Eastern Eye (UK)

Mental health fallout

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POOR mental health among employees costs Indian companies a combined $14 billion (£12bn) a year due to absenteeis­m, attrition and other reasons, Deloitte estimated in a report after surveying nearly 4,000 workers.

Mental health issues have long been a taboo in India, but rising awareness among the younger generation and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic have made people more conscious about their overall wellbeing.

Around 47 per cent of those surveyed considered workplace-related stress as the biggest factor affecting their mental health, followed by financial and Covid-19 challenges. The survey was conducted between November last year and April this year and was released last Thursday (8).

“Mental health-related challenges are not new to the Indian workforce, but these have come to the forefront in light of Covid-19, and a younger workforce open to speaking about their wellbeing,” Charu Sehgal, partner and Life Sciences and Health Care leader, said.

“Not only is the number of impacted employees large, the degree of the challenge is also high, accentuate­d by performanc­eoriented cultures anchored in long and demanding work schedules, economic uncertaint­y, and peer comparison (especially on social media).”

The survey found 80 per cent of the Indian workforce reported mental health issues in the past year, after a second wave killed tens of thousands of people in the country last year. But stigma prevented some 39 per cent of the affected respondent­s from taking any mitigating steps.

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