The modern workplace takes a heavy toll. Performance targets rise, deadlines get tighter, and employees are expected to always be available. Meanwhile, the mental health of the very people driving results quietly suffers. Boardrooms rarely see the full picture. McKinsey Health Institute and World Economic Forum research quantifies that up to $11.7 trillion in global economic value is at stake. That breaks down to $1,100 to $3,500 per employee annually which is 17 to 55 percent of their average pay. India's Economic Survey went further, calling workplace mental health issues both a personal and economic hazard.
Yet most organizations still treat mental health as an HR checkbox rather than a business imperative.
What High Pressure Actually Looks Like
Walk into any startup or corporate office operating, we see engineers pulling all-nighters before product launches, finance teams working weekends during quarter-end, sales leaders checking Slack at midnight. The intensity never drops.
Startups intensify everything. Runway pressures turn every milestone into an existential threat. Small teams wear multiple hats, and there is no bench to rotate in fresh players. Everyone is expected to run at 110 percent until there is a breakdown, which of course are the same employees.
Corporate life often mirrors the pressures of politics, adding extra layers of stress. Reorganizations create uncertainty, and performance curves rank employees against each other, turning colleagues into competitors. With always-on communication tools, work follows employees home, into vacations, and over weekends.
Burnout accumulates through missed sleep, skipped meals, abandoned hobbies, strained relationships. By the time someone admits they are drowning, they have been underwater for months.
The Real Economics
Poor mental health can prove to be costly. Presenteeism might be the most expensive problem nobody tracks properly. An employee sitting at their desk, staring at a screen, accomplishing nothing, but is technically "at work." Multiply that by hundreds or thousands of employees having bad mental health days, and productivity craters.
Then there's turnover. Replacing a burned-out senior engineer costs 150-200 percent of their salary when you factor in recruiting, onboarding, and lost productivity. That calculation does not include what happens when they take institutional knowledge to a competitor.
Healthcare costs continue to rise, and absenteeism takes a toll on productivity. Team morale suffers when high performers suddenly leave, leaving projects stalled and deadlines slipping. McKinsey's research puts the potential value of fixing this between $3.7 trillion and $11.7 trillion globally. "That's value waiting to be captured."
Leadership's Role
Company culture flows from the top. When a CEO leaves at 5 PM and does not send emails on weekends, people notice. When executives talk openly about therapy or taking mental health days, it gives everyone else permission.
In contrast, some leaders boast about working while sick or never taking a vacation, making it clear that the expectation is to sacrifice yourself or fall behind.
Most managers have zero training in recognizing mental health warning signs. They miss the employee who is suddenly making uncharacteristic mistakes. They do not notice when someone stops speaking up in meetings. They interpret withdrawal as disengagement rather than distress.
Training fixes some of these issues. But culture change requires consistency. One wellness seminar does not counter a promotion system that rewards whoever logs the most hours.
Photo Credit: Pexels
What Actually Helps
Access to counselling services matters, but only if people use them. Most employee assistance programs have utilization rates below 10 percent. This is simply because of stigma, complicated processes, concerns about confidentiality, or simply not knowing the benefit exists.
Mental health apps and digital tools offer privacy and convenience. Someone can do a meditation exercise at lunch or log their mood without telling anyone. These tools work best as supplements, not replacements for professional help when needed.
Prevention beats intervention. Stress management workshops, realistic goal-setting, and regular check-ins catch problems early. A manager asking "How are you really doing?" and meaning it can surface issues before they explode.
Workload management is often overlooked. Companies keep adding responsibilities without removing anything. Eventually, there are not enough hours to do everything well. The cost usually falls on the employee's health.
Flexible arrangements help through remote work options, flexible hours, and generous PTO policies (that people actually use) create breathing room. But flexibility alone will not fix a toxic culture or unreasonable expectations.
Making It Stick
The World Health Organization defines health broadly into mental, physical, spiritual, and social function. With 3.5 billion working adults spending 90,000 hours of their lives at work, the workplace shapes health outcomes whether organizations acknowledge it or not.
Most companies already have mental health initiatives on paper. The gap is execution as the policies exist but they are not enforced. Resources are available but they are underutilized. Leaders say the right things but model the wrong behaviours.
Regular measurement helps. Anonymous surveys, utilization data, exit interviews, all provide signals about whether initiatives actually work. If turnover remains high and engagement scores stay low despite new programs, something is not working.
Recognition matters more than many leaders realize. Acknowledging effort, celebrating wins, and providing feedback that is not exclusively negative builds resilience. People tolerate high pressure better when they feel valued.
Companies face a straightforward decision. Continue burning through talent until everyone is exhausted and cynical. Or build workplaces where high performance and mental health coexist.
The economics favour the second option. So does retention, innovation, and basic human decency. Organizations that figure this out will attract better talent and keep them longer. Those that do not will keep wondering why their best people leave.
Both data and solutions exist. What's missing is often just the will to change.
(By Dr Sabine Kapasi, CEO at Enira Consulting, founder of ROPAN Healthcare, and UN advisor)
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