Sustainable Performance : The urgent need for Compassionate Leadership & Psychological Safety

Just recently, the tragic death of a 26-year-old executive at EY shook India’s corporate world. His passing, reportedly due to stress and anxiety triggered by the pressures of the workplace, has become a stark reminder that the relentless race for performance is costing more than just revenue—it’s costing lives. As organizations push their employees to do more, be more, and achieve more, they often lose sight of the well-being of the very people driving their success.

This incident forces us to ask: What kind of culture are we fostering when employees feel overwhelmed and trapped to the point where it affects their mental health? And what are the long-term consequences for organizations that allow this to happen?

The High Cost of Toxic Management

The young EY executive’s tragic end was not an isolated case—it is emblematic of a larger issue plaguing many workplaces today. Poor hiring decisions, unrealistic expectations, and managerial oppression are becoming disturbingly common. Employees are overburdened, constantly micro-managed, or even publicly humiliated in the name of performance. The focus on short-term productivity comes at a hidden but immense cost: the mental health and well-being of the workforce.

The consequences of such an environment extend beyond individual tragedies like this. They manifest in high attrition, disengagement, and a decline in creativity and innovation. When employees live in constant fear of failure or rebuke, they focus only on surviving, not thriving.

Psychological Safety: The Foundation of True High Performance

Research consistently shows that psychological safety—the ability to speak up, admit mistakes, and share ideas without fear of punishment—is critical for team performance. Had the EY executive, or others like him, felt safe enough to express their struggles or ask for help, perhaps his story would have ended differently. In psychologically unsafe environments, however, employees are conditioned to suppress vulnerability, further isolating them in moments of stress.

Google’s well-known “Project Aristotle” highlighted that psychological safety was the single most important factor in determining a team’s success. Without it, no amount of talent or resources can drive long-term, meaningful performance. Yet, in many workplaces, fear and overwork have taken precedence over care and collaboration.

The Importance of Compassionate Leadership

Compassionate leadership is the antidote to the kind of oppressive work culture that led to the EY executive’s tragic death. Compassionate leaders prioritize the mental and emotional well-being of their teams alongside business outcomes. They listen, they support, and they act with empathy—not as a weakness, but as a strategic strength.

When leaders demonstrate care for their employees’ well-being, employees feel seen, heard, and valued. This fosters trust and loyalty, which are essential for long-term commitment and sustained performance.

But compassionate leadership goes beyond words. It involves mindful work allocation—ensuring that employees aren’t crushed under unreasonable workloads. It requires building a culture of accountability without fear—one where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities, not career-ending failures. Most importantly, it involves recognizing the signs of burnout and stress before they spiral out of control.

Managerial Oppression: A Toxic Cycle

The toxic leadership behaviors that contribute to tragic outcomes, such as the EY executive’s death, are all too common. Command-and-control leadership, where directives are handed down without input and employees are left to shoulder impossible expectations, creates a culture of fear. Fear drives people to work harder, yes—but at the cost of their health and, ultimately, their lives.

In such environments, employees avoid taking risks or speaking up about workload concerns, for fear of being labeled “weak” or “incapable.” Instead, they continue pushing, hiding their stress until it becomes unbearable. This dangerous pattern often leads to burnout, mental health issues, or worse.

The irony is that while these environments may deliver short-term gains in performance, they ultimately result in high turnover, absenteeism, and a decline in innovation. People cannot sustain high performance in an environment where they feel emotionally unsafe or unsupported.

Compassionate Leadership for Long-Term Success

Organizations must learn from this tragic incident and rethink their approach to leadership and performance. The time has come to acknowledge that sustained performance comes not from squeezing every last drop of effort out of employees but from fostering environments of psychological safety and care.

Compassionate leadership doesn’t mean avoiding tough conversations or decisions. It means being thoughtful in how we approach those conversations. It means balancing the needs of the business with the needs of the people who drive it. It’s about recognizing that well-being and performance are intertwined, and one cannot be sacrificed for the other without dire consequences.

How Organizations Can Change

To prevent more tragedies like the EY executive’s, organizations must take active steps to shift their culture:

1. Prioritize Psychological Safety Across All Levels

Leaders must create environments where employees feel free to voice concerns without fear of retribution. This involves modeling vulnerability and actively soliciting feedback.

2. Hire for Emotional Intelligence, Not Just Skills

Compassionate leadership starts with hiring managers and leaders who have a high degree of emotional intelligence. Leaders must be able to recognize the emotional cues of their teams and respond with empathy and action.

3. Workload Must Be Sustainable, Not Heroic

Overloading employees with work may seem like a short-term win, but it’s a long-term failure. Leaders must be conscious of distributing work fairly and setting realistic goals.

4. Create Accountability Without Punishment

Compassionate leaders understand that accountability doesn’t have to be punitive. Encouraging a culture where mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn builds resilience and confidence in teams.

5. Monitor Employee Well-Being as a Key Metric

Instead of focusing solely on performance outcomes, leaders should track indicators of employee well-being, such as engagement levels and mental health. A healthier workforce is a more productive one.

6. Connect with Empathy, Lead with Compassion

Ultimately, the culture of fear and oppression that led to the young EY executive’s death can only be eradicated when leaders make empathy a cornerstone of their leadership style. Leaders who care for their people drive performance through trust, not fear.

The Path Forward: Well-Being is Good Business

The heartbreaking loss of the young EY executive should be a wake-up call for all organizations. His story is not an isolated incident but a reflection of a broader crisis in workplaces where mental health is ignored and well-being is sacrificed in the name of performance. It’s time for a shift—a shift toward compassionate leadership, where psychological safety is prioritized and well-being is seen as a non-negotiable pillar of long-term success.

Sustained performance is possible, but it requires leaders to care deeply about their people and do hard things in a human way. When employees feel safe, supported, and valued, they are not only able to achieve more but also find purpose and fulfillment in their work. Compassionate leadership is not a luxury—it’s a necessity, for the health of employees and the success of organizations alike.

Let this be our moment of change. Let’s lead with compassion, and in doing so, let’s build workplaces that honor the humanity of those within them.