This article has been contributed by Rujuta Rammohan, Chief Culture Officer at InCorp India
For decades, productivity has been measured by the sheer number of hours put in – In India’s corporate sectors, long hours have often been worn as a badge of honour. Employees missing their commitments at home, family vacations and rest-days to recuperate have been applauded. Yet, growing evidence tells a different story. In workspace culture, emotional wellbeing and burnout management are proving to be more reliable predictors of sustainable performance than time spent at the desk. This is because the modern workforce demands more than just the archaic formula of “better pay, better output”- it demands emotional balance and periods of mental rest. Performance is, therefore, nurtured in a culture where employees feel psychologically safe, respected, and supported. It is emotional wellbeing that increasingly determines whether performance is sustainable or short-lived.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that untreated mental health conditions could cost India over USD 1 trillion between 2012 and 2030. But these are not just numbers. They signify lives that are disengaged at work, and struggling to manage professional expectations. Research also suggests that the younger employees attach significant value to mental and emotional health at work. The broader implication is that the long-term economic potential of this demographic advantage may diminish over time. Employee disengagement disrupts the talent pipeline, as organisations face higher turnover and lose the very skills that should shape growth.
Culture’s Role in Building Psychological Safety
Government policies and systems alone cannot counter the toll of burnout. Workplace culture remains the true essence of a holistically productive workforce. An environment of mental wellbeing and empathy directly shapes how employees cope with stress. Simply put, it helps them perform better.
A survey in Economic Times showed just how influential culture can be. Employees who enjoyed positive relationships with managers and peers scored 33% higher on mental wellbeing compared to those who felt isolated. This is a clear contrast displaying that culture is not an unattached arm of the workplace. It is a business necessity.
Poor mental wellbeing translates into lower efficiency, absenteeism, and turnovers – all of which carry direct business costs. A culture of micromanagement, discrimination, or neglect will cause employees to withdraw, disengage, and finally exit. In contrast, in a workplace built on a supportive culture, employees feel encouraged to take on challenges, ask for help, and recover from setbacks. Over time, this cultural difference becomes a competitive advantage – companies will either retain top talent, or wither. Well-managed mental health leads directly to an upper-hand in performance, which is no longer up for debate. Organisations that actively nurture wellbeing see tangible meaningful returns – investment in mental health can multiply fourfold in improved productivity.
Varun Bhardwaj
Building the Workforce through Culture
A productive culture is shaped by the systems that embrace mental health. Companies that aim to improve wellbeing should act across several levels –
- Policy Level : Policies set the tone for what is acceptable and expected in the workplace. Policies of flexible working models, balanced workload distribution, and structured mental health support, send a clear message that wellbeing is a business priority and has to be taken seriously. Strong policies also create accountability – for example, requiring leadership to report on wellbeing metrics alongside financial performance. Structural changes like this assure employees that workplace culture is made to support them, and not exploit them.
- Managerial Level: The manager-employee relationship is the strongest predictor of workplace wellbeing. Leaders trained in empathy, active listening, and inclusive practices can directly impact trust and psychological safety. When managers check in not only on deadlines but also on how employees are coping, it reduces stigma and builds loyalty, which adds to the motivation of employees to deliver better results.
- Workforce Level: Culture is reinforced strongly at the peer-to-peer level. Normalising conversations on mental health and dismantling the guilt of “not feeling okay” is increasingly necessary. Encouraging team-led initiatives, like peer support circles or mentorship programmes, creates a ripple effect of openness that policies alone cannot achieve. Over time, this builds the drive to perform well, not only in individuals but in the collective workforce.
- Individual Level: Culture has to include systems formed not just at the group-level, but to support the individual as well – because no two employees are the same. Access to tools, like mindfulness sessions and professional, confidential counselling, assures that employees have a space where they can truly express how they feel, and find actionable solutions.
Some Indian organisations are beginning to experiment with such measures – from introducing “mental health days” and running peer support circles, to employing corporate psychologists and adding assistance programmes directly into HR working.
Sustainable Performance Through Wellbeing
When employees feel safe, respected, and valued, they bring more creativity, collaboration, and loyalty to their roles. Resilience must be cultivated intentionally, and wellbeing should be designed into organisational strategy. Companies that overlook this might earn short-term gains, but lose out on long-term sustainability, while those that invest in it build workforces capable of thriving and performing incredibly. It is no exaggeration to say that the organisations that form a culture of emotional wellbeing, will be making quality output a part of its organisational DNA. Structured and documented interventions should be a strategic priority, not an afterthought. The Government of India acknowledged this linkage for the first time in the Economic Survey of 2023-2024, which marks a turning point – wellbeing is being reframed from a personal concern to a national productivity metric.
The Future of Productivity is Human-Centric
As India’s corporate sector moves into a new age of competition and growth, the old equation of productivity based on hours is fast becoming obsolete. Instead, emotional wellbeing is proving to build sustainable performance. The organisations that will thrive are those that recognise human energy as their most valuable asset, building cultures where resilience is cultivated, not demanded. Measuring productivity will not mean tracking efficiency, but safeguarding the wellbeing of the very people who make that efficiency possible. This also calls for a change in the leadership thought process. The leaders of tomorrow will –
- Not only be evaluated on business results but also on their ability to create conditions of emotional openness and mental satisfaction
- Such leaders of tomorrow, will form organisations of tomorrow. They will build future-ready companies who treat emotional wellbeing as a central measure of growth, and in turn have a massive competitive advantage over others in the industry
Success will belong to places that understand wellbeing as non-negotiable, and embed it into their frameworks, performance evaluations, and growth strategies. And in that shift, India’s workplaces will have the opportunity to redefine productivity itself.
Subham Kumar