The relevance of psychological support in the knowledgebased industries of India Anna Oldman, Chief

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The relevance of psychological support in the
knowledge-based industries of IndiaAnna Oldman,
Chief Operating Officer, PPC Worldwide,
IndiaDr S Kalyanasundaram, CEO Richmond
Fellowship Clinical Director PPC Worldwide,
India
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Presentation overview

• Brief history of psychological support in the
  workplace
• The importance of psychological intervention
• India and the IT/ITeS sector
• Spotting the signs of psychological issues
• Focus on signs, symptoms and management of
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Return on Investment the financial bottom line

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Historical overviewPost WW II focus on drug
and alcohol dependency1980s onwards focus on
increasing legislation to protect psychological
wellbeing of employees 2000 onwards global
spread, following the MNCs and emerging
economies Employee Assistance ProgrammesAn
EAP provides easily accessible, professional
support to employees and their family members.
Help lines are available 24/7, and provided on a
fully confidential basis
Background to psychological interventions in the
workplace and Employee Assistance Programmes
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Typical EAP services from well-established
providers

• 24/7 access to confidential help lines
• Telephone and face-to-face counselling
• Work/life services such as legal and financial
  help lines
• Manager support services
• More than 90 of Fortune 1000 companies
  worldwide have an EAP for their employees

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Why psychological support?
Most employees will face one or more situations
that will significantly affect their ability to
focus clearly on their work. In a recent
survey 90 of employees interviewed admitted
that during times of worry their work was
negatively impacted by an average of nearly 20.
That means they are 20 less productive and, in
some cases, considerably more. According to our
research, the most common issues that cause worry
and concern include Bereavement Divorce
and separation Debt
Relationship management at
home/work Alcoholism and drugs
Health problems Stress and anger management
Career development Managing workplace
expectations Retirement Legal issues
Financial issues Issues
concerning children Moving
house Moving to a new region Milestone or
Millstone? EAP Research Report,2005
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Why Psychological Support?
Some workplace statistics

• Psychological problems account for 61 of
  absences from work each year, 65-85 of employee
  terminations and 80-90 of industrial accidents
• Half of all absenteeism in the US is stress
  related (European Agency of Safety and Health
  USA workers)
• Absenteeism from work has increased 400 between
  1993 and 1999, with associated escalation of
  costs. In Canada this amounted to 3 million for
  2001
• Two out of ten people suffering from clinical
  depression start out with stress
• Depression and anxiety disorders the two most
  common mental illnesses each affect 19 million
  American adults annually (National Institute of
  Mental Health, 1999)

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Why Psychological Support?
Some workplace statistics

• Nearly 20 of employees feel bullied at work
  (European Agency of Safety and Health USA
  workers)
• More than 54 million Americans have a mental
  disorder in any given year, although fewer than 8
  million seek treatment
• 25 of accidents at work involve alcohol
  (European Agency of Safety and Health USA
  workers)
• 15 of large companies report employee drug use

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Awareness of the need for psychological support
for employees in India

• Indian HR Professionals recognise potential
  benefits, and are proactively searching for
  services. Trends largely driven by IT/ITES. Here
  HR recognise the importance of addressing
  psychological issues effectively
• Good fit with caring and supportive ethos
  prevalent in Indian companies
• MNCs have put this issue on the agenda
• Indian employees are highly motivated to better
  themselves and develop new skills

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India why now?
Westernisation of the workplace and cultural
changes have led to erosion of traditional
cultural barriers to accessing psychological
support

• Demanding lifestyles increased pressure
• Growth of nuclear families less reliance on
  family/friends for guidance/support
• Working couples less time to address issues
• Increased consumerism leading to financial
  pressures, debt
• Changing lifestyles conflict of personal values
  and inter-generational values
• Work / life balance issues increased stress
• Mobility of workforce less family support
• Fast pace of change difficult to adapt

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• Why IT/ITES?
• Recruitment Retention Performance
• Fast paced environments, often characterised by
  time-critical projects
• Fluctuating work patterns
• Job insecurity
• Shift work
• Westernisation of the workplace, pace of change
• Pressure management is important
• Young workforce, life skills not yet in place

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IT/ITES in India

• Harnessing the positives our recent research
  study in Indias
• IT/ITeS sector shows
• Younger workforce flexible, open, quick, risk
  tolerant and adaptable
• Employees often goal oriented and achievement
  driven
• Employees more open to support-seeking
  behaviours
• I would be happy if this kind of thing was
  implemented in an organization like ours
• This will help. If I have a problem I can solve
  it
• You are getting a new advisor in whom you can
  confide without fear
• Key for the employee was impartiality, support
  for stress and self development

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• A complex relationship
• Impact of work on individual wellbeing
• Impact of psychological issues and personal
  concerns on workplace performance

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Some certainties

• The impact of psychological issues and personal
  concerns is unavoidable in the workplace
• Frequency and impact of life events does not vary
  according to an individuals position within an
  organisation

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Some certainties

• A significant predictor of the impact of issues
  and life events in the workplace is determined by
  the type and range of supportive interventions on
  offer
• Interventions can be preventative and reactive

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Spotting the signs
Possible causes

• Change in behaviour over time
• Common external factors affecting performance and
  wellbeing may include
• Work overload
• Personal loss
• Illness or injury
• Harassment at work
• Money pressures
• Job changes
• Home life

