Why are Indian employees so stressed?

Three out of five employees in India are experiencing high or extreme levels of stress. This is almost 31 per cent more than last year. This revelation could not have come at a better time.

Just when Karnataka’s labour department is proposing to increase the working hours of IT/ITeS employees to 14 per day, the Emotional Wellness State of Corporates report reinforces what most employers already know but choose to take lightly—Stress is taking a toll on employees!

The survey by YourDOST, which involved over 2,000 employees in the age group of 21-70 from various companies, reveals some alarming facts and insights into the stress levels at the workplace and the factors that cause stress at the workplace.

While 57.6 per cent employees report high stress, 38 per cent report moderate stress, 1.9 per cent report low stress and 2.5 per cent report extreme stress. And why exactly are they feeling so much stress?

Well, about 20.5 per cent employees felt they were not living a well-balanced life. That is hardly news, is it? Very few employees in India would admit to enjoying balance between work and home. Those who appear to have struck the right balance are, in all probability, compromising in terms of career growth, or have chosen to let their careers take a back seat. About 14.7 per cent felt they were always being judged, and that was stressing them out. About 12.8 per cent said they always felt low, while 12.3 per cent felt they lacked recognition, which was a cause of stress.

The report observes an increase in negative workplace perceptions among employees, suggesting a significant impact of high stress levels. There was about 9.54 per cent rise in perceptions of below-average organisational wellness, a 7.79 per cent increase in perceived lack of emotional support, a 5.02 per cent growth in dissatisfaction with work relationships, and a 1.76 per cent increase in poor ratings of emotional wellness. Clearly, stress is adversely affecting quality of life, and that means, there is an urgent need for interventions to reduce this stress.

A study of the counseling sessions held for employees reveals that maximum number of employees seek help to reduce stress caused by their need for self-improvement, their relationship issues and career anxiety in that order. Therefore, employers must realise that employees need support programmes covering not just career counselling but diversity, mental health, as well as personal growth and development.

Under self-improvement, employees seem to have sought help to work on their tendency to overthink. A good 32.2 per cent counselling sessions took place to help individuals who struggled with anxiety and their tendency to ruminate. These sessions indicate that employees are increasingly seeking help early on. This also means that more organisations/employers are keen to spread awareness and are actively encouraging their employees to openly discuss and talk about mental health.

According to the survey, over 30 per cent have sought help with overthinking, while over 15 per cent have attended counselling sessions to work on their self-esteem. Nearly 15 per cent have been counselled on building confidence, while less than 10 per cent have sought help with feelings of loneliness. Over five per cent employees have sought help with decision making, while about four per cent have asked for help with concentration/focus issues. An equal number have approached counsellors for their anger issues, while less than four per cent have sought assistance with time-management issues. About three per cent have sought counselling to battle procrastination, and two per cent for sleep issues.

Maybe Karnataka really does need to reconsider the recent amendment to the Act that will normalise 14 hours of work a day? Employees are already struggling. Won’t  70 hours of work a week drive them toward burnout and depression?