Expert Speak Health Express
Published on Oct 10, 2024

There is a strong need for developing nuance in our understanding of both mental health and work, especially in developing country contexts like India

Reimagine work for better mental health

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This article is part of the essay series “World Mental Health Day 2024


In Aminatta Forna’s much-celebrated novel, ‘The Memory of Love’, a British psychologist, Adrian Lockheart, fails in his mission to heal the post-war trauma of his patients in war-ravaged Sierra Leone, a country where 99 percent of the population suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He finds conventional methods (developed in the West) like ‘talk therapy’ to be completely inappropriate in post-war Sierra Leone where survivors have suffered unspeakable horrors of mass rape, killings, and mutilation. Silence, not talking about their problems, is their only survival strategy or in their words just ‘living’. Forna’s deeply moving novel provokes complex questions on pain, suffering, and trauma, whether different societies experience these feelings differently, and exposes the sheer inadequacy of conventional psychological tools to address them.

As we focus on prioritising mental health at work this World Mental Health Day, there is a strong need for developing nuance in our understanding of both mental health and work, especially in developing country contexts like India. Work is essential to sustain life for most people globally but excessive workload, poor working conditions, humiliation at work, discrimination, unachievable targets, and harassment can adversely affect an individual’s mental health. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls upon governments, employers, and organisations representing employers and workers to work towards improving mental health at work. The recent death of a young Indian woman employed at a leading firm due to work-related stress has triggered a debate on toxic work culture and mental health problems at work. Long working hours and excessive workloads have long been key characteristics of India’s corporate culture. It is important to also note that students from families who covet these stressful jobs spend years toiling in coaching institutes to secure a place in prestigious academic institutions. Thus, high suicide rates in coaching institutes of Kota and premier academic institutions like IITs are not completely unrelated to work. Here, it is the aspiration and pursuit of work and affluence which is the main reason behind mental and existential agony.

As we focus on prioritising mental health at work this World Mental Health Day, there is a strong need for developing nuance in our understanding of both mental health and work, especially in developing country contexts like India.

The death by suicide of an ad-hoc Delhi University teacher last year also exposed the malaise in Indian academia and the vulnerability of highly qualified teachers who are teaching under extremely precarious conditions in India’s elite public universities. These teachers who have the same qualifications as permanent teachers and teach the same courses as the permanent and more privileged ones, live under constant anxiety, discrimination, and fear of dismissal. Several studies like Grover et al (2018) and Kayaroganam et al (2022) also point to the high prevalence of psychological distress, stress, and burnout among Indian doctors and nurses. Indian medical professionals suffer due to long working hours, poor sleep, lack of recreational activities, harassment by senior colleagues, lack of institutional support and sometimes even physical violence at work. Some of India’s leading actors have recently opened up about mental health challenges in India’s entertainment industry, an industry which is again characterised by long working hours, loneliness, uncertainty, depression, sexual violation, and substance abuse.

While recent discussions on work-related stress in India have been confined to highly qualified people, in India, over 90 percent of the workforce is employed in the informal sector under precarious conditions without a written contract, paid leave or any other benefits. Any attempt to understand, let alone address, the mental health issues of Indian workers without sensitivity and nuance will be fraught with challenges similar to addressing mental health concerns in post-war Sierra Leone. Nearly 99 percent of India’s workforce suffers from mental health issues. While a small minority of India’s highly paid qualified professionals are now speaking up about harassment at work, discrimination, unrealistic targets, and workload, 90 percent of the workforce which toils for salaries, sometimes as low as INR 10,000 per month can’t articulate their mental health problems at work. Silence is their survival strategy too.

While a small minority of India’s highly paid qualified professionals are now speaking up about harassment at work, discrimination, unrealistic targets, and workload, 90 percent of the workforce which toils for salaries, sometimes as low as INR 10,000 per month can’t articulate their mental health problems at work. Silence is their survival strategy too.

For instance, what is the mental health situation of those employed in agriculture? A deep crisis in agriculture, declining farm incomes, stagnating real wages of agricultural workers, and debt distress have led to an unabated increase in farmer suicides. As per figures from the National Crimes Records Bureau, 11,290 suicide cases were reported among those involved in farming in 2023. The state of Maharashtra tops the list, with the highest number of farmer suicides followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Most of the suicide cases are linked to debt distress and the shame associated with the inability to repay loans, particularly loans owed to family and relatives. Deaths by suicide among agricultural workers have also grown rapidly in recent years, mainly due to economic hardship as real wages in agriculture are declining consistently.

According to a recent survey, 90 percent of the gig workers suffer from poor mental health and about 98.5 percent of the cab drivers reported mental-related issues like stress, depression, anxiety, and anger. Delivery persons also face discrimination and humiliation in gated communities where they are not allowed to use lifts and customers often shout at them and give their poor ratings over small issues. What do we know about the well-being and mental health of domestic workers, a sector which is blighted by exploitation, abuse, lack of leaves, and unregulated low wages? Researchers Sanjeev P Sahni and Mohita Junnarkar assert that female domestic workers in India regularly suffer from depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, and suicidal attempts. Further, they observe that domestic work often entails taking orders from younger people and involves considerable humiliation.

Mental health concerns at work are not limited to any one profession or group of people but reflect a larger problem of society.

In other words, mental health concerns at work are not limited to any one profession or group of people but reflect a larger problem of society. As a society we need to reflect on work—what entails work and how, where, and in what conditions it is performed. But more importantly, how it is demanded and valued. Stresses associated with low wages, precarity, humiliation, discrimination and even stresses from unemployment and preparation for jobs require systemic changes and enforcement of basic rights. The discourse on mental health at work should prompt us to ask a few simple questions. Why should decent work be so hard to find? Why should people be poor despite working hard? Why should work rob people of their dignity? Why should work be a burden? Why should long working hours be glorified instead of other types of work like community service, hobbies and even leisure? In a nutshell, for mental health at work, let’s reimagine work.


Malancha Chakrabarty is a Senior Fellow and Deputy Director (Research) at the Observer Research Foundation.

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Author

Malancha Chakrabarty

Malancha Chakrabarty

Dr Malancha Chakrabarty is Senior Fellow and Deputy Director (Research) at the Observer Research Foundation where she coordinates the research centre Centre for New Economic ...

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