The death of Vineet Whig, former COO of South Asia division of Encyclopaedia Britannica, who plunged down the ventilation shaft from the 19th floor of a building early this year, sent alarm bells ringing in corporate offices.

From organising meditation and yoga sessions to having in-house counsellors, India Inc is now walking the extra mile to help employees ‘de-stress’. While it is a known fact that workplace stress is on the rise, very few organisations would have acknowledged it, say, two years ago. Anxiety, panic disorder and depression are common ailments arising out of stress.

According to a WHO study, India is home to an estimated 57 million people affected by depression, or 18 per cent of global estimates.

A 2015 study by Assocham reported that 42.5 per cent of corporate employees across major cities in India suffer from depression or generalised anxiety arising out of challenges at work.

JR Ram, Consultant Psychiatrist, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata, confirms the strong correlation between stress at work and the psychological well-being of an individual. “Given the changing nature of jobs, we are not able to leave work behind in office. This affects our personal time and leaves us with little scope for recreation,” Ram told BusinessLine .

Stress levels for women employees are higher, particularly in India, where they manage both home and office equally, he added.

Corporates on their part are trying to break the set patterns by bringing in yoga experts and organising activities around art and culture, said Ajay Shah, Vice-President, Recruitment Services, TeamLease. “Not just that, companies are ensuring that canteens serve healthy and hygienic food.”

Tech Mahindra kicked off its ‘Wellness Greater than Business’ programme last year to keep employees ‘stress free’ and ‘happy’. “We constantly need to figure out ways and means of injecting positivity,” said Indraneel Ganguli, Global Head, Brand and Field Marketing, Tech Mahindra.

Corporate tie-ups for conducting routine meditation sessions have been on the rise in the last one year, says Rishabh Kothari, Joint Ssecretary of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, a spiritual foundation which offers a meditation technique called ‘Heartfulness’.

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