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Business Standard

Age of anxiety: Pressure, long hours, and layoff fears affect employees

A sense of anxiety is in the air. The flood of layoffs at IT major TCS has rattled the industry, and the jitters are spreading beyond the tech sector. Besides the fear of termination, there is a deeper stress — of everyday work — that each employee tackles, with varying degrees of success. There is the stress of deadlines, of meeting targets, of proving oneself, of living up to expectations, of shouldering multiple responsibilities, of multi-tasking… The list is long. At times, this stress reaches a tipping point, resulting in tragedy. Last month, a 52-year-old chief manager at a public sector bank in Pune died by suicide, citing workplace pressure in his note. A year ago, Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old chartered accountant with a Big Four firm's Pune office, died due to heart attack following alleged workplace pressure, triggering outrage and debate over stress and workload in Indian corporates. Her father, Siby Joseph, marked her first death anniversary on July 20 by launching The Anna Sebastian Initiative. The initiative aims to prepare students and young professionals for the realities of the corporate world through online mentoring and guidance. 'She joined work full of hope,' Joseph told Business Standard. 'But we lost her to a toxic work culture. This initiative is our way of ensuring others don't suffer the same fate.' The death sparked political uproar, prompting the Union government to launch a formal inquiry. A growing crisis The problem isn't limited to private firms. Sreenath Induchoodan, senior vice-president, All India Bank Officers' Confederation, said the banking sector is grappling with similar issues. He added that in the last couple of years, they have seen multiple suicides — some at the workplace itself. He pointed to poor manpower planning and the fallout of the government's Enhanced Access and Service Excellence (EASE) reforms, which, he said, had led to frozen recruitment. He said branches are critically understaffed, and officers routinely clock 12-14-hour days. Combine that with humiliating performance reviews and arbitrary transfers, and the pressure becomes unbearable, he added. He maintained that more than 500 bank employees have died by suicide over the last decade. 'These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a crumbling support structure in our public sector banks,' Induchoodan said. Telling numbers A recent study by CIEL HR Services found that nearly 50 per cent of employees in sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), consulting, and accounting work over 50 hours a week — and even more during busy times. 'When we asked them how they would rate their work pressure levels, employees working in these sectors said they are frequently exhausted or burned out,' said Aditya Narayan Mishra, managing director and chief executive officer of CIEL HR Services. 'Around 38 per cent of these employees are actively looking for a job change.' Mishra added that while these sectors offer prestige and pay, they are also high-pressure environments where support mechanisms often fall short. 'Burnout has become chronic, not occasional,' he said. Kartik Narayan, CEO-Staffing, TeamLease Services, added that the slowdown the BFSI sector has been experiencing has increased pressure on employees. 'While professional and psychological support systems are available to help individuals cope, the underlying stress levels remain high,' he added. 'Additionally, a growing generational gap within organisations is leading to occasional inter-generational friction.' He was of the view that it's important that both younger and older employees are sensitised to each other's working styles and expectations. 'Managers also need to be equipped to recognise both the capabilities of their teams and the pressures they may be under,' Narayan said. 'Today, with personal lives becoming more complex, a more empathetic and informed approach to workplace dynamics is essential.' Beyond lip service Some companies are beginning to address the issue in a structured way. Pramerica Life Insurance, for instance, has launched a holistic wellness programme called Swasthum, which integrates mental, physical, and emotional well-being. From guided mindfulness and digital detox reminders to access to therapy content and team bonding events, the initiative encourages a culture of sustained well-being. 'Workplace stress is often cumulative,' said Sharad K Sharma, chief human resources officer, Pramerica Life Insurance. 'It builds when we ignore early signs like persistent fatigue, irritability, reduced focus, or disengagement. We encourage employees to be mindful of these signals and to prioritise recovery before stress becomes burnout.' In a fast-paced industry, common stress triggers include continuous deadlines, emotional fatigue from customer-facing roles, or even the challenge of maintaining work-life boundaries in a hybrid world, he said. Sharma also highlighted the company's family first policy, which encourages employees to regularly disconnect from work and spend meaningful time with their families. Managers need to move beyond performance metrics and start tuning into emotional signals, he said. 'Leaders should be equipped to recognise early indicators of stress — be it withdrawal, uncharacteristic behaviour, or disengagement — and respond with empathy rather than judgement.' He acknowledged that building this capability requires more than just formal training; it calls for a mindset shift where well-being conversations become part of everyday leadership. 'The real need is for organisations to empower their people managers to foster psychological safety, where employees feel seen, heard, and supported — not just as professionals, but as people navigating the pressures of work and life,' he said. Recently, Tata Steel rolled out a 'wellness policy' for all employees, encompassing physical, mental, occupational, social, and financial wellness. The company tracks an emotional wellness score as part of its employee engagement metrics. It has also partnered with mental health platform YourDOST to provide counselling services, both online and employee assistance programme, active since 2014, has been extended to include contract workers and their families. Initiatives such as self-approved leave, reduced encashment limits, and sponsored wellness retreats to encourage employees to take breaks and recharge are in place. The self-approved leave approach empowers employees to take leave as and when required without bureaucratic hurdles, a Tata Steel spokesperson said. Despite these efforts, much of corporate India still treats stress as an individual issue, not a systemic one. But the growing number of tragic outcomes suggests that the status quo is no longer sustainable. For real change to occur, companies need to go beyond token wellness days and implement deep, structural changes that prioritise mental health and dignity at work.