Mind It, Managers

The World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety — among the more prominent mental health issues — cost the global economy $1 trillion a year in lost productivity. Given this harrowing backdrop, why are only a minuscule fraction of Indian companies concerned about the mental health of their employees?

She was a go-getter and had been promoted within a year of joining — a rather rare feat at the media organisation where she worked as a writer.

There would be weeks of productivity, when she would pursue articles with passion and mirth. Her chirpiness would suddenly fizzle into spells of depressive lows, aggravated by all manner of accusations she hurled at everyone around. As she swung between manic highs and lows, her co-workers remained flummoxed spectators. She’s ‘mad’, they decided.

Looking back on his high-performing employee’s struggles with bipolar disorder at the workplace, Allen John (name changed) wonders whether things could have been handled better if his company had a mental health policy in place. It’s been nearly two years since she left the job, and she hasn’t been able to hold on to another job elsewhere either.

Mental health remains the elephant in the room in the formidable corridors of corporate India. Of the country’s 1.1 million active registered companies, only 1,000 are estimated to have a structured employee assistance programme (EAP) for mental health, according to Optum Health International, a leading EAP service provider belonging to the Minnesota (US)-based UnitedHealth Group.

An EAP typically includes both preventive — workshops and awareness programmes on mental health — and counselling services — whether telephonic, face-to-face or via online chat — for employees and their family members.

In India, Optum’s Prevention and Wellbeing, EAP and Wellbeing Services segment is headquartered in Bengaluru and active in over 65 cities. Its country head, Amber Alam explains that there are about four prominent EAP providers in the country, each catering to 200-300 employers. So, aside from a few other companies offering mental health support in bits and pieces, only a handful of Indian companies have a structured EAP, he says.