ASSOCHAM survey reveals that 42.5% of corporate employees suffer from depression

Around 55% of the survey respondents fall under the age bracket of 20-29 years

Nearly 42.5 per cent of employees in private sectors suffer from depression or general anxiety disorder compared to government employees, said a recent study done by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Coinciding with the World Health Day, the study prepared by ASSOCHAM on “Preventive Healthcare: Impact on Corporate Sector” reveals that depression is the first hard hit disease that was observed among the respondents, with 42.5 per cent of the corporate employees suffering from this lifestyle disease. 

“The rate of emotional problems such as anxiety and depression has increased by 45-50 per cent among corporate employees in the last eight years,” said the study.

The report is based on the views of 1,250 corporate employees from 150 companies across 18 broad sectors like media, telecom and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) etc.

The second disease which is troubling employees is obesity, with almost 23 per cent of the sample corporate employees suffering from it alone. 

The report included the major cities - like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabd, Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun etc. – with a little over 200 employees selected from each city on an average. 

Delhi ranks first afflicted from depression or general anxiety disorder followed by Bangalore (2nd), Mumbai (3rd), Ahmedabad (4th) Chandigarh (5th), Hyderbad (6th) and Pune (7th ).

High blood pressure and Diabetes are the third and fourth largest disease with a share of 9 per cent and 8 per cent respectively as suffered among the corporate employees.

"Corporate employees have to survive the stiff global competitive environment to save their jobs, adding pressure on their health, leading to silent diseases," said Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM while releasing the survey.

Nearly 38.5 per cent of corporate employees sleep less than 6 hours in a day due to high stress levels arising out of tough targets set for them by employers.

“About 48 per cent of respondents said that they feel fatigue on regular basis due to general anxiety and close to 27 per cent of participants in the survey admit that they suffer from regular headache,” said the study.

In terms of the physical fitness, around 57 per cent of the employees in the private organization said they 'do not exercise at all', 23 per cent do physical workout devoting less than 1 hour per week and 12 per cent of the employees exercise for 1-3 hours per week.  

“Work pressure is a killer these days. Lack of self-confidence, unrealistic expectations and a nutrient deficient diet are factors that trigger off the condition too. Biological, psychological and environmental factors play a role too”, said Dr. B K Rao, Chairman of ASSOCHAM Health Committee Council.

Around 55 per cent of the survey respondents fall under the age bracket of 20-29 years, followed by 30-39 years (26 per cent), 40-49 years (16 per cent), 50-59 years (2 per cent) and 60-69 years (approximately 1 per cent).