Thread by @tanejamainhoon

#Thread on mental health wrt to the corporate sector:
It's been 6 weeks since a lot of us have been working from home. I earlier found it to be a testament to the human spirit on how efficiently we all shifted from office to home. But I now feel there've been some missteps.
1/10

Of course, we need to recognise here that there was obviously no rule book/guide for what we suddenly faced as a world. And it was more survival mode and financial prudence that made companies (including my own startup) find a way to quickly adapt, so as to not stop working.
2/10

But as #workfromhome becomes the new normal, we must acknowledge how this isn't really 'work from home' (that a few companies practiced even in the past).. this is work from the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. We are working during and *in spite* of a crisis.
3/10

Yes, those who have the privilege of working from home, when millions have no work, must consider themselves fortunate. At the same time, we must recognise that along with a health & economic crisis, we are also facing a mental health crisis we aren't talking enough about.
4/10

I'll speak from experience: As someone who has struggled with clinical anxiety in the past, it's been a task to manage it in these weird times. My first three weeks into work from home were largely an anxious blur, with me trying & failing to make sense of what's happened.
5/10

Anxiety has a lot to do with uncertainty, and gets exacerbated when you feel you are losing control of life. And with this pandemic, the entire world has been thrown into unprecedented uncertainty; so it's been like a petri dish for the anxious. I have struggled a *lot*.
6/10

Add to this the fact that most of our parents are in the high-risk category for being old, some of our parents aren't even living with us, some have loved ones with health issues. And then there's the hopelessness that comes from reading the news: will this get any better?
7/10

Even those with work don't know about the economy and what will come of their jobs/salary. And in these circumstances, only a fraction of corporate India has recognised, and even fewer have prioritised, the mental health of their employees (from what I've heard anecdotally).
8/10

So if you are a business owner, in a leadership position, or in HR, please reach out to your employees to make sure they are okay. Tie up with trained professionals or collaborate with mental health organisations to do webinars, but do provide the space for employees to share.
9/

And even as a leader, you may be going through enormous stress, so don't be afraid to reach out for help. You can't be strong all the time. It's okay to be human in a crisis. Help yourself first, then help your team. Mental health must matter as much as physical health now.
10/10