Nearly 56% of corporate employees sleep less than 6 hours in a day due to high stressed levels that arise out of tough targets set for themselves by employers and cause diseases like hypertension, sugar etc., according to a report brought out by ASSOCHAM. Setting of unreasonable and unrealistic targets causes lack of sleep has wide ranging effects including daytime fatigue, physical discomfort, psychological stress, performance deterioration and low pain threshold and even increase absenteeism, adds findings of report. Sleep deprivation costs USD 150 billion a year in higher stress and reduced workplace productivity. The work performance pressure, peer pressure, difficult boss, all of this is taking a toll on physical and mental health of people, adds the survey.
As per the findings, about 46% of the workforce in organisations in India suffers from some or the other form of stress. The stress could be related to personal issues, office politics, or performance target issues. There is a rising case of metabolic syndrome that includes diabetes, high uric acid, high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol. ASSOCHAM findings, however, further reveal that 46% of respondents say that they feel fatigue on regular basis due to sleep disorders and close to 42% of participants in the survey admit that they suffer from regular headache. Sleep disorders cause depression among 49% of respondents.
In terms of physical fitness, it is found out that 30% of corporate employees say that they hardly exercise against 25% who physically exercise but for less than 1 hour a week. About 24% of employees exercise for 1-3 hours a week against 9% of employees who exercise for 3-6 hours a week and merely 5% stay fit by exercising for more than 6 hours a week.About 16% of sample population of the report claim that they suffer from obesity. It is found that obesity alone can modify occupational morbidity, mortality and injury risk that can further affect workplace absence, disability, and productivity and healthcare costs. Depression is another factor that triggers heart disease that is observed among the responds with 11% of the sample corporate employees suffering these symptoms.
