While the corporate world has long been associated with pressures of long hours and unrealistic deadlines, the COVID-19 pandemic really brought such issues to the fore. The pandemic led to drastic changes in the ways of working, leading to blurred lines between personal and professional lives. Stressful work environment, coupled with long periods of isolation at home, has been the breaking point for many employees, who began to openly talk about how the situation was unsustainable due to its impact on their mental health. As a result, there is greater scrutiny on the workplace policies and practices, with employees beginning to push back against the ‘hustle culture’ that encourages employees to prioritize professional goals over their personal and mental well-being.
A recent Deloitte study of about 4,000 corporate employees in India found that more than 80% employees are suffering from at least one mental health symptom such as depression, anxiety, sleep related issues etc. The study also found that workplace is the biggest stressor causing mental health issues among employees. In our conversations, employees pointed towards pressures due to deadlines, heavy workloads, poor team cultures, and lack of recognition and job satisfaction as the key reasons for the workplace-driven stress.
Companies, whether public or private, are constantly under pressure to continue to grow quarter on quarter, year on year and out-perform the competition. This can often translate into constant pressures on employees, who are rewarded for working longer hours and going over and beyond their job requirements. While some employees adapt, and even thrive, in this environment, many struggle. The pressure to retain a good job and the need for peer validation among colleagues, friends and family members forces employees to continue to work in such an environment.
However, for many employees, relentless pressure to keep up often causes high levels of stress, burn-out and poor mental health, that impacts them both personally and professionally. The “succeed-at-all-cost” hustle mentality can also breed a toxic work culture and adversely impact certain vulnerable groups. Women with young children for instance often bear the brunt of the dual pressure and suffer from poor mental health or opt out and quit.
The Deloitte survey also revealed that the issue of mental health is compounded by the fact that employees suffering from poor mental health symptoms due to workplace-related stress are unable to act on it, due to stigma or fear of judgment by peers at work or family and friends and the fear of an adverse impact on professional growth. This creates a vicious cycle of such issues not coming to the fore and employers, who are otherwise very progressive and have talent friendly policies, often being unaware of the magnitude of this problem. The Deloitte study found that unresolved mental health issues among employees can cost employers in India up to USD ~14Bn annually in lost productivity due to absenteeism, presenteeism and employee attrition.
While organizations cannot ignore or change the competitive realities that drive such workplace environment, they can take steps to mitigate its impact on employees. Additionally, given the scale of the issue, it is imperative for employers to define a workplace policy that prioritizes employee well-being and allows employees to chart out their own growth path, factoring in their personal situation and professional ambition. This requires employers to create a comprehensive workplace mental health policy that addresses the need for both curative and preventive interventions.
Preventative interventions are long-term in nature and involve structural changes to how an organization operates. There is a need to de-stigmatize “mental health” through leadership buy-in and awareness campaigns among employees. Organizations should adopt workplace adjustments to eliminate or mitigate workplace-related stressors by encouraging manageable working hours, sufficient allocation of resources to projects, hybrid working model wherever possible, and encouraging employees to take time-off to recharge. Organizations also need to promote inclusive workplace policies for demographic minorities through sensitization trainings for employees and transparent processes for feedback and actions.
Additionally, organizations need to ensure there are sufficient resources available for employees who may be undergoing mental health stress. This includes a well-defined “mental health first aid” policy for employees showing signs of stress, reimbursement for mental health support and 24x7 counselling, and digital mental health tools and services for self-help.
All such initiatives, whether curative or preventative, need to be led by the leadership, who need to lead by example and constantly emphasize the importance of managing mental health in various forums. While aggressive workplace policies may lead to a bump in performance in the short-term, only sustainable workplace practices can help an organization maintain the growth trajectory over a longer period.
Author: Charu Sehgal, Partner and Life Sciences and Health Care Leader, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP