Crushed by Code: 23 yrs-old Techie's Suicide puts India’s Burnout Culture Under Scrutiny

On April 6, 2025, tragedy struck Kochi’s tech corridor. A 23-year-old software engineer working at a local IT firm, Jacob Thomas, died by suicide, reportedly unable to cope with overwhelming work pressure.

While this young man's story made headlines, it's far from an isolated incident. It's part of a disturbing trend where rising numbers of employees, particularly in high-pressure industries like tech and finance, are succumbing not just to burnout but to despair.

A Country Struggling with Balance

India was ranked 48th out of 100 countries in the 2024 Global Work- Life Balance Index, far below global standards. The index considered multiple factors such as average work hours, commute time, vacation days, mental health support, and overall happiness.

Indian workers log an average of 47 hours per week, often stretching well beyond that in white-collar industries. This is compounded by long commutes, late-night calls with overseas clients, and a relentless pressure to “hustle” in a hyper-competitive job market.

And it’s not just India. The World Health Organization and International Labour Organization jointly reported that overwork led to 745,000 deaths worldwide in 2016 alone, a number likely higher today due to the rise of remote work blurring boundaries even further.

The Trend: Suicide Crisis in White-Collar Workspaces

The Kochi suicide is not an anomaly. It’s the latest in a rising number of workplace-related mental health crises. In October 2024, 26-year-old Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant at Ernst & Young in Pune, died of cardiac arrest. Her family blamed the firm’s toxic work culture and excessive hours.

Similarly, several employees working at top MNCs have died by suicide or reported burnout in the past two years. These incidents reflect a grim reality; workplaces in India are increasingly becoming environments where mental health deteriorates faster than careers can progress.

Toxic Workplaces Are Not Just Bad Luck — They're Designed That Way

The IT and startup ecosystems in India often valorize overwork, mistaking it for dedication. From “hustle culture” to 24/7 availability expectations, companies, particularly startups and MNCs, frequently create a toxic productivity loop; unrealistic deadlines, inadequate team support, poor management training, and negligible mental health infrastructure.

While Western companies are progressively acknowledging burnout as a serious concern, Indian firms lag behind. A 2022 Deloitte report found that 80% of Indian employees had experienced burnout, yet only 29% felt comfortable talking about mental health at work.

Gen Z is Saying “No” to Toxic Norms

The younger generation is no longer silently enduring. According to a 2024 Unstop study, 72% of Gen Z professionals in India prioritize job satisfaction and work- life balance over salary. Another survey by the RPG Group showed that 64% of Gen Z respondents preferred employers who offered flexible working options, and 61% were willing to take a pay cut for mental well-being and inclusivity.

This shift reflects a growing rejection of the old "grind-till-you-drop" mentality. But the cost of this transformation is currently being paid in lives.

Why Now? Why So Often?

So why is this crisis becoming more visible now?

1. Workplace Expectations Have Changed: Post-pandemic, people value flexibility, mental health, and time over rigid KPIs. But many companies have reverted to pre-2020 models, causing friction.

2. Lack of Managerial Training: In India’s fast-growing tech and startup sectors, people are often promoted into leadership roles without emotional intelligence or people management skills, leading to toxic hierarchies.

3. Inadequate Mental Health Infrastructure: Very few Indian firms offer accessible mental health counseling. Fewer still normalize its use.

4. Silence and Stigma: Suicide is still taboo in Indian society. Many of these incidents are underreported or brushed under the carpet as “personal issues,” preventing systemic change.

What Needs to Change

This crisis cannot be solved by grief alone. It requires institutional reform:

• Companies must invest in employee wellness programs that go beyond lip service.
• HR must be restructured to prioritize mental safety, not just compliance.
• Managers should be trained not just in performance metrics, but empathy, compassion, and crisis management.
• Government labor bodies should introduce stricter regulations around work hours, mandatory vacation, and mental health support.

A Human Problem Demanding Human Solutions

The suicide of a young engineer in Kochi isn’t just a personal tragedy, it’s a societal failure. We’ve created a system that celebrates output over humanity, rewards sacrifice over sustainability, and labels exhaustion as ambition.

The question now is: how many more lives must we lose before we rewrite the story?