Not Just Employees, Founders Too Face Mental Stress At Work, Says Study

YourDOST, a mental health StartUp’s study has revealed that nearly 31 per cent of Indian entrepreneurs have imposter syndrome. The study titled ‘Emotional Wellbeing of Entrepreneurs 2024’ stated that those in the initial stage of their entrepreneurial journey have high levels of the syndrome due to high pressure to perform well in early stages. Highlighting the impact of pressure and uncertainties, the study revealed that 43 per cent of the initial-stage entrepreneurs feel lower satisfaction as opposed to 59 per cent of the experienced ones. 

The study by the mental health StartUp examined entrepreneurs' mental health on key parameters like stress management, leadership under pressure, support system accessibility and burnout prevention. 

Also Read: Anxious, Exhausted, Sinking: Why Young Indians Are Struggling at Work

The report highlighted that nearly 48 per cent of the founders feel low community support while 31 per cent experience strong support from within the entrepreneurial group. 

When it comes to maintaining work-life balance, the study stated that women StartUps founders are doing better than their male counterparts. 58 per cent female founders have work-life balance as opposed to 37 per cent male entrepreneurs. In terms of emotional well-being too, women founders have outpaced male counterparts, with 68 per cent of females being able to cope with emotions vis-a-vis 55 per cent male founders. 

StartUps Struggle with Work-Life Balance 

The study comes at a time when toxic work culture has become the central point of many discussions, largely due to the work-life imbalance experienced by the employees. The debate around it has come to the forefront as many workers have shared their experiences on various social media platforms. The conversation around it sparked when the news of a 26-year-old audit firm Ernst & Young employee's death came under spotlight.

Also Read: Leaders Must Champion an Open Environment, Says Neerja Birla

Recently, Daksh Gupta, CEO of AI StartUp Greptile, faced backlash after he advocated 84-hour work weeks. “I emphasize the environment is high stress, and there is no tolerance for poor work,” said Gupta in a post on X on November 9. 

Things like hustle culture and the ‘70-hours work week’ have become a success mantra by some business leaders. The study by the mental health StartUp sheds light on the debate and highlights the plight of founders in the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey. While everyone wants to contribute to India’s growth story, particularly the growing Indian StartUps segment, the study revealed that the cost the founders are paying in the initial stages of establishing a business.