Mental Wellness at Work and Strategies to Prevent Burnout

Mental health care sketch diagram

According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 12 billion workdays are lost every year due to depression and anxiety, and this costs nearly $1 trillion in productivity globally. In India alone, a 2024 Deloitte survey found that 80% of employees experienced at least one mental health challenge in the past year and of course burnout and stress are at the top of the list.

These stats are enough proof that we need to make mental wellness a priority now more than ever. We are quick to post #TGIF or #sunday selfcare, while we sip green juices, track our steps, mental wellness is that quiet part of health we often ignore until it screams for attention.

We have all been there. Whether it’s from work, personal life, unmet expectations and many more. I’ve seen so many smart, driven people struggle with burnout and the workplace can sometimes be a home of stress. You might not notice it at first, the long hours, endless emails, that one coworker who schedules meetings that could’ve been emails, constant buzz on slacks, deadlines that need to be met. But slowly, it builds up. That is why we have put together what mental wellness means, and how you can avoid burnout. Because behind every burnout is a passionate employee that just runs out of fuel required to keep running.

What Do We Even Mean By “Mental Health”?

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you.”

— Anne Lamott

This quote is a good reminder of what we’re aiming for. While your physical health is how your body is functioning. Your mental health is about how your mind and emotions are functioning, that is how you handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

When it’s good, you feel resilient. You can handle anything life throws at you, the impossible deadline, the frustrating colleague, the unexpected car repair. You’re operating from a place of strength, not just scrambling to keep your head above water.

However, when there is burnout, you feel exhausted in the mind, body and even soul and this cuts deeper than just feeling tired. The World Health Organization describes it as a “syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress.” It is your stress response to workplace problems. It’s like running a marathon without water. You might keep going, but at a slower pace because your energy, focus, and motivation have slowly diminished. This can reduce commitment to work and responsibilities, diminish your sense of self-worth and accomplishments, and makes you feel ineffective.

The Silent Risks of Mental Health

It’s easy to look at someone successful and think they’ve got it all together, but the workplace is full of hidden traps that chip away at our well-being. These are the risks to mental wellness we have to watch out for:

The hustle mindset is the big one. It’s the unspoken expectation that you need to be “always on.” Checking emails at 10 PM, feeling guilty for taking a lunch break, constantly saying “yes” to more projects.
When you lack control or autonomy on your schedule, how and how you do your work, it can be stressful and strips you of the ability to manage your energy levels.
Ever been confused about what your boss actually wants? Or had a deadline suddenly changed? This unclear expectation forces you to constantly guess and recalculate and it can be draining.
Negative behavior at work such as bullying, an annoying colleague, bullying, harassment, or a micro-managing boss can be mentally draining. It forces you to always be in survival mode and nobody can thrive in such situations.
Under-Promotion is another thing that can lead to burnout. When you are carrying out a manager role for peanuts, you sometimes feel unseen, unvalued and you aren’t paid what you deserve.
The juggling between work duties and home demands can be sometimes hard. And when your job doesn’t respect your personal boundaries, it might feel like you are being pulled in different directions.

Strategies to Prevent Burnout

Now that we know what we are up against, how can we prevent burnout and still thrive at the workplace?

“Deep Work” and Real Breaks

You’re a human, not a robot and that is why you rest and recharge.

Schedule Thinking Time: Don’t just schedule meetings; schedule rest. Close your email, put your phone away, and tell yourself, “For this time, I’m only going to rest and your body will thank you.
Treat Breaks Like Meetings: A 15-minute walk, a coffee refill, five minutes of quiet staring out the window. These are not a reward for finishing. They are part of the process. They are the little things that keep you from crashing.

2. The Art of the Hard Stop

This is probably the hardest one for people who genuinely care about their job. You need a firm quitting time.

Create a Routine: At the end of your day don’t just shut the laptop and run. Spend the last 15 minutes writing down your top 3 tasks for the next day. This tells your subconscious mind that they are tasks meant for tomorrow. This way, you won’t to go through the rest of your day thinking of your to-do list.

Set the Boundary: If you have to work late occasionally, fine. But make it the exception, not the rule. When you start sacrificing your evening routine (dinner with family, gym, reading a book) for work, you’ve started selling yourself short. Your life outside work is the fuel for your work. Don’t drain the tank!

3. Emotional Ventilation

Sometimes, the stress can be overwhelming and what you mignt is to let it out.

Talk to Someone: it could be your partner, your friend, your colleague. Talk and offload those heaviness instead. Unbottle those frustrations.
Learn to Say No: And you don’t have to be aggressive while at it. For instance, you can say that it is a great project, but I will be better off finishing the one I’m handling now first so I can give it the required attention. You’re not saying “no” to the work; you’re saying “yes” to your existing commitments and your sanity.

Develop Self-Compassion

The point is, you just don’t want to be productive, you want to be a healthy, whole person who is productive. And one very important way to go about this is to practise self-compassion.

When you mess up a presentation, miss a deadline, or just feel utterly exhausted:

Don’t beat yourself up. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend. Words of encouragement, empathy and anything to make you feel good again.
Recognize your common humanity. The pressure you feel. The imposter syndrome, the exhaustion is universal. Everyone feels exhausted and you need to know you are not alone.

Burnout feels personal, but it’s often a result of constantly pushing against our natural human limits. Be kind to the person doing all that work and that’s you. You’ve got to protect yourself, or you’ll have nothing left to give.