Noida: As conversations around employee well-being slowly gain ground in corporate India, mental health advocates are urging organisations to look beyond productivity targets and recognise the importance of emotional and psychological health in the workplace.
Highlighting this growing need, life coach and workplace well-being speaker Coach Veena recently conducted two interactive sessions on mental health and stress management for employees of Innova Solutions in Noida. The sessions were organised in two separate shifts to ensure employees from different teams could participate without affecting their work schedules.
The workshops focused on workplace well-being, emotional resilience and practical strategies to manage stress in demanding professional environments. Despite their busy routines, employees actively engaged in the discussions, raising concerns related to career pressure, family expectations and the difficulty of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
According to Coach Veena, the level of participation reflected a strong need among professionals to openly discuss mental health challenges.
“Many organisations concentrate heavily on targets, deadlines and profit-making, but very few invest seriously in the mental well-being of their employees. It was encouraging to see employees speaking openly about their struggles and experiences,” she said during the session.
The discussions also explored several social and psychological issues affecting professionals today, particularly among younger employees and working women.
One of the key topics that emerged was the career choices of women in modern households. While Coach Veena encouraged women to continue working throughout their careers to maintain financial independence and professional identity, some participants shared a different perspective.
According to them, a section of women voluntarily choose to step away from their careers after marriage and prefer a lifestyle supported by their spouse’s income.
The discussion evolved into a broader conversation on identity, independence and long-term emotional well-being.
Some participants observed that while leaving the workforce may initially appear comfortable and stress-free, it can sometimes lead to feelings of frustration or loss of identity over time.
“Several employees shared that dependency on a partner for financial decisions can create discomfort later, especially when spending choices are questioned or when individuals feel they have lost their personal independence,” Coach Veena noted.
Another major theme that resonated strongly with participants was the mental health challenges faced by Generation Z professionals entering the workforce.
Many younger employees said their stress and anxiety often originate from pressures experienced during their formative years. According to them, parental expectations, intense academic competition and constant societal comparisons have significantly shaped their mental health.
Some participants suggested that parents, often unintentionally, transfer their own anxieties and unfulfilled ambitions to their children, which may later manifest as emotional stress in adulthood.
Coach Veena acknowledged these concerns and emphasised the need for greater emotional awareness both within families and professional spaces.
“Gen Z is much more open about discussing mental health compared to earlier generations. Instead of dismissing their concerns, it is important to understand the root causes of their anxiety and support them in building healthier coping mechanisms,” she said.
During the workshop, Coach Veena also introduced participants to several somatic techniques, which are body-based methods used to regulate stress and build emotional resilience. These tools help individuals become aware of how stress manifests physically and encourage practices such as breathing exercises, grounding techniques and mindfulness to calm the nervous system.
Participants also discussed the difference between healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Coach Veena explained that while stress is an inevitable part of professional life, the way individuals respond to it plays a crucial role in determining long-term mental health outcomes.
She cautioned against negative coping habits such as binge eating, excessive online shopping driven by emotional triggers — often referred to as “trauma shopping” — and alcohol consumption.
“These behaviours may provide temporary relief, but they do not address the root cause of stress. In many cases, they can actually worsen the problem over time,” she said.
Instead, she encouraged employees to adopt healthier alternatives such as mindful breathing, regular physical movement, open communication and setting personal boundaries in both professional and personal life.
Experts believe that initiatives like workplace mental health workshops are becoming increasingly important as organisations adapt to evolving work cultures and younger generations bring new expectations around employee well-being.
The sessions at Innova Solutions were coordinated with the support of Shilpa Rajpoot, who helped facilitate the initiative as part of the organisation’s employee engagement activities.
Reflecting on the experience, Coach Veena emphasised the importance of creating safe spaces within workplaces where employees can openly discuss emotional challenges and personal growth.
