Does your employee look sad and tired? Is he or she indecisive and disinterested in fun activities? Does he / she find it difficult to focus / concentrate? Wake up employers! These are symptoms of mental health.
As per Deloitte’s ‘Mental health in the workspace 2022’ survey, symptoms related to depression —sadness, loss of interest in fun activities, tiredness, lack of concentration, and indecisiveness — are the most reported mental health symptoms amongst over 59 per cent of the 3,995 employees surveyed across 12 primary industries and demographics.
At least 55 per cent of those surveyed reported emotional exhaustion and burnout. About 51 per cent were irritable and inclined to frequent outbursts.
A good 50 per cent admitted they found it difficult to sleep or enjoy sound sleep. Over 49 per cent said they have experienced anxiety in the form of sweating, trembling, dizzy spells, rapid heartbeat and even upset stomach.
The study reports that 47 per cent impacted employees have experienced stress at work. Stress is commonly caused due to workload, poor team dynamics, absence of recognition and lack of job satisfaction. However, the pandemic gave rise to the work-from-home culture and presented more challenges for the employees due to blurring of professional and personal boundaries. Additionally, the employees were stressed because of the uncertainty surrounding the work environment and the economy on the whole, due to the lockdowns and pandemic-induced job / pay cuts.
This gave rise to a lot of financial insecurity. About 46 per cent of the stressed respondents reported finance-related stress and therefore, adverse mental-health symptoms.
Building workplace relationships was yet another challenge during the pandemic, because it isn’t easy to gain or place trust when interactions are mostly virtual.
It wasn’t just workplace relationships that were affected. On the personal front too, about 39 per cent affected respondents, especially women, admitted to their personal relationships being adversely affected due to their worries and concerns about their family and children.
