Workplace stress: How to ensure sound mental health of employees

Mental health problems in the workplace have received increasing attention since the end of the pandemic. Although our understanding of mental health in the workplace and the prevalence of mental illness among working professionals is expanding, it is still necessary to understand the fundamentals to battle the stigma that persists to this day.

Although problems with mental health have always been present in India’s workforce, recent events like COVID-19, its impact and a more open-minded generation in the workplace have brought these issues to the forefront. Because of long and demanding work schedules, economic insecurity, and peer comparison, especially on social media platforms, the number of affected employees is considerable, and the difficulty is significant.

Stress and mental health issues are closely associated

Stress in the workplace and mental health issues tend to go hand in hand, and the symptoms of both can be difficult to differentiate. An individual’s existing mental health problem may become more difficult to manage in the face of work-related stress. It can be difficult to determine which came first, a pre-existing mental health illness or the stress experienced at work.

Impact of employees’ stress on business 

According to the World Health Organisation, 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety alone.

It’s a mistake to ignore the mental health of young working professionals. Working under pressure to meet deadlines and manage various tasks while maintaining positive working relationships can leave an employee feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

Employee burnout, characterised by tiredness, melancholy, cynicism, impatience, and poor work performance, can become a major issue for businesses when added to the already-growing difficulty of juggling work and personal responsibilities.

Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues can co-exist, but they are not required for a person to be stressed. Anxiety and despair can exist in someone who has never experienced stress. The variations between the two are mostly related to the reasons for and treatments for each condition.

Workplace should be equally responsible for managing work stress of employees 

To ensure the mental health of their employees, managers at workplaces should develop, implement, and disseminate plans for doing so. The workplace should be equally responsible for managing work stress as well as the individual employees.

Spending on mental health has regularly been shown to yield a favourable return. Employers and the government, at a time when there is a national focus on productivity, would do well to prioritise and invest significantly more in enhancing people’s mental health.

Regardless of their size, businesses should raise awareness about mental illness in the workplace and take steps to alleviate or avoid it.

We need to help persons with mental health issues succeed, which in turn ensures that the yearly rate of unemployment among those with chronic mental health problems will drop significantly. When it comes to mental health in the workplace, we must seek to enable employers of all sizes and industries to improve the well-being of their employees through guidance, training, consultancy advice, and sector benchmarking to improve accountability and chances for learning.

What is efficient strategy?

Since COVID-19, there has been a 20% increase in the prevalence of mental health distress among all age groups in India. Concerns about work and making adjustments are likely to rise now that workers have returned to the office. As a result, it is crucial to improve access to care for mental health issues and create a new framework that reflects the realities of a post-pandemic world.

Creating a healthy working environment by reducing workplace hazards to mental health, such as job stress, educating teams about mental health through online resources and training, speaking openly about mental health in the workplace that encourages others to do the same, and making appropriate systemic tweaks- are steps toward providing confidence and counselling to anyone struggling with mental health issues.

Stress from the office does not magically disappear when you clock off for the day. It lasts for long periods and is harmful to health unless a healthy work-life balance is maintained. This is important for several reasons, including the fact that doing so decreases stress and boosts efficiency and success at work. The most efficient strategy for coping with stress caused by work is to become more organised at work.

The good news is that stress is treatable. Measures taken to eliminate or lessen stressors that protect working professionals from getting sick and keep those who are already unwell from losing control of their condition should be aided by facilitating open dialogues about mental health and providing resources for staff in need.

Finally, effective people management practises will guarantee that a range of physical and psychosocial workplace stressors are identified early on and that practical steps are implemented to ensure that the mental health of working professionals in India is protected against workplace stress for good.

The author is a mental health activist, founder and chairperson of Mpower, an initiative by Aditya Birla Education Trust

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