporate segment.

It shares critical analogies that can help reduce stress in general, thus creating a happier and more motivated workforce. The survey had a sample size of 1088 employee respondents and 368 employer respondents from leading small, medium and large-scale businesses based out of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Pune.

The key findings from the report are:

• Employers and employees contradict each other on factors of influence. 77 percent of the employers point to long, erratic, always on work hours, as the top factor, and play down the role of leadership. And 79 percent of the employees put the role of leadership right on top of the factors
• The top concerns that lead to mental health issues, as perceived by employers are Work-life balance (49 percent of all employers), Work related stress (42 percent) and Anxiety over career growth (34 percent)

• Covid-19 was a mixed bag for issues concerning mental wellness. Awareness and accessibility leapfrogged and taboos significantly diminished. However, only a small proportion of employers were more in control of their mental health. 29 percent of the employees surveyed suffered due to erratic work schedules and 21 percent suffered due to reduced salaries

• Employers understand the fallout of mental health issues on the functioning of their organisations in varying ways. A big majority (70 percent) of all employers believe that mental health has a serious (45 percent) or significant (25 percent) impact on organisational performance or organizational growth. 30 percent believe that there is insignificant or negligible impact on either performance or growth.

• Organizational policies and mechanisms do not effectively address mental health concerns in an overwhelming majority of cases. Only 14 percent of the employers surveyed were found to have policies and mechanisms receptive to mental wellness cases. 54 percent of the respondents have not put formal policies and mechanisms in place and deal with mental wellness concerns in their informal ways.

• A large proportion of the employers surveyed (82 percent are sensitizing their organisations to be receptive to mental health concerns. 63 percent are opening up multiple channels for people to speak up, and 51 percent encourage healthy interpersonal equations between people

• IT/ITes ( 64 percent) and BFSI (57 percent) are among the top sectors on awareness levels on mental health, with FMCG (50 percent) and Automobile (53 percent) industry faring at the bottom end.

• On the cities with high awareness on the topic, Southern capitals- Chennai (63 percent) and Bengaluru (57 percent) score better than the rest. Delhi NCR (50 percent) is at the bottom of the list when it comes to awareness on Mental Health.

  Speaking on the launch Marcos Segador Arrebola, Managing Director, Gi Group shared, "It is clear that the pandemic has increased the recognition as well as receptivity of mental health issues in our country specifically in the corporate sector. Being one of the world's largest staffing group and an integral part of Corporate India, we believe that shining light on a nebulous, but critical problem must concern us beyond business as usual.

  "Through the study, All in the Mind: The state of mental health in Corporate India', we have set out to give shape to the seemingly amorphous entity. As an organization committed to its ethics, Gi Group wishes to focus on a formidable issue that concerns the nation, and the world, and look at possible solutions."

  (N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in)

Source: IANS