From stigma to support: Rethinking workplace well-being
Normalising mental health conversations at work is critical. Safe, confidential counselling services can transform organisational culture and employee well-being.
Arya, a mid-level manager in an architecture firm in Jodhpur (names/references changed), had just resumed work as the Lead Architect of a team of eight after a seven-month maternity break. She was struggling with the guilt of leaving her infant son at home while balancing her professional aspirations. She was a sincere worker and had a very supportive family, yet she felt the need for a safe, friendly space to express her conflicted emotions. A conversation with a co-worker only yielded an unhelpful response: “Maybe you should have taken a longer maternity break. Family should come first; work can wait. As a mother, you are the primary carer.” Arya hesitated to share her feelings with anyone else, fearing judgement as both an irresponsible mother and an incompetent team leader. At that time, what she needed was neither advice nor reassurance, and definitely not a moral judgement, but a psychological safe space to make sense of the conflicting emotions that were creating turmoil.
Raman, a junior manager in a consultancy firm, had been battling burnout for several months. Having joined straight out of a premier business school, he was putting in 60 hours a week and was considered a strong performer. Eighteen months later, he felt exhausted and under immense pressure to continue delivering results. When he opened up to his mentor, he was simply advised to “take a vacation to reset over the weekend.” This only deepened his anxiety, reinforcing his fear that admitting to mental health struggles would make him appear weak and jeopardise his career growth.
In our conversations with employees about their lived experiences regarding mental health and well-being at work, we see more similar concerns being reported. A lot of good organisations have made a positive start with encouraging conversations around mental well-being, conducting wellness sessions, and even introducing ‘mental health breaks’, and having access to counselling facilities. However, these are sometimes relegated to mere checkboxes or tokenism. And having these initiatives does not necessarily translate into employees availing themselves of them. A larger and more focused discussion around the stigmas and anxieties around availing these services also needs to be done in organisations regularly.
Why discussions on mental health matter at work
Mental health counselling faces its first hurdle in being a stigmatised and uncomfortable subject. In most workplaces, employees seeking a safe space to voice their concerns are often met with awkward silence at best and condemnation of their vulnerability at worst. High-potential employees are expected to embody ‘hustle culture’ and constant resilience, leaving little room for open dialogue on mental health. These concerns can become significant for those employees who work in high-performing teams and where stress or burnout is almost worn as a badge of honour or where older or more senior employees talk about how in their early career days, “we used to put in so much more time in the office, we almost did not go home, and we worked so hard.” The challenge, therefore, has three areas that need to be thought about – availability, accessibility, and trust.
The organisation may offer Employee Assistance Programs or access to counselling facilities, but they also need to ensure that employees can access that without discomfort or unwanted visibility. And when both these conditions are met, employees need to be able to trust that seeking support or talking about uncomfortable topics or not being able to cope with work demands will not result in moral judgements or ostracism or negative repercussions on performance or promotions. In many organisations, HR often doubles up as counsellor, but employees may mistrust HR’s confidentiality, worrying that disclosures could be used against them during appraisals.
For instance, Sita, a mid-level manager in an architecture firm, shared, “We have an external counsellor who comes to the office every Friday, but if I go to her cabin, people will know. That will cast doubts about my leadership. And how do I know the counsellor won’t share my data with the company, since they pay her?” In another case, a financial services organisation attempted to offer support by running a counselling workshop delivered by its own employees. However, uptake was poor, as most feared potential repercussions. Sita’s case highlights an important difference between confidentiality and perceived confidentiality.
Organisations may have formal guardrails protecting counselling conversations, but unless employees understand and trust those guardrails, the service may still feel risky. And it is not the counsellor or even HR that can be condemned for it. It speaks to a larger culture of lack of psychological safety and fear of judgement. The physical design of this service is also important. Having the counsellor in a prominent location may grab more attention, while relegating it to a dusty, dark corner may signal low significance. The lesson for organisations is that good intentions do not automatically create psychological safety.
The digital solution: How online counselling is helping employees
A workplace culture that fosters psychological safety, where employees can be emotionally vulnerable without fear of reproach, is key to reducing stigma around mental health. One constructive step is providing employees with access to confidential and anonymous counselling services. Designing systems from the employees’ perspective in this regard can be facilitated by asking three simple questions to begin with –
1. Is support available?
All employees need to be informed regularly where they can seek help and access it, whether it is in the orientation of new employees or a separate session for existing employees, as well as bulletin boards or group announcements. Mental health resources cannot be something that employees are made aware of only if they have a breakdown or undergo a crisis. It is not an organisation secret that needs to be protected but rather a feature that needs to be highlighted.
2. Can employees access it privately and conveniently?
This is where online counselling can become a lucrative option of being anonymous and subject to less scrutiny. Digital access also removes the barrier of geographical availability and any other physical work arrangements being affected.
3. Do employees trust the system?
This is the most challenging question to answer. Clear communication and systems meant to offer a safe space for feedback, endorsement and normalisation by the leadership on mental health conversations, as well as transparency of data-sharing clauses, would help in establishing that trust. As the old saying goes, ‘trust begets trust.’
Some organisations have taken the lead in this direction. An FMCG multinational, for example, offers counselling services through a dedicated team. While confidentiality concerns remain, these initiatives represent a step forward. Online counselling platforms can also be strengthened through external audit processes, ensuring transparency, accountability, and the protection of employee trust.
Although only a few organisations currently provide such services, those that do stand out for at least acknowledging the importance of employee mental health and normalising the reality of “bad days at the office”. Even providing a safe space for one employee can have a transformative effect on workplace culture.
Still a work in progress
We may not yet have a perfect model for mental health counselling that is universally accessible, affordable, and trustworthy. What matters is that more organisations are beginning to acknowledge the need for safe spaces and are normalising mental health as a workplace concern.
Providing access to counselling is just the first step. Building inclusive, supportive, and psychologically safe workplaces requires sustained investment in people-first policies and processes. Leaders must recognise their teams not as dispensable resources, but as human beings deserving of dignity, respect, trust, and care. Recognising that for a lot of employees, managers may be their first point of conversation on such issues and not counsellors is important. This does not mean that managers or mentors need to be trained as therapists, but they can be sensitised to becoming better listeners without dismissing the concerns, without alarming the person, and gently nudging towards thinking about additional support and guiding them towards it. A simple response that Raman’s manager could have given, “This sounds difficult. Would you like to talk about what is happening?” This reduces the pressure off Raman and invites him to talk about what is on his mind other than just simply dismissing it as ‘take the weekend off’? The distinction may appear to be small, but it signals whether vulnerability is something that can be talked about at work safely. Managers need to remember that any conversation, however awkward or difficult it is, affects the people involved in the conversation, and empathy goes a long way in handling such conversations.
Providing support to create psychological safety
As society gradually shifts towards prioritising mental well-being, such initiatives within workplaces will contribute to broader change. With employees often spending more time at work than at home, creating a culture of mental health support is not just a responsibility but a necessity. The statistics on reported workplace mental health concerns globally are alarming. By offering online counselling services through external vendors while ensuring anonymity, confidentiality, and psychological safety, organisations can help create healthier, more resilient, and more positive workplaces. For further insights into the evolving workplace paradigm, visit
- From stigma to support: Rethinking workplace well-being - August 25, 2026
