Several mental health experts for officials at companies including Dabur, GE, Paytm, Flipkart, ABB, RPG Group, Mphasis, Genpact and Accenture told ET that they hope to see more time and money to protect the mental health of the Indian workforce in the next few months.
“It’s encouraging to see the government recognize the heavy toll the covid pandemic has taken on people’s mental health,” Mohit Malhotra, CEO of Dabur India, told ET. “We see such initiatives now it is becoming commonplace in all organizations.”
The finance minister announced on Tuesday the launch of a national tele-mental health program early. “This will include a network of 23 mental telehealth centers of excellence with Nimhans (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) as the nodal center and the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore providing technology support,” he said in the budget speech. .
The long pandemic has forced several companies to take some steps to help employees and their families cope with stress and other mental health issues. These include one-on-one counseling sessions with psychiatrists, webinars, 24-hour helplines, peer group support, and grief counseling (especially during the second wave when many lost loved ones to Covid-19).
For example, GE launched “It’s OK to Not Feel Good,” a campaign to help employees break down psychological barriers, said Neerja Bhardwaj, executive business partner for human resources at GE India Technology Centre.
Officials from all companies praised the government’s mental health efforts.
“The pandemic has brought mental wellness into the spotlight…it is an admirable effort (by the government) that will help people prioritize and access the right resources to enable positive mental wellness,” said Krishna Raghavan, chief people officer at Flipkart. .
Lakshmi C, managing director and human resources leader for Accenture in India, said: “This is a welcome step towards normalizing conversations around mental health and encouraging people to embrace mental wellness with dignity and compassion.”
Raman Kumar Singh, CHRO at ABB India, expects an increase in the number of holistic employee wellness programs, as well as “deeper collaborations with holistic health experts.”
S Venkatesh, president of the human resources group at RPG Enterprises, said the organization offers several avenues to help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance. “In addition, we have contracted with the Juno Clinic, a comprehensive mental wellness clinic, which provides support to our large workforce and their families at no cost to the employee,” he said.
Mental health experts including Pratima Murthy, director of Nimhans, and Samir Parikh, psychiatrist and director of the Fortis National Mental Health Programme, Fortis Healthcare, said the government initiative will help significantly expand the reach of mental health services in the whole country.
“There is a huge treatment gap for mental health,” Murthy said. “Some just need a little advice, listening, reassurance, guidance in the right direction.”
Parikh said: “With mental health going digital, more and more companies are likely to invest in employee mental health. Also, more health care providers will enter mental health services.”
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