Zomato, the online restaurant directory and food delivery platform has announced that they have hired a professional psychiatrist to offer counselling services and mental health support to their employees. This comes in the wake of the social media outbreak in December where a delivery boy was caught on video eating a portion of the food he was meant to deliver. After the video surfaced, Zomato proceeded to fire the delivery boy. This led to mixed reactions from the public and debates regarding the workplace conditions for delivery staff as well as matters of food safety and professionalism.  

With the appointment of the psychiatrist, Rohit Garg, Zomato has announced that they are looking to create a workspace where employees are encouraged to seek professional help. They further elaborated that they believe mental health plays a significant role in productivity and the overall quality of work-life stability of employees across all levels of an organization. Apart from providing counselling for the delivery crew, Rohit Garg will also counsel employees across teams on a routine basis.

Mental health support and practices in the workplace is a topic that has only recently started getting corporate attention in India. A study published by ASSOCHAM in 2015 suggested that 42.5 percent of employees in the private sector suffered from depression or general anxiety disorder. Another report by the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2017 stated that around 57 million Indians were affected by depression. While traditionally corporations were unwilling to make accommodations for individuals with mental health, in recent times more and more companies have taken special steps to ensure that the mental health and well being of the employee is also taken into consideration.