Will 2022 prove a good year for mental health at workplace?

In the year 2022, the role of mental health in global development goals is being increasingly acknowledged. Recent years have seen a leap of progress when it comes to de-stigmatising conversations around words like depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, OCD, stress response syndromes, psychotic disorders, etc. While we count our blessings, the fact that mental health is one of the most casually neglected subjects in the Indian context is also one of the many truths. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is one of the leading causes of disability, and suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds. People with severe mental health conditions die prematurely, as much as two decades early, due to preventable physical conditions.

This World Mental Health day, Business Standard is taking a small step towards making the world a little easier to navigate for people battling with poor mental health. Our ‘Mind over Matter’ campaign is an effort to identify the challenges faced by corporate employers and employees while dealing with mental health issues. When the pandemic struck in 2020, mental health became a real business obstacle and the need to address it became as important as any other inclusion initiative.  

In a study conducted by Oracle’s 2020 AI@Work, 92% of those surveyed in India were more comfortable talking about their mental issues with a robot than their manager. Reportedly, 84% of Indians said they experienced more stress and/or anxiety at work in 2020 than any year before, and 85% said mental health issues at work negatively affected their personal life.

Is it because of the absence of policy support at workplace? Or is it the absence of understanding of the subject? How effective are corporate employee wellness programmes? Do mental health initiatives lose their effectiveness as they trickle down the corporate ladder? How can managers lead the way to a healthier ecosystem? Business Standard’s ‘Mind over Matter’ campaign aims to find the reasons and possible solutions through a series of conversations with stakeholders at positions that influence change.

Unlike multiple lacerations on the head, mental health issues are rarely visible to the naked eye, but their economic costs are exceedingly difficult to assess. Reportedly, the loss of productivity as a result of two of the most common mental disorders, anxiety and depression, costs the global economy $1 trillion each year. In 2010, poor mental health was estimated to cost the world economy approximately $2.5 trillion per year – a cost that was projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030.

Through this campaign, we hope to bring a bird’s-eye view of the situation at ground zero with industry perspectives from chief human resource officers of behemoths like HSBC Bank, Federal Bank, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, Fortis Hospital, Tech Mahindra and well-known mental health experts.  

To participate and contribute to the campaign, write to us @ saumya.mishra@bsmail.in.