Marketing executive Manish Jadhav is only 26 but is constantly riddled with frustration, irritation and occasional thoughts of suicide. Jadhav is low on self-esteem, lacks the company of friends, is “tormented’’ with rising work pressure, unrealistic deadlines, a tough manager and no mentors. For the last few months, he has trouble concentrating on work and his performance has shrunk. He remains aloof from his team, avoiding lunches and social outings, and all conversations beyond a cordial “hello’’. 

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Jadhav, who now displays clear signs of depression, was once a cheerful individual and an above average performer. His manager has not bothered to talk to him even once. 

While there has been a lot of discussion around work-related stress, workplace depression is not often talked about. But of late, the subject is drawing more attention.

Like Jadhav, about 42.5% of corporate employees in India suffer from depression at the workplace, says a study by industry body Assocham.

“Workplace depression is on the rise in India due to long working hours, tight delivery schedules, long hours of commute, etc. The noise in the head manifests itself in the form of various negative and limiting behaviours like unresponsiveness, postponing of work, shirking responsibilities and the need to be left alone. And since people are unable to recognise symptoms of depression, a blame game starts, leading to an overall negative impact on team productivity,” says Prashant Pandey, country manager, Right Management India, a part of ManpowerGroup.

Workplace depression can produce multiple negative impacts on the employee, the team and the organisation. “It prevents employees from bringing their whole self at work. The term ‘presenteeism’ is often used to describe a scenario where the employee is present in office but not engaged,” says Ruhie Pande, chief human resource officer, Godrej Properties. 

Global estimates point out that on an average, about 1.2% of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is lost due to employees with depression attending work while unwell.

Experts say the biggest indirect cost of depression is, however, through decreased workplace performance. As per data by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the estimated cost of workplace depression to the global economy is $1 trillion per year in lost productivity. 

Depression also produces a direct impact on the team morale, says Pande, “as work, projects, deliverables are tied to the individual’s performance. It also impacts the working relationships and team spirit.” Thirdly, workplace depression, if left untreated, can lead to attrition, Pande adds.

A leading health concern, depression affects up to 350 million individuals globally, says WHO data. Furthermore, Indians constitute 18% of the people suffering from depression. 

Experts say workplace depression is different from workplace stress, which is often a temporary phase that can be tackled by assisting the employee to manage work projects and goals better and by holding employee-engagement activities.

Experts advice managers and human resource (HR) associates to watch out for signs such as increased errors in work, difficulty in focus, analytical thinking and decision-making, procrastination, being highly sensitive, volatile or violent to office situations and remaining absent from the work cubicle for frequent and longer periods of time.

Experts state that solid policies need to be implemented to recognise and tackle workplace depression. “Employees engagement activities don’t go deep enough to tackle the matter effectively. A well-rounded programme that encourages both physical and emotional well-being of employees is needed,” says Pande.

According to Pandey, all people managers should be trained to identify depression-related symptoms, while employees should be encouraged to share their challenges.

The taboo associated with depression should go, say experts. “Companies should make employees aware that depression is similar to a debilitating illness. Accepting that a person is under depression is the first step of addressing and curing it. Firms should create an ambience geared towards an open discussion,’’ says Satish Kannan, CEO and founder, DocsApp.

According to Ankita Jain, co-founder of the start-up GoPaisa, having a team of counsellors and psychiatrists at the office is beneficial. Experts say although organisations depute doctors on board, less than 8-10% of Indian firms actually invest in a counsellor and a psychiatrist within their campuses.

Kannan says psychiatrists and counsellors are available to consult and talk to on DocsApp. “We have tied up with firms like Swiggy and Uber.” 

LABOUR LOST

  • About 42.5% – Of corporate employees in India suffer from depression at the workplace  
  • About 1.2% – Of a country’s gross domestic product is lost due to employees with depression attending work while unwell