After Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc announced the sacking of 12,000 employees on January 20, the Internet is full of stories of employees and their traumatic experiences. Just a few days prior to Google’s announcement, Microsoft said it would slash workforce by 5 per cent or sack about 11000 jobs.
Amid rising global risks pushing several multinational companies to downsize their workforce, deteriorating mental health conditions among executives in India are now common. A human resource consultant said that many Indians are now opting to switch out of multinational roles, once considered plump jobs and join Indian companies both private and public. Not just that. A large number of youngsters are also choosing to join startups.
“Stress and anxiety levels among Indian executives, especially those who are between the age group of 28 and 38, have been rising over the last few years, especially after the Covid pandemic and now the news of downsizing has dented sentiments even more,” Deepti Dua, counsellor, life coach and nutritionist told India Narrative.
According to a study by Deloitte published last year, while mental health issues have seen a steady rise globally, accentuated further by the onset of Covid -19, 80 per cent of the Indian workforce reported mental health issues during the past one. The report further estimates that poor mental health amongst employees costs Indian employers around $14 billion per year due to absenteeism, presenteeism, attrition.
Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO underlined the need for businesses to prioritise the mental health and well-being of their people. “It is essential that senior leaders play a major role in destigmatising mental health challenges within their organizations,” he said.
Dua said that the burnout is often leading to full blown depression among executives.
“Women executives suffer even more as the pressure on them is unmatched. Typically, they have to balance between home and work and in many cases, they prefer to log off from work life,” she said, adding that this leads to complications.
While an Indian public sector company is considered a safe bet for employees with healthy working hours and other benefits, even the country’s private sector attracts a sizeable workforce. “Whenever there is some sort of upheaval, employees look for safe bets,” the HR practitioner said.
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