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Spotting the signs
Effects on performance wellbeing

• Attitude and behaviour
• Loss of motivation
• Erratic or poor timekeeping
• Tearfulness or irritability
• Tension with colleagues and a decrease in
  co-operation
• Increase in tobacco or drink consumption
• Sickness absence
• Work performance
• Missing deadlines
• Increased mistakes and accidents
• Loss of concentration and poor decision making
• Avoiding responsibility

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Managing Pressure
A D A P T A T I O N
GROWTH
PRESSURE
STRESS
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Sources of Pressure

• External events in personal Life And/or Work Life
• Internal events - Unrealistic Beliefs eg
• I must be perfect
• I must never show my weaknesses
• I must be approved of by everyone
• I should always put others first
• I must always be right
• I should never relax before everything is done
• I must not say no

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Signs of Stress

• Mental Symptoms
• Inability to concentrate
• Undue tiredness
• Muddled thinking
• Difficulty in making decisions
• Memory lapses
• Tendency to lose perspective
• Emotional symptoms
• Irritability and angry outbursts
• Anxiety
• Increased moodiness
• Loss of humor
• Decline in self esteem
• Feeling depressed

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Signs of Stress

• Physical symptoms
• Tense muscles
• Palpitations
• Restlessness
• Knot in stomach
• Nausea
• Impotence
• Behavioural symptoms
• Increased smoking or alcohol consumption
• More accident prone
• Workaholism/Absenteeism
• Poor time keeping
• Increased/decreased eating

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Symptoms of Stress

• Stress can manifest as
• Increased heart rate
• Increased respiration rate
• Increased blood supply to brain
• Dilated pupils
• Dry mouth
• Sweating
• Reduction of blood supply to extremities

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Expert intervention to assist on
How do we manage stress?

• Improving lifestyle management
• Developing work/life balance
• Leisure time use
• Developing effective communication skills
• Improving management of the personal work
  environment
• Planning
• Time management
• Overload avoidance
• Task variation
• Social support

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Expert intervention to assist on
How do we manage stress?

• Development of relaxation techniques
• Deep breathing, Meditation, Yoga
• Educate on the importance of physical fitness
• Aerobic exercise
• Recreational sports
• Muscle strength and endurance building

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Anxiety

• Tension, worry
• Irritability
• Worrying about minor matters
• Apprehensive attitude apparent in face or speech
• Fears expressed without questioning

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Anxiety Symptoms
Somatic

• Dry mouth
• Indigestion
• Diaorrhea
• Cramps
• Belching

• Palpitations
• Headaches
• Hyperventilation
• Sighing
• Urinary frequency
• Sweating

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Clinical Depression

• Lifetime prevalence
• Overall 15
• Women 25
• Male Female 12
• Age group 20 50 yrs
• The effect of depression on workplace absence a
  comparison
• Depression resulted in an average of 44 work-days
  taken off for short-term disability
• 42 days for heart disease
• 39 days for lower back pain
• 21 days for asthma

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Global burden of Depression

• The World Health Organisation
• In 20 years, the most expensive disease on the
  healthcare budget in the industrialised part of
  the World
• Continued discrepancy between prevalence and
  diagnosis rate

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Unmet needs in depression
Wälinder, WHO 2000
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What is Depression ?

• Sustained depressed mood
• Sleep disturbance
• Loss of energy and interest
• Poor appetite, reduced libido
• Feelings of guilt
• Severe enough to impair normal functioning.
• Thoughts of death or suicide

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How do we treat Depression?

• Acknowledge the illness
• Not due to any weakness of character
• agony aunts and poorly qualified counsellors
  can exacerbate the problem
• Accurate assessment and treatment regimen
• Early treatment helps recovery psychological
  intervention can be highly effective
• If necessary medication

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Reasons for not accessing support

• Stigma
• Discrimination in insurance coverage
• for mental disorders
• Myths about Mental Illness
• Lack of knowledge about treatment methods
• Wrong priorities
• Issues concerning confidentiality
• Fear of reprisal

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• UKs CBI - 34 less absence for organisations
  with workplace counselling (CBI Absence Survey
  1998)
• A major new study shows that counselling can
  reduce levels of stress in the workplace by more
  than 50 (McLeod, 2001)
• Other studies show that after workplace
  counselling
• Levels of work-related symptoms return to the
  normal range for more than half of all clients
• Levels of sickness and absence fall by between
  25-50. In a 1998 study (Cooper) rates of
  sickness/absence actually fell by an average of
  60)
• Levels of job commitment and satisfaction rise
• Levels of substance abuse are reduced

Return-on-Investment EAP
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• United Airlines reported a return of 16.35 for
  every dollar invested in EAP costs
• General Motors Corporations EAP saves the
  company 3,700 for each employee enrolled in the
  program, and estimates cost decreases in
• Lost Time 40
• Sickness Accident benefit 60
• Grievances 50
• On-the-job accidents 50

Return-on-Investment EAP
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• McDonnell-Douglas credits their EAP for
• 35 reduced turnover
• 14 higher productivity
• Lothian Council in the UK reported
• 50 reduction in absence after counselling
• 50 reduction in accidents
• Poor performance ratings down from 28 to 12
• On-the-job accidents 50
• Other studies show that EAPs have resulted in
  65 decline in work-related accidents

Return-on-Investment EAP
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