World Mental Health Day: How office politics taking a toll on mental health of employees

In the last few years, there has been a massive change in the way corporate organisations work. From strict targets to goal-oriented packages, everything nowadays is all about work accomplishments and doing better than the competitors, if you want to retain your position.

And since, from new joiners to seniors, everyone is in the same race, a lot of below-the-table politics is underway to win the hearts of those in top positions and come out as the winner in front of the management.

When owing to this politics those who have been toiling hard and making sincere efforts fail to get their due, it certainly puts a dent into their motivation.

Importantly, when such dirty politics leads to unexpected humiliations and comparisons, it starts taking a toll on the mental health of the employees. And for that reason, corporate organisations are coming up with moral policies and code of conduct regulations so that a competitive yet healthy and encouraging atmosphere prevails within the company. But still, there is a long way to go.

Toxic work culture killing Bank Employees. This time a private Banker from utkarsh Small Finance Bank.
A healthy work culture is needed.
PSU Bank employees killing themselves under pressure of Bosses for unethical practices and undue pressure for targets.#Banker's Live Matters. pic.twitter.com/0CCjaWxGlI

— Pradeep Patel (@aeropradeep) October 2, 2023

A sustainable decline in overall emotional setup

An office is a place for a person to prove his/her talent and skills. When he/she gets surrounded by a negative atmosphere at his/her workplace where he/she spends most part of his/her day, it slowly leads to a decline in his/her emotional setup.

Poor mental health as well as stressors often lead to serious physical and emotional issues over a period of time with many getting emotionally burned out and diagnosed with lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension. It ultimately impacts their working capacity and thus starts a reverse journey to a path of decline that is both physically and emotionally taxing.

Talking about the same, Pallavi Singh, employed at an IIT firm in Hyderabad said, “Dealing with office politics can be tough and tiring. When there's a lot of gossip, people working against each other, and struggles for power, it's challenging to stay positive and do your work. Sometimes, it can even make you feel really down and depressed."

Misuse of power nips budding talent

An organisation can flourish only if the power is distributed properly and among the right people. Mental issues among the employees arise when the power is misused to establish self-importance and promote a particular few people and biased decisions are taken to favour those with special inclinations towards the people in power or higher position.

Nothing can be more de-motivating than watching undeserving people getting better perks and favours just because they have managed to get closer to people in position. These conflicting issues and emotional insecurities must be addressed by peers from the organisation from time to time to ensure that employees are happy with the facilities, conditions, and payments offered to them.

Sharing his views, Sushant Kumar Dafadar, an ex-employee of Ashok Leyland said, "Office politics can be best described as when individuals (immediate boss) or groups (top management) within an organization use their power and influence to achieve their own interests; it creates a culture of mistrust and suspicion. Employees may also feel that their colleagues are working against them or that they are not being treated fairly which leads to mental as well as heath disturbance."

Further sharing a case in point, Dafadar said, "Suppose two colleagues are up for promotions- one is a talented one and slogging hard, and the other is not that skilled but a bootlicker of a top executive. In such a case, often the talented one gets hounded and bullied; he/she will also get a bad rating in the annual appraisal on flimsy grounds. All this is done to pave the way for the bootlicker’s promotion. This leads to the mental disturbance of talented employees and because of this many talented employees leave the organization. And, the same story of harassing the talented, dedicated and loyal employees continues."

Politics at work have destroyed families

Not everyone is strong enough to face allegations and accusations hurled in front of everyone during a meeting or company event. Even if an employee has committed a mistake or an error, there is a way to make him aware of these things. In many organisations, colleagues are just waiting for others to make a mistake and ensure that they get insulted in front of everyone for the same.

In some places, it has also been reported that the bosses get into relationships with their junior colleagues and start harassing other members of the company (with whom the junior colleague is not on good terms) which ultimately leads to mass resignation or even suicide by some.

Many times, even situations are created so that a person is trapped unknowingly and is humiliated. Such dirty politics at the workplace not only has forced many to leave their jobs, but it has destroyed families as it can also lead to addiction and nervous breakdown among many people unable to cope with such mental pressures.