SILENT CRISIS: RISING SUICIDES IN BANKING SECTOR
Why does someone commit suicide? Perhaps the better question is not “why”, but “when”. A person who works tirelessly, contributes to society, and earns enough to live a stable life should not be expected to take such an extreme step. With financial stability, meaningful work, and responsibility, why does this thought even enter the mind? That is why the real question should not be “why it happens”, but “when it happens”.
Imagine someone who has all the benefits(sometimes even having something to do is also a benefit) of a secure job, financial stability, and the satisfaction of contributing to society. Yet along with these come unbearable burdens — deadlines, targets, accountability, and the constant pressure of social acceptance. What should be a source of joy becomes a source of dread. The job becomes so overwhelming that:
* People wake up with anxiety attacks.
* The first thing they check each morning is their daily schedule.
* Feeling breathless before meetings.
* Not finding any purpose in life.
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* Stress makes them forget even the way home.
* Getting bitter so that frustration spills over onto loved ones — children, spouses, parents or onto subordinates at work.
This creates a vicious cycle of negative thoughts, a dangerous vacuum that sometimes leads a person to end their life. And with that decision, everything they built — their reputation, achievements, wealth, and dreams — turns into a painful memory rather more correctly a curse for those they leave behind. Families, friends, and colleagues are left questioning, broken, and burdened, the same person who wanted to see the success and happiness.
In recent years, such cases have sadly been increasing. We, as a society, have grown so fragile that walking away from life seems easier than facing challenges. A minor inconvenience — traffic jams, bad weather, workplace stress — feels like hell. But is life really harder now, or have we simply become weaker? If we go back a few couple of years weren’t there any targets or wasn’t there some new schemes or policies that was a tough challenge or wasn’t there a dictator boss who was always interested in targets and never cared about mental or physical health of employees. Yes off course time has changed and everything now a days is so fast paced that if not keep checked everything will start to fall apart but so does in the past. We have daily target meetings and monthly rankings but in the past reviews were also difficult as top management used to had only one or two instance to review performance. Wasn’t there any transfers earlier? Even if most of the people used to get posting as per their choice then also logically there were some who were not satisfied and used to end up in undesired postings. Were there no outside or political influence earlier in branches? Wasn’t there any accountability for mistakes and wrongdoings?
Consider this: a man with a homemaker wife and a young daughter takes his own life, citing work pressure. What happens to his family? His wife may never smile again. His daughter may grow up fearful of challenges. The house he built, the car he bought, the dreams he nurtured — all become symbols of loss rather than pride. Eventually, loved ones may even resent him for leaving them when they needed him most. Is that really a solution? Will this man be happy in hell of heaven or god knows what ever is after death?
The root of this crisis lies in mental and emotional well-being. In difficult times, one must pause and ask: “Is this problem really worth dying for?” Most often, the answer is no. Problems are temporary and solvable when addressed with the right support. The worst that can happen is that you will lose your job even that situation is not the end of the world. You can still take care of your family and be of use rather than leaving them in pain for entire life. May be it would be too tough but it already was tough moreover your family has you. Its only you who has the responsibility to take care of your family, not your organisation, not your boss, not targets or deadlines.
Thankfully, awareness is growing. Many organizations now recognize the importance of mental health, but much more needs to be done. Counselling has to be more confidential and easily accessible. HR must be trained to identify early warning signs and act with discretion. Regular mental health sessions should be mandatory, and employees should feel strong enough to share struggles with trained professionals. Families, too, must feel free to approach HR if they notice alarming stress signals. With increasing pace of life it has become necessary to support every individual morally and mentally by organization as well as by himself.
Above all, we must remember: suicide is never a solution — it only creates deeper problems for loved ones. Every problem has a solution, but finding it requires courage. Talking about mental health is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of strength. Top management, unions, and society as a whole must treat human resources as their most valuable asset and work in unison to address the issue and try to work out some robust solution .
A small step — a conversation, a supportive gesture, an acknowledgment — can create waves of change. If you are feeling low, recognize the signs, seek help, and remember: taking care of your mental health is not cowardice. It is courage.
