siliconindia | | October 20188THE NEED FOR MENTAL WELLNESS PROGRAMS IN THE INDIAN WORKPLACEBy Dr. Vihan Sanyal, Founder, Mind Factorypercent of India's population is suffering from stress, which is higher than the Global average of 86 percent. Nearly 38.5 percent of corporate employees get less than six hours of sleep a night. According to WHO, over 10 crore people in India are currently suffering from Mental disorders. India is also home to the highest suicide rate in the world be-tween the age group of 15 and 29, with a person attempting suicide eve-ry three seconds. According to recent studies 45-50 percent of corporate employees suf-fer from depression in India. Mental health issues like anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia can be found in em-ployees of organizations in India. A survey conducted in 2016 of employ-ees across 30 Indian firms discovered that 46 percent employees reported suffering from high levels of stress as a result of their work. Independ-ent studies have also indicated that by 2020, 20 percent of India's popu-lation is likely to suffer from mental disorders. Emotional stress faced by employees in India is a major con-tributor towards many common ill-nesses like High Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure and Diabetes, most of which lead to heart disease, stroke and death. Many of these diseases can be prevented by incorporating a healthy physical and mental lifestyle. The current situation is rather grim. There needs to be a rapid shift in the way employers and employ-ees look at Mental Well-being. We often shy away from speaking about anything to do with mental health at work and in the community. Many people who have an in-house counse-lor or therapist at their office hesitate to approach them because of a fear of being labeled as someone with a mental illness. There are also those who try to stay away from the thera-pist's office as they fear that it may change the way they are viewed by their bosses and fear that it may jeop-ardize their future growth within the organization. This outlook needs to change if we are to expect to bring positive change.In India, we also have a shortage of mental health practitioners. There is an uneven client to doctor/therapist ratio. Organizations may also benefit by up-skilling their team leaders and managers in Mental Health First Aid courses. This will ensure that these leaders will be trained and equipped to handle mental health emergencies which may take place at work. Like in most schools and educational in-stitutions, all organizations ideally should hire in-house mental health counselors. Employees need to be encouraged to speak with an in-house mental health professional without the fear of being judged. It will en-sure that the employees receive the Mind Factory is an end-to-end psychotherapy counseling clinic with proven excellence in offering counseling in Pre-Marital, Marital, & Post-Marital, Relationship Counseling, Anxiety Disorders, Phobias, Clinical Depression, Anger & Stress Management, and Addiction areas.89IN MY OPINION
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