a normalised, rather toxic reality we don\u2019t like to think about \u2013 burnout.<\/a><\/p>\nBurnout isn\u2019t just normalised; it has become a badge of honour. Who scored how much overtime, and left office how late is often seen as a win, even with Gen Z\u2019s famous work-life balance mottos.<\/p>\n
Read Full Story<\/p>\n
For many employees, exhaustion isn\u2019t a bad week but the expected baseline. Logging off on time feels like guilt. Taking a break feels like falling behind. Being constantly stressed has, in many workplaces, become an unspoken measure of how \u201cserious\u201d you are about your job.<\/p>\n
Mental health struggles are a common pattern, so common that most of the time they aren\u2019t considered a problem or something to go to therapy for. Stress hormones are often mistaken as adrenaline and employees simply keep pushing ahead, getting their boost from the targets set and met.<\/p>\n
THE MYTH OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE<\/p>\n
As Zahra Khan, psychologist at Mpower, puts it, \u201cI think we have forgotten what work-life balance, which i know is a phrase we use so often, actually means. It isn\u2019t simply having time for yourself, it\u2019s the ability to mentally switch off once you leave your workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
That switch, for many employees, simply doesn\u2019t exist anymore.<\/p>\n
Work spills into evenings, weekends, even holidays. Notifications don\u2019t stop. Expectations don\u2019t pause. Over time, this creates a constant mental load that employees carry long after logging off.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost working individuals carry the weight of their work long after their working hours end, through weekends and days off,\u201d Khan explains further.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just about long hours. It\u2019s about how people feel at work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen employees don\u2019t feel psychologically safe, when they feel seen only as resources rather than as individuals, that chronic invisibility becomes its own trigger,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
In many organisations, productivity is visible. People are not.<\/p>\n
This leads to what experts call \u201cbaseline burnout\u201d — a state where exhaustion becomes so normal that it is no longer questioned.<\/p>\n
WHICH INDIAN SECTORS HAVE THE HIGHEST WORKPLACE STRESS?<\/p>\n
While stress cuts across industries, some sectors are feeling the pressure more intensely.<\/p>\n
Recruitment experts say high-growth industries like IT, startups, consulting, and BFSI are at the centre of this storm. These are sectors driven by deadlines, targets, and constant change.<\/p>\n
Abhijeet Ghosh, CHRO of HireYou, points out that while change is happening, it is uneven.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile many firms (approximately 70%) still lack outpatient insurance for mental health, leading sectors like IT and BFSI are now embedding wellbeing into the ‘daily flow of work’ through 24\/7 counselling and mandatory ‘mental health days\u2019,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
But even in these sectors, the shift is still evolving.<\/p>\n
In high-performance environments, stress is often mistaken for dedication, and burnout is expected and almost demanded.<\/p>\n
Khan highlights how deeply this is rooted culturally: \u201cIn the Indian context, burnout has been normalised, and in some environments, even glorified. If you\u2019re not stressed, if you\u2019re not constantly multitasking, the quiet question becomes: are you even working hard enough?\u201d<\/p>\n
That mindset keeps the cycle going.<\/p>\n
HIRING TRENDS SHOW A CLEAR SHIFT<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the biggest push for change is not coming from companies but from employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to our recent Talent Trends survey, mental health is amongst the top 3 priorities of professionals when thinking about work,\u201d says Nilay Khandelwal, Senior Managing Director at Michael Page India and Singapore.<\/p>\n
He adds that trust in leadership in India is relatively strong: \u201c61% of employees reporting high or complete trust in leadership to manage both employee wellbeing and business priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the gap — while employees care deeply about mental health, companies are slower to act.<\/p>\n
\u201cCandidates place work-life balance and mental health or wellbeing among their top considerations, yet employers still rank \u2018support for wellbeing\u2019 only 10th as a retention lever,\u201d Khandelwal says.<\/p>\n
That disconnect is costing companies talent.<\/p>\n
Backing this shift, Vaibhav Gangrade, Business Head, Group Health Insurance, Policybazaar for Business, says, \u201cWorkplace mental wellbeing is now an important consideration in the recruitment process as well as employee retention.”<\/p>\n
“In today\u2019s talent war, companies are realizing that the modern-day employee does not only consider compensation packages when looking for a job. Instead, they are looking for organizations that offer mental wellbeing benefits under group insurance plans,” he adds.<\/p>\n
He says that mental health benefits have turned from a \u2018nice-to-have\u2019 option for employees in the past, to becoming an integral part of the benefits package offered by companies. <\/p>\n
