Doing better at managing personal, workplace crises

Employees are spending more and more of their waking hours at workplace and the line between home and office is blurring. Add to this is the speed at which life is happening, bringing with it tremendous amount of stress — stress of performance, career growth and workplace relationships, and personal issues like marriage, relationships, loneliness, and parenting.

Then there is the issue of migration. Employees are moving out of their ecosystems where they have spent their formative years and suddenly experience a loss of their support systems.

Employers are concerned about their employees’ emotional wellness, but at the same time may not want to get directly involved in their personal lives. Yet they recognise that these do affect the company’s bottom-line, that personal problems do impact productivity, though it is a common perception that personal issues seem to have no connection with the work place.

This data is from statistics compiled by pioneer corporate counsellors, 1to1help.net, Bangalore, who point out that only 10 per cent of the triggers for suicide are directly related to work — among them termination and fear of termination, impulsive quitting, poor performance, sense of failure, unfairness, coupled with financial difficulties and family problems, isolation due to relocation, disciplinary action due to ethical issues and sexual harassment.

A staggering 90 per cent are non-work triggers like abuse in marriages, relationships involving break-up, parents’ pressure to marry, feeling of loneliness, guilt, health problems infertility, purposelessness and mental illnesses like depression, bipolar disorder and personality disorders.

There are facilities that double up like stress busters such as gyms, games and outings. But corporates are finding that counselling can effectively help employees to combat stress. Nearly 92 per cent of respondents surveyed said that their productivity had significantly improved after proper counselling. Companies have seen increased focus and concentration, enhanced confidence, emotional stability, increased efficiency, greater motivation to work and improved workplace relationships.

Many companies have an emergency response plan like they have equipment and procedures in case of a fire. Included in part of the plan is the selection of an emergency contact person in the company, developing a suicide prevention protocol, manager sensitisation, peer referrals and maintaining contact details for emergencies.

Says Ajit Bhide, head of psychiatry and family medicine department, St Martha’s Hospital, Bangalore: “It is important that an HR manager or colleague observes and picks up genuine signs like morose withdrawal behaviour, sudden addiction to alcohol and tobacco and repeated display of finding life meaningless.” In these cases, protective factors like family or close friends must be approached to offer support.

Emotional support

Of the 15,472 client interactions of 1to1help.net since its inception eight years ago, 264 individuals were suicidal. The most vulnerable age group were single people living alone, shift workers and women in the age group 25-29. In fact, in this age group, women were at high risk with 61 per cent, while in the age group 30-34, it was 32 per cent for men. The data on nature of the crisis cites that 20 per cent of women attempted, 69 per cent had thought about suicide and 11 per cent had threatened. Even on the personal triggers, women had shot past the men — with marriage being 29 per cent and relationships 39 per cent.

Interestingly, 1to1help has discovered that marriage is a protective factor for men — only 27 per cent married men (women, 76 per cent) contemplate suicide, while single men and women are 73 and 76 per cent, respectively, at risk.

Says Karuna Baskar, director, 1to1help.net: “Even though there is a strong stigma attached to counselling in India, 73 per cent have reached out directly. Referrals from companies were 19 per cent and cases informed 27 per cent. Family referrals were put at 8 per cent.” Those reaching for help include 55 per cent married living with family, 47 per cent singles living alone and 35 per cent singles with family.

Though 1to1help strongly encourages face to face or telephone for a suicidal client, 50 per cent made the initial contact online. In fact, online is the preferred mode at 44 per cent, followed by telephone at 32 per cent and face-to-face at 24 per cent.

More non-shift workers (63 per cent), access 1to1help.net counselling compared to shift workers (37 per cent).

“Suicide is a global public health hazard. It is the 10th leading causes of death for all ages in most of the countries. Universal upward trend in suicide rates, particularly in young people, is estimated to rise to 1.53 million by 2020,” says Dr Mohan Isaac, professor of psychiatry and population mental health, UWA, Perth, Australia, and formerly professor and head of psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore.

“Suicides and attempts at suicide have a profound impact — much distress and suffering, on family and friends, workmates, communities, and it is encouraging that companies especially in Bangalore, which is India’s suicide capital, is doing lots to prevent it.”