Over the last few years, there has been increasing focus on mental health, and rightly so, with mental health issues and mental illness reaching an epidemic proportion. The World Health Organization estimates that India will suffer economic losses amounting to a staggering 1.03 trillion dollars from mental health conditions between 2012 and 2030.

Issues of mental health are widespread across communities around the world. In India, an estimated 56 million Indians suffer from depression, which is a staggering 18% of the total number of people worldwide who suffer from the condition, and 38 million from anxiety disorders. While these numbers reveal the mental health status of the current society, let’s be cognizant of the fact that workplaces are microcosms of this society and culture of which they are part of. Also as reported by the Wall Street Journal in 2016, Indian millennials spend more time at work than their counterparts in 25 other countries — an average of 52 hours a week.

It is the need of the hour to take vital steps to make mental health and wellbeing a key priority not only at national levels but also within local communities and in the workplace.

With mental health garnering all the much-required attention, there has been a progressive move to include mental illness cover under health insurance. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, implemented last year states that every person with mental illness will be treated as equal to persons with physical illness when it comes to healthcare, including health insurance. This is a very positive move towards inclusivity of mental illness cover in the insurance ecosystem.

Demystifying mental health

Mental health is no different from physical health and absence of mental illness does not qualify as a healthy mental state. Mental health represents a dynamic state of functioning and can vary throughout life depending on life stages, the environment and related stressors. It runs along a continuum with different symptoms depending on the modification of your employee’s health. The ambiguity in relation to the representation of mental health state makes it a complex issue to identify. To add on that the taboo attached to matters related to mental health further widens the gap. The continuum can help one recognize the early warning signs of a mental health issue in an employee, minimize the stigma surrounding it, and provide help before they move further along the spectrum.

Mental health, like any other aspect of health, is affected by a range of socio-economic factors and workplace environment. There are many risk factors for mental health that may be present in the workplace and it may be related to the type of work, interpersonal relations either at the organizational, peer or managerial levels, job skills and competencies, work-life balance and the support available for employees to carry out their work to name few. There is a clear link between mental health issues and the loss of productive human capital. A hostile work environment impacts professional’s capacity to focus, handle pressure, amicably interact with colleagues and clients, make the prudent judgment, deal with negative feedback and respond to change leading to the demotivated, unproductive and vulnerable workforce. Productivity and negative cost impact is driven by increased absenteeism or higher presenteeism. Without help, such employees struggle to cope, tend to under-perform, utilize sick leave and are even likely to quit their jobs or take drastic steps altogether.

Companies need to recognize that, the impact that mental health-related presenteeism and absenteeism have on a company’s growth is significantly detrimental. From a return on investment perspective, a recent WHO-led study estimated that for every US$ 1 put into scaled up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of US$ 4 in improved health and productivity.

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The bottom line is caring about employees’ mental health is beneficial to organizations in more ways than one. Better mental health means better quality of work, less absenteeism and better productivity. Consequently, increased productivity and superior quality of work equal to increased profits. Also, companies that have cultivated a culture of wellness and healthy working environment tend to not only attract but also help retain the best talent.

Considering the complexity of the mind and myriad factors that can impact mental health, the solution too is multifactorial and not too simple. Piecemeal approaches would not garner any positive result. Mental health intervention has to be targeted and should be delivered as part of an integrated health and well-being strategy addressed through comprehensive strategies for education and awareness, mental health promotion, prevention, treatment and recovery that touch upon the needs of every section in the mental health continuum.

(By Prawal Kalita, President, Employee Health and Benefits, Marsh India Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd )