BHIMESH BABU CASE SPOTLIGHTS INDIA'S BURNOUT EPIDEMIC

Does the name Bhimesh Babu ring a bell? Early this month his ghastly death sparked a nationwide debate. Why did his death rekindle an age-old debate among the professionals all across India?

- SHASHI SHEKHAR

Let's first revisit the incident. Late on 1 November, Bhimesh was about to leave after winding up his work in a digital data bank in Bengaluru. For some reason bright lights hurt his eyes. So it was his usual practice to nudge his colleagues to dim unnecessary lights or switch them off. On that night he asked his junior colleague to do the same, but he got irritated and turned violent. The colleague attacked Bhimesh, brutally killing him.

This incident rekindled the 'work-life balance' debate.

Increasing workload in offices and strained relations are pushing people towards mental ailments. Many surveys claim India's ambition to become an economic superpower is resulting in a 'burnout epidemic' across the workforce.

Many surveys also claim that India is consistently topping the charts when it comes to work hours. The International Labour Organization (ILO) says the world over 48-hour work week is prevalent. India, on the contrary, is among those 13 countries where work hours are one of the longest. Its ill effects are visible. According to a survey, over 60% of the professionals show signs of burnout. Situation wasn't better ever, but during the pandemic it showed a marked deterioration. People worked from home and were instructed to remain logged in continuously.

What's the reason for "burnout syndrome'?