Bengaluru: Over the past six months, some 30,000 professionals from the city have consulted a telemedicine app, Doctor Insta, complaining about their job insecurity and depression.
“Of 3,50,000 patients across India, 10% or 35,000 have consulted about psychological issues, and 85% of them are from Bengaluru, which is approximately around 30,000. Of these 30,000, 30% or 9,000 are from the IT sector. Of which 85% belong to Bengaluru, which is approximately 7,700," said Mr Amit Munjal, founder and CEO, Doctor Insta.
Sadly, with the IT sector forecast to slash nearly six lakh jobs in the next three years, job loss is seen as the top trigger for depression and other psychological issues. As per a recent study, undertaken by YourDOST.com, an online counselling and emotional-wellness platform, 62.5% of professionals across sectors are undergoing issues such as anxiety and depression because of job insecurity.
65% of the inquiries were from professionals who had been laid off or were insecure about their job stability, given the uncertainty in the industry. 43% of professionals were from the IT sector, while a few were from healthcare, pharma, manufacturing and e-commerce industries. Most of them had less than two years of experience and had been unemployed for at least the past three months. 57% of professionals had not even sought help from family or friends and 62.5% laid-off callers showed symptoms of either anxiety or depression with monetary insecurity adding a huge burden.
YourDOST’s Co-founder and CEO Richa Singh said, “The societal stigma attached to losing a job and the consequent ignominy can be very detrimental to the mental health of professionals. This aspect of layoffs is hardly given thought in our society. Through Fired to Fired Up, we wanted to provide a platform for employees to share their anxieties and worries. With professional help, we could minimise their emotional suffering and facilitate a stronger, more motivated mindset among the laid-off individuals.”
She said, "Depression is a very common condition, worldwide. Globally, an estimated 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression. That is how common it is," stressed Dr Mohan K. Isaac, former HoD of NIMHANS (Department of Psychiatry), WHO consultant, consultant to the central government on Mental Health Policies and Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia. Speaking about the study, he said, “In the corporate structure, there is a different work ethic which is good, but can be different for different people, who cope with it differently. Many have a place to vent out the frustration, stress and anxiety or join programmes where they can release stress. But many do not have friends or other avenues which keep stress at bay." At the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, the OPD is crowded each day with some 200-250 people. Of them, some 30-35% are those battling different stages of depression.
