Burnt-out workforce: The future of work?

Muskan Shah & Dr. Moitrayee Das

(moitrayee.das@flame.edu.in)

With over 500 million individuals presently in the Indian work
force, 90% report high levels of stress due to information overload, 88% struggle with anxiety, and 59% are experiencing symptoms of depression. (Anand, 2023; Minhas, 2023)

“Become a Millionaire Overnight,”  “Secret Tips That Will Help Your Bank Account Triple in One Night” and “Hacks to Become Super Successful in Three Days” are just a few examples of unrealistic notions set by self-proclaimed influencers on social platforms. The fear of missing out by not clicking on it and the perceived risk of losing out add to the stress and negative emotions that arise when these ‘hacks’ do not prove to be successful. The number of stories available on online platforms that highlight a few rare cases of comparatively quick success influences young adults to believe that they too need to achieve the same in order to be deemed successful in today’s day and age. Along with changes in the definition of success, there is also a change in the type of businesses and the way in which they function. With thousands of new startups being registered every year, India is now in the top 3 countries in terms of the startup ecosystem (Pramshu, 2023).

Changing working environments

Being in a competitive setting, where there are so many competitors in every imaginable field, can be extremely stressful. One of the many components contributing to the levels of stress in today’s times is the portrayal of success on social media platforms. The need for balance between work and social life is completely ignored as employees spend extremely long and irregular hours at the workplace. The lack of time allocated to managing interpersonal relationships and taking care of themselves leads to exhaustion to the point of being absolutely burned out, in turn reducing productivity. The constant need to prove their own abilities and to match up to the competition takes an immense toll on an individual’s self-perception and has negative effects on their mental well-being. Since around 2016, the number of startups has been on a steady incline. However, just because more and more startups are being registered, the rate of success for startups is just as low (Bryant, 2022). This leads to little to no job security for not only those employed as startups but also employees in the ever-changing Indian job market as a whole.

Job insecurity then becomes a contributing factor to the financial instability faced by individuals, further accelerating stress levels. Additionally, the lack of benefits in workplaces, especially startups, can add to the financial burden. The sense of insecurity is highest among gig workers who work on a project basis, whose income is also dependent on when they get a project and the kind of project they get (Salleh, 2023). The temporary status of the jobs taken up by gig workers leads to them feeling a sense of social and physical isolation due to the absence of a fixed schedule or workplace. To add to this, the psychological impact is so strong that it takes a toll on the physical body as well (Sayre, 2022). The accumulative effect of having to work too many hours, take odd jobs, and put in a lot of effort to even find new gigs has been observed physiologically in terms of backaches, headaches, and even improper sleep patterns.

Socio-cultural contributors

The emotional turmoil due to workplace-related factors in this rapidly moving environment is worsened by societal and community factors. The change in the kind of workplace in India is a factor that should be taken into consideration. Traditionally, Indian workplaces were ones where community spirit was fostered fervently, with employees coming together during breaks and spending more time with each other in the workspace. However, now, with flexible work timings and hybrid workweeks, the sense of community is comparatively much less in the Indian workspace specifically. Along with this, there is the added pressure from members of society and even family members to constantly do well and hold a certain position. The changes in the work environment are often not fully understood by the older members of society. When the latter generations are expected to do as well as the successful members of the family who went down a similar path, there is a significant amount of pressure on the younger individual, leading to feelings of apprehension and guilt. Research shows that family pressure can have a negative effect on entrepreneurial intention (Zhou et al., 2023). Apart from the immediate family, there is also pressure from peers. The constant comparison, which is very prominent in the Indian context, between individuals and their peers places them under duress to try to outperform each other. Not being able to do so is misperceived as a failure and heightens feelings of guilt, stress, anxiety, and fear of being judged.

Striking a balance

With the identification of several factors that can lower employee productivity and aggravate an employee’s peace of mind, the need for a balance is imminent. At the crux of the issues lies the solution of promoting a healthy work-life balance, where individuals can manage all aspects of their lives efficiently and learn how to draw boundaries when called for. In addition to this, there is a need for all businesses, big or small, to work on destigmatizing issues related to mental well-being and have the resources to reach out for help. This can also be facilitated by prompting employees and individuals entering the work environment to be more mindful of the media consumed and to look at it through a practical lens.

The Indian workforce is becoming more modern day by day, adopting new technologies and implementing more changes for increased productivity. However, while these positives are extremely valuable to the workforce in general, the mental health of the employees should not be ignored. The growth of our country’s economy is incredible, but the monetary growth should not be at the cost of the workforce. It is time to recognise the psychological price of progress paid by the workforce and take a step to do something about it.