With the World Mental Health Day, just gone on October 10, it is important to understand that Mental Illness is still highly stigmatized, especially in the country like India. This year’s World Mental Health Day’s theme was ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’. A huge chunk of India’s working class undergoes some sort of psychological distress at some point of time. But because of the social pressure, and the kind of society that we live in; individuals at the workplace may often disguise symptoms of mental illness under physical disease. Even when individuals try sharing details of their mental illness, it is often ignored, paid less attention or in most of the cases turned into a big joke. ‘Buck up’, ‘everybody goes through this phase’, ‘do this or do that’ are the common responses from colleagues. This only furthers the isolation and intensity that often accompanies mental disorders.
A WHO report suggests that India is the most depressed country in the world. Every 90 minutes, a youth commits suicide in the country and one out of five Indians is suffering from a mental disorder. Up t0 50% of all psychological, mental and behavioural problems have their onset during adolescence. To add to this the growing pressure of unemployment, competence at work place and increasing cost of living leads an individual in a complete distress. It is important that awareness of Mental Health takes place in all spheres be it workplace, schools and universities, neighbourhoods and social groups.
AWAG has been dealing with mental health among women and adolescents since 2007. Adolescents studying in municipal schools usually belong to low socio-economic background. They often lack attention and guidance from parents, which causes severe mental trauma to the child. AWAG works with adolescents in government schools and counsels them. The counselling addresses their emotional needs and equips them with skills to overcome their trauma.
Anecdotally, it seems that mental illnesses have gone from being invisible in the workplace to being the elephant in the room that no one is willing to poke. There are some organisations that offer ‘employee wellness’ programs, realizing that employee well-being transfers into productivity. Employers who understand the link between employee well-being and organizational performance are best positioned for success in the economic recovery. One of the most powerful things an employer can do is place their employees in positions that enable them to use and develop their strengths. Building employees’ strengths is a far more effective approach than looking at deficits.
Given that most of us spend a good amount of our time at work, it should come as no surprise that the work environment plays a significant role in our psychological health. At the same time, in order to cope up with the stress, work-life balance is equally important!