In the past few months, we have seen news of the death of youngsters following the overwhelming pressure at workplaces. The mother of one of the victims, Anna Sebastian Perayil, had also famously written to her employer, EY, to take steps to avoid similar situations in the future. Recently, Kerala's senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor wrote to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya suggesting the introduction of 'sensitisation workshops,' which should be mandatory, and reported PTI. Advocating workplace wellness, Tharoor said that taking breaks, ensuring employees are not overburdened, and staying offline on weekends and after work hours should be normalised. Workplace wellness, or corporate wellbeing, is a term that describes programmes or policies put together to support employees at their workplace.
'Current norms should change'
After starting his letter mentioning the death of Anna, Tharoor went on to include Tarun Saxena from Jhansi and Sushant Chakravarthy in Mumbai, too, who died under similar circumstances, falling victim to toxic work culture. The current ideas on professionalism and work ethic can harm developing a mentally and physically healthy workforce, opines Tharoor in the letter. Proposing sensitisation workshops in all Indian establishments, he stressed that they should not be conducted for a mere 'formality.' He also added that stricter laws should be in place to safeguard the rights of professionals, and they should be enforced, too. He also suggested surveys among employees after the workshop on their effectiveness, anonymous feedback facility and more as part of measures to improve the current scenario in companies.
Steps for effective workplace wellness
According to wellness experts, corporate spaces can encourage workplace wellness by following these steps:
1) Encourage movement through standing desks, on-site gyms and walking meetings.
2) Access to mental health resources like stress management workshops and counselling services
3) Easy availability of lean meal options at workplaces
4) Promoting flexible and remote work options
5) Encouraging regular breaks to improve productivity
6) Encouraging work-life balance
7) Encouraging health screenings and check-ups at workplaces
