Handling stress during examinations was discussed with industry examples at a Business Line Club lecture for M.Com students of Besant Women's College in Mangalore on Monday. Syndicate Bank had sponsored Business Line Club lecture.

Delivering the lecture on ‘Mental health and industry', Dr Shrinivasa Bhat U., Associate Professor at Department of Psychiatry at K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore, said that stress will have an impact on the performance of an individual.

In such a situation, it is essential for individuals to tackle stress for better living.

Chain reaction

Giving the example of the industrial sector, he said the mental health problems will have impact on the individual, affecting the performance of the person. This in turn will tell on the productivity of enterprises also.

In some cases, mental health problems will also lead to absenteeism and accidents.

UK study

He said that mental health problems are among the most important contributors to the burden of disease and disability worldwide. Quoting studies of the UK Department of Health and the Confederation of British Industry, he said 15-30 per cent of workers will experience some form of mental health problem during their working lives.

Giving statistics of different countries, Dr Bhat said 20 per cent of the adult working population in the EU have some type of mental health problem at any given time.

In the US, more than 40 million people have some type of mental health disorder.

In the case of the UK, 80 million days are lost every year due to mental illnesses, costing employers £1-2 billion each year, he said.

STRATEGIES

Highlighting different strategies to promote mental health, he said individuals should be allowed for better management of workloads. In the case of industries, active employee participation and decision making should be encouraged. The role of employees' duties and responsibilities should be clearly defined. A good conflict resolution practice will help in promoting a good mental health among employees, he added.

Dr Manjula K.T., Principal of the college, welcomed the gathering. Dr Carmelita Goveas, Head of the Commerce Department of the college, proposed a vote of thanks.

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