World Mental Health Day: 5 measures employers can take to ensure mental well-being of employees

Long hours of work and high demand can have a substantial toll on employee health and well-being. Employers can maintain enough staff to ensure that the workload is spread out. This will also ensure that the employees do not get exhausted or burn out.

Supervisors could be more supportive towards employees who are also caregivers for children or elderly parents at home. A study revealed that employees whose managers were more supportive of their family needs had fewer risk factors for heart disease and also slept better.

Employers can encourage staffers to take breaks in between work and also allow them to take time off without judgement. This way they can build flexibility into their office culture. Employees feel valued and safe in such environments

Earlier, health insurance only covered physical health. However, as directed by insurance regulator IRDAI, health insurance providers now cover in-patient hospitalisation expenses for mental illnesses. Apart from mental illness coverage, new-age health insurance providers also offer mental wellness sessions and related workshops to ensure that employees learn about mental health challenges.