Shahid Akhter, editor, ETHeallthworld, spoke to Sharad Mehra, CEO, GUS Global Services (GGS), to figure out the current trends and challenges associated with the mental wellbeing of employees and the notable shift in approaches initiated by organisations to address them.
Mental Wellbeing of employees: Trends
If I were to revisit the past five years, words like mental well-being, emotional intelligence, or emotional well-being did not exist at all. But then things dramatically evolved in the last few years, more so after COVID, when the business world realised that this was a vital part of the work culture among the team-members and colleagues. Therefore, awareness of mental wellbeing increased substantially.
A notable shift is the change in the stigma associated with this term, which was due to a lack of awareness, but has evolved significantly. Business leaders and organisations all over the world realise the importance of mental well being with respect to employee productivity, employee morale, and workplace engagement. It is critical to understand all these aspects to ensure that the employees are happy, feel content, and are taken care of. Therefore, the mental well being of employees becomes a priority for any organisation.
Mental Wellbeing of employees: Challenges
Sometimes organisations may believe that it is not their responsibility to focus on the mental well-being of employees. In my understanding, there exists a grey area for a lot of organisations and people, as finding the right solution is still a real challenge. Other times, employees themselves are a little confused about whether mental-health issues are something that they are afflicted with. So these challenges prevail.Furthermore, having the right fit for a psychologist or therapist within the organisation who can help resolve these issues is also a pressing problem in India. The availability of an adequate number of therapists and psychologists in India is also another concern.
Mental Wellbeing of employees: Way forward
The way forward must include strategies to deal with the challenges that exist and raise awareness. Organisations should recognise that the workplace culture plays a crucial role in supporting and enhancing the emotional well-being and, therefore, the overall well-being of the employees.
It is important for organisations to have the right culture with the right kind of managers, as the best psychological support for any employee is offered by their line manager, the person with whom they interact on a daily basis. In fact, as per a Workforce Institute report, 69% of the nearly 3400 people interviewed across 15 countries said that the major cause of stress at work was their line manager. This is also because employees spend the majority of their time with their line managers and other colleagues in the organisation. Thus, I believe a significant positive transformation has occurred in this regard.
If we look at the statistical figures issued last year by the WHO, it is estimated that overall, $1 trillion and 12 billion working days were lost by organisations because of the challenges faced around emotional well-being. The staggering number is a cause for serious concern. However, gradually, organisations are moving ahead to realise their responsibility does not end when the employee clocks out; it is a 24×7 responsibility. Consequently, It is crucial to prioritise the employee and help improve their work-life balance in the future.
GUS Global Services (India)
GUS Global Services, which is a subsidiary of Global University Systems, is one of India’s largest companies in the private higher education sector. We provide services to universities and institutions all across the country as well as outside India.
I believe that emotional well-being has numerous aspects beyond just counselling and therapy. It is about creating an inclusive environment with sports, culture, etc. that provides different avenues for people to explore. So when people join organisations, it is not just a serious workplace but rather a fun place where they’re allowed to explore multiple facets of themselves. At GGS, for instance, we have a fabulous cricket team that many of our employees are part of. We also indulge in a lot of musical sessions and jam sessions, as some of our colleagues are very passionate about music. And I believe that when purpose and passion are combined, that’s where the true essence of profitability and productivity lies.
I firmly believe that for us as an organisation, one of the vital things is to create a sense of belief among our employees so that they practise building their work around their lives, not their lives around work. This leads to the organisation being a happy place. What we also focus on is that this happiness is not only limited to our employees; we also emphasise the happiness of the support staff, including the gardeners, housekeepers, and everybody else who works with us in different roles and responsibilities. Therefore, we launched an initiative called ‘Project Happiness, where we essentially focus on the happiness quotient of our employees by talking to them about what makes them happy, having discussions around the kind of events that we can do, creating forums that can be created, and creating self-help groups for them. I am glad to see that we initiated this conversation to make GGS a delightful place to work. Concluding this discussion, it is amazing to note that if I get up in the morning and want to go back to my workplace, that means there is something special created at the workplace—an atmosphere that is encouraging and worthy for our employees, and that really is what our vision is.
