The Halo Effect of Individual Wellbeing at Work: Awareness session during the Mental Health Week

Great Place to Work® India in partnership with HDFC ERGO organized a specially curated session today during Mental Health Week. The two organizations have been spearheading the movement of “Making India a Healthy Place to Work for All.” As a part of this movement, they have been running a series of initiatives to make health and well-being a priority for India Inc. Last month, they organized a session

during Nutrition week wherein they invited a subject matter expert and an industry leader to share more about the role nutrition plays in leading healthy lives. This month, as part of Mental Health Week, this session was organized to build awareness and develop a deeper understanding of employee well-being through the lens of mental and emotional health.

Session Title: “The Halo Effect of Individual Wellbeing at Work.”

Key highlights covered in the session:
    Insights from the Great Place to Work® Research
    Learning from the expertise and experience of subject matter experts and industry leaders.
    Understanding the halo effect: A team is a group of individuals
    Work-life balance V/s a Wheel of Life
    Managing Employee Burn out proactively
    Managing and navigating emotions the healthy way
    Q&A with the audience

The session was opened by Preeti Malhotra, Practice Head - Wellness, Great Place to Work® Institute (India) who shared insights from Great Place to Work® Research. It was interesting to note that, according to the research conducted by Great Place to Work®,

74% of the employees in India who face high burnout at the workplace report an intent to leave, whereas employees who do not feel pressured to continue working when exhausted are 2.8 times more likely to continue working with their current organization for the next 3 years.

This is a great advantage for organizations making well-being a priority in the time when companies are struggling with challenge of ‘The Great Resignation.’

Swadesh Behera, Chief People Officer, The Titan Company Limited, shared that they have a strong foundation of a people centric culture that results in the employees being customer centric across their stores. He also spoke about the signature ‘Tell Me” conversations that were led by the Managing Director and himself to meet and genuinely listen to their people across the country in small cohorts with the objective to understand their concerns and experiences.

More than four hundred leaders across industries registered for the session and almost a hundred shared their thoughts and questions for the interaction. The session saw a great interaction with the delegates on the Talking about her experience, Debasmita Sinha, Clinical Director, Manah Wellness said, "Organizations must have consistent dialogue across all levels and build a culture and environment that supports open conversation thereby creating a sense of psychological safety. Organizations need to strengthen their listening capacity where genuine connections are fostered. We also need to understand that if not addressed, the intergenerational impact it can have will be very significant.”

Some of the key insights that resonated with the audience were:
    The first step to remove stigma around mental health and encourage people to seek support is to create a culture that allows open conversation.
    Observe closely, look for any signs of shift in behaviors or habits among your colleagues and reach out to check in.
    Making special allowances and flexibility for employees having children with special needs shared by Titan.
    Having calmness coaches and rechristening counselling sessions as Maitri conversations to increase usage at Titan.
    Mental Health Training for People Managers to manage their own wellbeing and on building Empathy, Resilience, and basic tools / tips on supporting their team members.
    Exhaustion is one of the early indicators of mental health concerns. It is important that organizations take steps to measure employee burnout and take proactive action.
    Leaders play a significant role in fostering a culture of holistic wellbeing. We need to normalize conversations around mental health and encourage leaders to be vulnerable and open up about their own experiences including stories of struggle.

The World Health Organization has invited action and collaboration on World Mental Health Day on Making Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority. “The good news is that though the impact of not addressing mental health concerns is estimated to be trillions of dollars by WHO, the cost to address mental health concerns does not require any huge investment. It is largely driven by authentic intent and genuine care and action.” – said, Preeti Malhotra – Head of Wellness Practice, Great Place to Work® India.

Through this movement, Great Place to Work® India and HDFC ERGO General Insurance aims to bring wellness to the forefront and work with individuals, organizations, and communities.