An estimated 56 million Indians suffer from depression, and 38 million from anxiety disorders. Despite this, mental health in India is heavily stigmatised and not frequently discussed.

Work-related stressors play a big part in either causing or exacerbating mental health illnesses, and most workplaces are not entirely equipped to deal with these issues. While there are reports of corporate India beginning to address some of this, we thought it might be useful to understand how we in the development sector are dealing with this issue as well.

But even within the social sector, it’s not just people working at the front lines whose mental health needs to be considered. From junior levels all the way to the top, it is important that the emotional and psychological well-being of everyone within an organisation is taken care of.

To understand what can be done, we spoke to a few organisations in the sector to learn what they do for mental health at an organisational level, through both formal and informal routes. Here’s what we learnt:

  1.  Keep an eye out for your employees
  2. Emphasise self-care
  3.  Create a healthy support ecosystem
  4. Create a nurturing work environment
  5.  If possible, reach out to professionals
  6. Integrate mental health into employee welfare funds

Read the full article about supporting employees at work at India Development Review