India’s Toxic Work Culture: A Silent Mental Health Crisis

In the middle of a particularly busy workday, earlier this week, a friend sent me a WhatsApp forward which I grudgingly opened. It was a news report announcing that a 26-year-old chartered accountant working with a leading consultancy firm in India had died. Her mother accused the organisation of “stress” over the past six months that could have led to her daughter’s death. Can mental stress cause death? I am not sure. But then, I do not have the medical credentials to attest or dispute that claim. What I am convinced about is that prolonged stress can—and does—lead to various ailments and as we know by now, most diseases originate in the mind!

I have seen the impact of ‘toxic workplaces’ on my colleagues in a different organization: a young lifestyle writer developed stomach ulcers after suffering ‘intense mental stress’ for three years at the hands of a very difficult, demanding and nasty boss. A young photographer had a mental breakdown after having a raise pulse rate each morning as she walked in through the office door and into the newsroom. What did they do? Complaints to the management were brushed aside because the question was “how could long stressful hours lead to hospital visits?”

Work pressures have, indeed, increased over the years with greater competition to keep the top job, or rather, the job you have in hand. It is only in recent years that people have started recognising the impact of workplace stress on mental health.

There are studies that corroborate this. And conversations revolving around mental health are more open and prevalent. A survey done by Deloitte this year revealed that a staggering 80 per cent of the Indian workforce reported experienced mental health issues in the past year. Another study by the National Sample Survey Office found that over 60 percent of Indian employees grapple with stress at work. The World Health Organization’s data shows how pervasive the concern is - it says that nearly one in four employees in India suffer from work-related stress.

The notorious ‘burnout’ is happening much sooner. High achieving professionals in their early 30s grapple with exhaustion and fatigue. The nature of the stress differs across geographic and demographic variations. If corporate offices exert pressure to meet deadlines, job insecurity is a factor in low paying, less skilled jobs. No matter what you do, you cannot escape stress if you work in India.

On a visit to Vienna a few years ago, I was fascinated by their 35-hours-per-week work rules. At 6 p.m., it was common to see people sauntering into cafes with their dogs to have coffee with friends; the parks were bustling at 5 p.m. And these were not retired seniors, they were all working professionals who knew when to cut off from work. India does not appreciate a work-life balance. Long hours at the desk have been glorified and hailed as ‘professionalism.’ Working weekends add to the scores during appraisals and going incommunicado post work for a family dinner or movie is a mark of ‘not being serious enough.’

This cultural shift began two decades ago, as multinationals brought with them an American work culture of rushed breakfasts, heart-pounding deadlines and the belief that longer hours equal greater achievement and therefore, fatter paychecks. What has been overlooked is that a burnt-out workforce cannot deliver results.

India’s burgeoning population means there are several contenders for the same skilled jobs leading to cut throat competition at various levels of the workforce. People in ‘private companies’—or non-government organisations—are dispensable. A hospitalised employee can very well find his job changing hands; a new mother raises her infant while worrying about keeping her job.

Round-the-clock connectivity comes at a huge personal and mental health price. Late night discussions on WhatsApp chats and dreaded emails at 4 A.M. disrupt sleep and peace. The pandemic and the work from home culture it started also has its share of blame. A senior manager at an OTT major complained that there is no cut off time when he works from home. Mornings and nights are the same as mid-day. Mental health experts tell you that disconnecting and focussing on other activities helps the mind de-stress.

Rising stress, often silent and unspoken, is a looming crisis. Few seek help, assuming it is temporary, but the toll on health, families, relationships, and productivity is severe.

Organisations lose work hours to absence caused by mental ill-health; productivity suffers even if the employee is physically at-work. Family and social relationships are taking a downturn and personal mental health is the biggest sufferer.

The change lies in new policies. In 2019, Member of Parliament Supriya Sule introduced a Private Members’ Bill called the ‘Right to Disconnect’ under which employees can refuse work outside of reasonable work hours. Australia offers employees protection from professional exploitation through a similar law where people can refuse to work outside their stipulated hours.

India Inc. is gradually waking up to the new demands for mental healthcare with counselling sessions, wellness care leave, childcare facilities and flexible work arrangements. But the implementation should be in spirit and not only on paper. Government policies such as the right to disconnect will further boost people’s ability to refuse after-hours work. Mental healthcare should not remain just lip service or a one-off human care initiative. Workplaces should be turned into safe havens, both, physically and mentally.