Post-pandemic, India Inc aims at prioritising mental wellbeing of employees

Earlier this month, social ecommerce platform Meesho announced a companywide break from November 4 to 14 for its employees to completely switch off from work.

The break, announced in tandem with its Reset & Recharge policy, aims at prioritising employee well-being and mental health support, and is the first-of-its-kind move from an Indian startup.

From Meesho and Microsoft to Genpact, NatWest Group and ZestMoney, companies across sectors are increasingly stepping up focus on mental health initiatives to support employees as the stress and uncertainties of the last one-and-a-half years of the pandemic, lack of in-person interactions and fear of an impending third wave take their toll.


From well-being days to 24x7 counselling helplines, access to self-improvement/meditation/mental-wellbeing apps, unlimited sick leave policies and regular reach-outs by top management, India Inc is going all out to help employees deal with the challenges of work in Covid times.

“In these times, understanding your employees and being empathetic is extremely crucial for any new-age organisation,” said Ashish Kumar Singh, chief HR officer at Meesho.

InMobi has rolled out 21 days of no-questions-asked leaves which employees can avail of anytime during the year to just switch off and recoup. Microsoft India renamed its sick leave as sick and mental health leave and saw a tremendous uptick in the usage of the leave, while ZestMoney recently announced a no-questions-asked, unlimited sick leave policy for all employees.

“Remote work has created new opportunities, but it has also presented challenges in maintaining the deep social connects that enable the amplification of culture and innovation and managing change,” said Ira Gupta, head of human resources at Microsoft India. Recently, it partnered with Happify to provide employees access to fun, individualised and science-based activities and games to reduce stress, deal with anxiety and improve resilience.

Genpact has recently introduced a tool, Watercooler, that uses organisational network analysis to pair people. Not only does this aim to recreate the ‘bumping into someone at work’ phenomenon but it strengthens connections by building relationships globally, chief HR officer Piyush Mehta said. The company also has a series of webinars — from music therapy and art to sessions on parenting through Covid — to help employees cope with anxiety and stress.

“There is fatigue and so we are ensuring that teams are interacting often in informal settings, be it an online success party or a music session on Fridays. People managers are being sensitised about identifying early signs of stress and handling it proactively. Senior leadership is available for anyone wanting to reach out. We, founders, also constantly encourage employees to prioritise mental health by sharing our personal experiences,” said Priya Sharma, ZestMoney’s chief operating officer.

At NatWest Group, flexibility, enhanced focus on leave utilisation, and 24x7 Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) are some of the ongoing initiatives, said head of HR Maneesh Menda. The group has also decided to give everyone a Recharge Day.

“Colleagues are increasingly exploring well-being initiatives that include using health apps and participating in rehab programmes and other webinars,” said Menda.

Rajeev Bhardwaj, chief HR officer, Asia Service Centres at Sun Life, said the company had seen a three-fold surge in the usage of EAPs which cater to a variety of wellness aspects including financial wellness.

“Working from home for longer durations has resulted in lack of in-person team interaction which can be detrimental to mental well-being. Thus, family & fun campaigns, virtual coffee connects, and virtual get-togethers resonate with employees,” added Bhardwaj.

Among various other initiatives, NetApp is running employee engagement campaigns to keep everyone motivated. This includes #AcingWFH — an employee-generated series of stories on motivating colleagues to stay productive, and yoga and aerobics sessions.