Mental Health Awareness in Tech Industry

 

With the progress made in technology, the demand for tech workers has also surged in the corporate world. However, this has also led to some pressing issues which must be addressed by the companies that hire these professionals. Mental health is a subject often neglected and least discussed, but it directly or indirectly affects the productivity and performance of the employees. Many organizations who overburden their employees fail to understand that their physical and mental wellbeing is the most important aspect that leads to the success of a company. A survey conducted on mental health has revealed that 90% of the tech employees faced mental health issues. Employees belonging to the tech field feel pressurized and burnout which causes a major hindrance at work. This issue was more exacerbated by the lock down when people were quarantined at homes. There was a widespread disruption in work life balance especially due to the post pandemic malaise.

The problem

As industries have become more competitive, high profile companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are attracting the best talent who can bring their compelling and creative ideas and give life to them. There is no doubt that these employees work for long hours and are given fringe benefits or perks i.e. company’s car, fuel allowance and on-site gyms etc. However, the management’s demand and expectations are far more knackering. They can hardly take a break or advantage of the flexible working hours because of the position they are entitled to. All this results in sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, burnout, bipolar disorder etc.

How to deal with the issue?

Following steps should be taken by the companies in order to help their stressed-out employees so that they can perform better in their grueling tasks.

1.      Encourage and normalize discussion on mental health: Awareness along with empathy is important in a stringent environment like tech. Organizations should make sure that their employees feel comfortable, safe and heard at work. They should be given an opportunity to openly talk about their mental concerns with the direct management.

2.      Offer them wellness benefits: Mental health initiatives must be taken i.e. offer them wellness benefits in the form of free or low-cost therapy. Also make sure they use their vacation time and do not stress over work during that period. In order to support mental health, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) can be created where like-minded individuals with commonalities can discuss personal issues and challenges and help each other to deal with them. 

3.      Training of managers, employees and leaders: It is important to train your managers, employees and team leaders on how to deal with a colleague suffering from mental health illness and recognize signs of mental instability before it escalates and leads to burnout. 

The tech industry is very much complex in nature because of strict deadlines and abnormal working hours. In the end, all the pressure falls on the workers. If proper measures are taken by the companies to deal with mental health issues, employee absenteeism can be reduced, higher retention rates and better outcomes can be achieved.