India’s 82% of population suffers from high stress levels: Survey

Kolkata: Almost 82 per cent of India’s population is suffering from stress and those in the sandwich generation (aged 35-49) are most affected with around 89 per cent reporting some level of stress, reveals the Cigna’s 360 well-being survey 2019.

The survey reveals that stress levels in India remain very high compared to other developed and emerging countries such as the USA, UK, Germany, France and Australia.

The major causes of stress in the country today are work, health, and finance related issues.

Compared to other generations, the Indian sandwich generation (aged 35-49) report the lowest scores across the overall index and are particularly concerned about their physical, finance and work wellness, underscoring the need to address the stress levels and pressures of this generation, the core workforce in the coming years.

89 per cent of this segment deals with stress, compared to 87 per cent of millennials and 64 per cent of the age 50+ group. As a result, maintaining a healthy weight is a challenge for them with only half able to maintain a healthy weight compared to 58 per cent of millennials and 55 per cent of the older segment.

Less than half think they are doing well financially. They question their financial ability to meet their parents’ medical needs.  Only 51 per cent feel confident about their ability compared to 58 per cent of millennials and 62 per cent of those 50+.

Contrary to global findings, in India men (85 per cent) are more stressed than working women (82 per cent).  However, when it comes to unmanageable stress, both men and women fare the same at 5 per cent.

Similar to other markets, the  majority of women (87 per cent) think that workplace wellness programmes  need to better address the specific needs of each gender, while 63 per  cent feel that senior management do not seriously support these  programmes.

Top causes of stress for women are too much work, family finance concerns and personal health concerns.

Despite India’s relatively healthy wellness numbers, there are many ways to further improve workplace wellness programs. Starting with the  prioritisation of mental well-being and implementation of flexible work  arrangements, taking into account how working women differ with regards  to their stage in life, and single women’s needs differ from those who  are married and those with children.

Globally, only 36 per cent claim to have a workplace wellness program; in India 66 per cent claim to have one and 56 per cent participate.

However, 71 per cent feel that these programmes concentrate on physical health at the expense of mental well-being. 71 per cent receive employer support for stress, with a 59 per cent satisfaction rate (they think the support is adequate) compared to 28 per cent globally. (UNI)