The pandemic has not only disrupted the physiological health of the country but it has also impacted the mental wellness scenario across India. As per a UNICEF survey, across 21 countries, only 41% of young people in India said that it is good to seek support for mental health problems, compared to an average of 83% for 21 countries. With people being troubled with anxiety, stress and other emotional health concerns, there is a demographic that is being drastically affected in the process - the working professionals. The graph of depression among employees who have been laid off and anxiety among fresh job seekers has been on a rise.
Mental health plummeting to the bottom
Due to mental health crippling during COVID-19 due to nationwide lockdown and isolation alongside other safety norms and preventive measures, the corporate industry took the lead and has been redirecting its energy to strategise employee-wellness. Working in alignment with the concept is Antarmanh Consulting, a management consultancy, actively engaging itself and being a part of the foundational millennial revolution. The firm is leaving no stone unturned to reform the mental wellness ecosystem in India.
Psychological help at your workplace
Antarmanh aligns wellness solutions for business resilience with protection and performance and reaches out to corporations who are integrating wellness as a holistic part of their planning for business strategy to utilise employee wellbeing for business growth.
Commenting on the surge in mental wellness issues, Seema Rekha, Managing Director at Antarmanh Consulting, says, "The pandemic has resulted in a spike of mental barricades and concerns. It has derailed the psychological health and disrupted the work-life balance of a working professional. Some of the issues that the employees have faced while working through this global crisis include stress, excessive worrying, anger issues, conflicts in relationships, etc.
The thing with such internal concerns are that if they keep piling up, over time, they lead to severe problems such as anxiety, worry, depression, burnout and even self-harm and suicidal ideations. It is imperative to treat these early stages before they spread their roots in the depths of one's psyche."
Employee wellness: a stepping stone for India
Companies have witnessed the brunt of the pandemic, especially with their workforce being mentally affected with the crisis. The employees have experienced more mental burnouts than in pre-COVID times. Employees who have been on the verge of experiencing immense stress due to unparalleled change and challenge, rapid reinvention of the client, in real time are being very mindfully catered to, by the wellness decisions well led by organisational strategists .
In the absence of preventive strategies which organisations like Antarmanh Consulting master in, usually, employees undergo the following stages before their breakdown:
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Honeymoon Phase
The employee is at their peak of professional success and productivity. They feel excited to take on new challenges, tasks or responsibilities. As the name suggests, work seems blissful.
Chronic Stress
In this stage, the stress has increased, the symptoms persist, noticeable behavioural changes occur like increased caffeine, alcohol, drug consumption, missed work deadlines and social withdrawal.
Habitual Burnout
Unlike burnout, habitual burnout runs on an endless loop, an employee begins to experience all the negative symptoms like chronic mental and physical fatigue.
Once the trail of these stages has begun, it is the reactive strategies like individual counselling, coaching and therapeutic consultation which can be aimed at. Earlier the intervention, the better it is, nonetheless, each of these can be optimally and productively catered to by the well equipped schools of behavioral sciences. Educating people about the concept of a burnout and how it works, Antarmanh focuses on creating awareness about how burnout is not just emotional response, rather it reveals the flaws and incapabilities of systems that are a result of individual behavior. In an emotional crisis or psychological impact of a situation, our mind often makes us feel a void that is impenetrable.
Tech and connection -
Connecting with the patrons on a deeper level, Antarmanh leverages the power of technology and amalgamates with latest advancements, digitising wellness with the tech-wave. Antarmanh utilises technology, banking on the growth of the IT and merges it with wellness strategising for human resources through unique tools like psychological profiling, research for strategising, staffing and overall wellness planning.
Becoming conscious rather than merely aware about your concerns can pull you to drive your own self care routine. These suggestions combined with Antarmanh’s efforts can result in a secure plan for the well-being of the employees while taking care of their mental stress, emotional trauma. The aim is to strive to reduce the damage caused by traumas and the external environment and transform it to a path that leads to emotional and professional growth..