Workplace Burnout Hitting Youngsters Mostly

Organisations are more concerned about the life cycle of their products and services. That is the reason that companies are pushing workers to increase productivity in order to maximise their profits. In a country like India, where growth rate is high, the work-life balance is definitely getting impacted - Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR, tells Bizz Buzz

Bengaluru: Rising stress at workplaces, lack of support system, change in socio-cultural patterns are leading to employee burnout. These factors are sometime driving workers to take extreme steps like suicides, or face unnatural death, HR sector experts said.

Against the backdrop of death of a young Chartered Accountant (CA) from Kerala, Anna Sebastin Perayil owing to alleged overwork at EY office at Pune, HR experts said most companies are pushing workers hard to get maximum output on the back of a volatile working environment.

“Organisations are more anxious now about their future owing to rapid changes in technology. They are more concerned about the life cycle of their products and services. That is the reason that companies are pushing workers to increase productivity in order to maximise their profits. In a country like India, where growth rate is high, the work-life balance is definitely getting impacted,” Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR, told Bizz Buzz.

He also said that our workforce is mostly young workers, who have been raised in nuclear families.

“Young people don’t know whom to lean on during stress. Also, the city life that comprises long commute hours hardly gives them time to reflect or lead a social life. As they don’t have time for personal life, they don’t realise that they are overworking, or they have internal health issues,” Mishra said.

Changes in life style and socio-cultural environment are also responsible for such kind of incidents, he added.

The death of the young CA of EY has created a furore across India with many questioning the overwork culture of the consulting majors in the country. Subsequently, officials from the Maharashtra labour commissioner’s office have reportedly inspected the EY office in Pune, to investigate the allegations related to workplace stress.

However, EY has denied any link between Perayil’s death and her workload, maintaining that the company adheres to industry-standard practices regarding employee welfare.

“We are taking the family’s correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility. We place the highest importance on the well-being of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 100,000 people across EY member firms in India,” EY said.

Meanwhile, sources in the accounting field said that though the large consulting firm pays well, their work burden is way above normal auditing firms.

“India is an employer market where work-life balance is a pipe dream in most places. Such allegations have come in the past without no improvement in workplaces,” another source said.