According to a pan-India report on key trends and challenges around workplace mental health, over 90% of the corporate employees under the age of 25, and 67% of those over the age of 45, have reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety in 2024.
The ‘State of Emotional Well-being Report 2024’ is released by 1to1help, an employee assistance programme provider, for the second consecutive year. For the report, data was analysed from more than 83,000 counselling sessions, 12,000 elective screenings, and more than 42,000 assessments conducted between January and November 2024.
The report has revealed that an upward trend has been observed in uptake of counselling services among corporate employees compared to 2023. It stated that mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression and stress, contributed to 15% of the total sessions in 2024.
The report highlighted that while the counselling related to workplace concerns constituted 11% of the total counselling sessions, workplace relationship-related discussions were at the top spot, amounting to 23% of all such discussions.
Gender Based Insights
The report released on 22 Jan 2025 has highlighted that, “Counselling uptake by men comprised 7% of the total sessions, with 70% of financial consultations being undertaken by men, reflecting their worries about financial anxiety and societal pressure surrounding their role as the breadwinner of the family. Notably, there was a disproportionately larger representation of women in counselling with 52% of all sessions being taken by women. Over 60% of relationship counselling was sought by women, affirming the emotional burden they often bear, in nurturing relationships.”
Key Findings
– Mental health related counselling increased by 15% in 2024 compared to 2023
– Counselling sessions for self-development topped the list, followed by mental health and relationships
– 23% of individuals seeking support for work-related issues wanted to work on difficult workplace relationships
– 70% of financial consultations were taken by men while 60% of relationship counselling sessions were taken by women
– 59% of individuals referred by their manager displayed signs of suicidal risk
– Compared to employees where 7% were at high suicide risk, dependents were 9%
– 53% of individuals who initially screened positive for depression experienced a reduction in symptoms within three counselling sessions
– 48% saw a decrease in anxiety symptoms within three sessions
Increasing Suicide Risk
The data has revealed that there is an increase in suicide risk from 19% in 2023 to 22% in 2024. There is also a surge in distress cases from 12% in 2023 to 17% in 2024.
“Alarmingly, 59% of employees referred by their managers showed signs of self-harm, reaffirming the need for manager training to help and support distressed employees,” stated the report.
“There is a need to extend emotional well-being assistance to employees’ family members as well,” according to the report.
In addition, according to the data, only 3% of individuals maintained a healthy digital balance. The report has found that most individuals find it difficult to disconnect from devices. This has highlighted the need to prioritise non-digital engagement and provide strategies to help employees manage technology use effectively.
Importance of Mental Health Support
The report concluded underscoring the importance of timely mental health support. It stated that as per the findings, more than 98% of individuals achieved their goals or made significant progress within just three counselling sessions.
“Among those who initially screened positive for depression, 53% reported a significant decrease in depression symptoms, and 48% reported decreased anxiety. These results show that structured counselling can effectively address emotional challenges, and promote well-being in a short period of time,” the report has said.