“Many organizations are now adding mental wellbeing benefits, counseling services, and OPD benefits to group insurance plans,” he says.<\/p>\n
Abhijeet Ghosh echoes this shift: \u201cIn today\u2019s world, mental wellbeing is no longer just a \u2018topic\u2019. It is a critical competitive advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
He adds that nearly 88% of professionals now consider wellbeing policies essential when choosing a job, and strong mental health support can reduce attrition by up to 25%.<\/p>\n
Candidates are also becoming more vocal.<\/p>\n
\u201cCandidates, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, are now \u2018vets-testing\u2019 employers by asking deep questions about work-life integration and burnout during interviews,\u201d Ghosh says.<\/p>\n
And they are willing to walk away.<\/p>\n
Khandelwal points to a striking trend: \u201c61% of hybrid professionals would look for a new job if required to spend more time in the office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among today\u2019s new generation of employees, flexibility has transformed from a perk to an expectation.<\/p>\n
WHY STIGMA STILL RUNS DEEP IN INDIAN OFFICES<\/p>\n
Despite growing awareness, one big barrier remains \u2013 stigma around mental health.<\/p>\n
So, if you feel burnt out or have any extreme thoughts because of a work trigger, you are likely to be perceived as weak. Acknowledging mental health issues or therapy is still taboo among many Gen X and Boomer employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cAwareness campaigns are a start, but they cannot function in a vacuum. If psychological safety is absent, no employee will step forward,\u201d Khan explains.<\/p>\n
Basically, talking about mental health still feels risky in many workplaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an unspoken narrative of \u2018everyone is going through it, so what\u2019s your issue?\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
This creates a culture where seeking help feels like weakness, not self-awareness.<\/p>\n
Even when companies introduce Employee Assistance Programmes or counselling services, usage remains low. This is not because employees don\u2019t need them, but because they don\u2019t feel safe using them.<\/p>\n
Another reason for low use is that many don\u2019t even realise something is wrong<\/a>. That is how normal stress and burnout are in older generations.<\/p>\nARE COMPANIES REALLY DOING ENOUGH?<\/p>\n
The short answer: not yet.<\/p>\n
While many organisations have started mental health initiatives, most remain surface-level. There is no depth. It\u2019s like Christmas decorations.<\/p>\n
\u201cLargely, it is still surface-level and reactive,\u201d Khan puts it bluntly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we often see is organisations focusing heavily on \u2018fixing\u2019 the individual while the systemic issues driving poor mental health go unexamined,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
When the system itself is the problem, it takes major company responsibility to change it. And few want to acknowledge it while hiding behind targets.<\/p>\n
This is where the real challenge lies. Offering meditation apps or workshops cannot fix a toxic work culture.<\/p>\n
Real change requires structural shifts — reasonable workloads, empathetic leadership, and environments where employees feel safe being human.<\/p>\n
CAN FLEXIBLE WORK REDUCE MENTAL STRESS IN INDIA?<\/p>\n
To some extent, yes.<\/p>\n
Flexible and hybrid work models have given employees more control over their time. They reduce commute stress and allow better work-life integration.<\/p>\n
But flexibility alone is not enough.<\/p>\n
Without clear boundaries and supportive management, even remote work can lead to longer hours and deeper burnout.<\/p>\n
The real solution lies in how flexibility is implemented, not just whether it exists.<\/p>\n
THE WAY FORWARD<\/p>\n
India\u2019s corporate culture is at a turning point.<\/p>\n
On one side is the old model — long hours, silent stress, and performance above all else.<\/p>\n
On the other is a new demand — balance, psychological safety, and meaningful work, led by the new Gen Z workforce who aren\u2019t afraid to walk away when their needs aren\u2019t met.<\/p>\n
The shift has begun, but it is uneven and incomplete.<\/p>\n
The companies that recognise mental health not as a \u201csoft issue\u201d but as a business-critical factor will move ahead. The ones that don\u2019t risk losing not just talent, but trust.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Mar 21, 2026 09:00 IST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"India\u2019s corporate growth story is a data game full of numbers — valuations, hiring spikes, global expansion and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[162033,162032,103,61,60,410,51368,162030,162034,411,162031],"class_list":["post-357518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-corporate-culture-mental-health","tag-employee-mental-wellbeing-india","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-health-at-work","tag-mental-health-in-india-corporate","tag-mental-health-neglect-india","tag-mentalhealth","tag-workplace-mental-health-india"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}