Workplace Burnout And Mental Health: The Silent Gap In ESG’s Social Pillar: A Comparative Analysis
- IJLLR Journal
- Jan 31
- 2 min read
Indulekha T M, LLM (Corporate and Commercial Law), Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore
ABSTRACT
Workplace burnout and mental health issues are the main causes that have been overlooked in the corporate social responsibility sphere in emerging markets. Out of this, the psychological well-being of employees at the workplace is the most affected, in the case of Indian corporate employees, who are at moderate to high mental health risk levels, and thus it requires immediate policy intervention. The paper uses doctrinal legal methodology and comparative policy analysis to study workplace burnout, mental health interventions, and integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks across the Indian corporate sector. The paper discloses that workplace mental health has a great bearing on the organizational outcomes, and these outcomes include loss of productivity, employee retention, healthcare expenditures, and corporate reputation. Though an Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) has been widely adopted, and digital mental health platforms are in use, effectiveness gaps still exist as a result of the following: the absence of impact evaluation mechanisms, the cultural stigma that is still very much prevalent, and the insufficient integration of the interventions into the organisational systems. India's legal framework comprises the Mental Healthcare Act 2017, the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code 2020, and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, which are somewhat disjointed. It does not address psychosocial hazards, nor does it clearly stipulate employer duties for mental health protection. On the other hand, the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting framework does not have standardised metrics for mental health, and therefore disclosure is made at the discretion of the party rather than there being a sense of accountability.
The comparison of the international frameworks with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards and other such frameworks reveals that the latter have more rigorous mental health requirements and better occupational protections. The paper argues that bridging the social responsibility gap requires synchronized reforms at occupational safety legislation levels, ESG standards, workplace culture, and systemic interventions dealing with structural psychosocial hazards. The organization's resilience and workforce sustainability in the scenario of the Indian corporate sector's evolution call for the implementation of the strategic integration agenda that includes multi-stakeholder governance, stigma reduction initiatives that are culturally sensitive, and mandatory mental health risk assessments.
Keywords: Workplace burnout; Mental health; ESG frameworks; Occupational safety; Psychosocial hazards; Corporate interventions; Legal framework; India; Employee well-being.
