“Why did you cut off?”   

“I didn’t do so.”

The last words recorded between two pilots before the tragic Air India flight crash on 12 June 2025. There was confusion, denial, and panic in the cockpit—seconds before hundreds of lives were lost.

While investigators continue to look into what might have happened, the truth is we may never really know what exactly went wrong. When something becomes irreversible, all we’re left with is contemplation.

And in the aftermath, a wave of questions began to surface:

What was happening in the personal lives of the pilots at the time? Were they under stress? Were they sleeping well? Were they exhausted beyond recognition?

And most importantly, did anyone ask?

We may never know. We’re not jumping to conclusions. But we are left with a weight that’s hard to ignore. In fact, it leaves us with a haunting question for every workplace:

Do we really know about the person sitting beside us at work?

In most workplaces, the answer would be no. Not because people don’t care, but because we’ve never truly built cultures where it feels normal, encouraged, or safe to talk about what we’re really going through.

In recent years, India has seen a disturbing rise in workplace-related stress, burnout, and even suicides. In 2024 alone, 1,362 people died by suicide due to work-related stress, according to NCRB data. Many of them were under 30. In high-stakes, high-performance environments, the line between “doing well” and “falling apart” is terrifyingly thin.

Take the case of a 26-year-old chartered accountant who collapsed from cardiac arrest, just months into her work at a leading global firm. Her family and friends were clear: this wasn’t only about her physical health. It was chronic overwork, mental strain, and a complete absence of emotional support.

In another similar case, an IIT-IIM graduate working as a consultant at a top consultancy firm, whose promising future ended abruptly when he took his own life. In both cases, the jobs came with prestige and paychecks, but without the psychological safety needed to sustain the human being behind the employee ID.

Most companies mention mental well-being in policy emails or at big team meetings, leadership town halls, and so on. Maybe there’s a yoga day. Maybe there’s a therapist hotline no one actually uses. But beneath all that lies the uncomfortable truth: we don’t yet treat mental well-being as an integral part of performance, leadership, or culture. It’s something we showcase, not something we truly integrate. And that’s exactly what’s broken.

The Disappearing Self at Work

Somewhere along the way, being constantly tired started to look like being committed. We began to confuse long hours with passion, and staying quiet with being strong. This is quietly showing up in workplaces as fading energy, missed connections, and people no longer feeling like themselves at work.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety cost the global economy over $1 trillion each year in lost productivity. In India, stress-related health problems are now one of the leading causes of absenteeism and disengagement at work.

But beyond numbers, there’s something more personal at stake. Work should not cost us our health or our lives. No one should have to reach a breaking point to be taken seriously, simply because there was nowhere safe to go with what they were feeling.

And yet, this is the reality many live with unspoken, unsupported, unseen.

The Problem Isn’t Pressure. It’s Silence.

The truth is that most employees don't speak up when they're struggling. They’ve been taught, in subtle ways, that vulnerability has no place at work. You’re expected to show up, meet targets, stay sharp, and be productive.

Your job is to perform, and that’s it. There’s no room for emotions. And so, we learn to smile when we’re breaking down, to power through panic attacks, to cry quietly in restrooms, and mute ourselves on Zoom when emotions spill over.

Over time, the silence becomes part of the system. And workplaces, too, mirror that silence.
Of course, counselling is “available,” but only for those who ask. And asking for help often comes with a fear:
Will they see me differently? Will they think I'm weak?
The stigma around mental health is still real. The taboo around therapy still exists. And the silence that follows is often louder than any crisis.

Moving From Intent to Action

We don’t need emergency interventions. What we need is a shift in culture, where emotional support isn’t reactive but part of how we work, lead, and listen every single day.

That starts with simple, intentional actions:

• Normalising check-ins, asking: “How are you? Are you doing well?”
• Training leaders to notice emotional cues, not just missed targets or project delays.
• Making mental health conversations feel as natural as physical health, not a secret or a shame.
• Facilitating spaces where people can speak without fear of judgment or consequence.

We show up to work with more than tasks and to-do lists. We bring our whole selves, our thoughts, emotions, and everything we are holding, to be present. And unless our workplaces make space for that, we risk turning away from the very element that makes us human.

Where Culture Meets Compassion

At LeadSpectra, we’ve always believed that communication is all about belonging. And no one can truly belong in a space where their well-being is an afterthought.

That’s why we design spaces that support emotional safety, psychological ease, and human connection. We help organisations build systems that allow people to say, “I’m not okay,” before it becomes a crisis.

We do this through:

• Facilitated conversations that encourage open, guided dialogue to build trust and genuine understanding.
• Emotional intelligence sessions across all levels, leaders, managers, and employees, equipping them to recognise emotional cues and respond with clarity and compassion.
• Anonymous support mechanisms, allowing team members to reach out safely, without fear of stigma or reprisal.
• Culture check-ins that go beyond KPIs, into how teams are feeling, coping, and connecting.

We believe that every workplace should have the tools, not just the intention, to care.

Maybe the greatest form of leadership is noticing. Noticing when someone’s unusually quiet. When energy drops. When engagement fades. Noticing, not to fix, but to ask:
How can I support you right now?
Sometimes, that question alone can change the outcome. It can create the space for true potential to unfold. And in some cases, it might just save a life.

Let’s build cultures where that question isn’t the exception; it’s the norm.