‘India Inc’s major portion of staff suffer from depression’

Depression is reported to be one of the significant health problems facing the employees of India Inc, says a report of Assocham.

Demanding schedules, high stress levels and performance-linked perquisites are having a toll on the health of corporate India’s employees. Obesity is the second life style disease they are facing. High blood pressure and diabetes are the third and fourth major diseases, respectively.

“Nearly 42.5 per cent of employees in private sectors are afflicted from depression or general anxiety disorder, compared to government employees with lesser levels of psychological demand at work,” points out the study coinciding with the World Health Day.

Nearly 38.5 per cent of corporate employees sleep less than 6 hours in a day, due to high stressed levels that arise out of tough targets set by employers.

Also, around 57 per cent of the employees in private firms do not exercise at all. But, a majority of the government employee said that they ‘do exercise’ and physical workout to stay fit.

The rate of emotional problems such as anxiety and depression has increased by 45-50 per cent among corporate employees in the last 8 years. “Corporate employees have to survive the stiff global competitive environment to save their jobs, adding pressure on their health,” says D.S. Rawat, Secretary General of Assocham.

The report is based on the views of 1,250 employees from 150 companies across 18 broad sectors. A little over 200 people were selected from each of the following cities — Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun, among others.

Around 55 per cent of the surveyed were 20-29 years, followed by 30-39 years (26 per cent) and 40-49 years (16 per cent), among others.