Economic crisis takes toll on health of employees: Survey
Press Trust Of India / New Delhi Apr 07, 2009, 01:10 IST
The global economic recession is taking a toll on the health of workforce, particularly worst hit are the financial and IT sectors, with the pressure on saving jobs leading to many diseases like spondylitis and obesity, industry body Assocham said.
On the eve of the World Health Day, Assocham released a study ‘Corporate Workforce: Chronic and Lifestyle Disease’. The reports is based on views of 210 corporate employees from 200 various companies across 18 broad sectors like media, telecom and knowledge process outsourcing.
According to the study, 54 per cent of the workforce in IT/ITeS sector were found to be afflicted to diseases such as depression, severe headache, obesity, spondylitis and hypertension. “Corporate employees have to survive the stiff global competitive environment to save their jobs, adding pressure on their health leading to silent diseases,” Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.
The financial services sector reported that 47 per cent of employees are suffering from fatigue, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, the chamber said.
In media sector, 51 per cent of the respondents reported to be sick due to depression and high blood pressure and 50 per cent of employees working in the knowledge process outsourcing sectors were found to be suffering with chronic and lifestyle diseases, the study said.
Besides, 27 per cent of telecom sector employees are suffering from chronic diseases.
The chamber further said the National Commission on Sleep Disorders estimates that lack of sleep leads to higher stress and reduced workplace productivity.
However, the study found that few sectors like education, FMCG and textiles reported very less percentage of employees suffering from severe health problems.
For all these stress related problems,Pranayam exercises lasting for about 45 to 50 minutes daily would do wonders, i am speaking from personal experience. I am in late sixties and I have never felt so healthy and agile as of now only because of pranayam.Persons interested can contact me.
R P Sharma
sharrp@gmail.com
This generation of people are better placed than their parents but their health is not good. The reasons are greed for money, quick growth, lack of discipline, poor eating habits, smoking, drinking and worry about every thing. If you pump them with lots of money also , they will be still worried affecting the health. The root cause is contented life and disciple to have healthy and happy life. Unfortunately the corporates, policy makers, society don't want this and who is to blame?
Content Guide
