Demanding targets make employees sleep less than 4-6 hours: ASSOCHAM

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 ASSOCHAM Healthcare Committee report brought out by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (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.

Releasing findings of the report, ASSOCHAM pointed out that 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, productivity and healthcare costs.

Depression is another hit heart disease that is observed among the responds with 11% of the sample corporate employees suffering these lifestyle diseases.

High blood pressures and diabetes are still another diseases with a share of 9% and 8% respectively as suffered among corporate employees. Spondolysis (5.5 per cent), heart disease (4 per cent), cervical (3.0 per cent), asthma (2.5 per cent), slip disk (2 per cent) and arthritis (1 per cent) are the diseases that are mostly suffered by corporate employees.

According to ASSOCHAM, depression, fatigue and sleeping disorder are conditions or risks that are often associated with chronic diseases and have the largest impact on productivity. It is observed in the report that corporate employees tend to ignore treatment for these chronic conditions.

Though several progressive companies provide annual health risk assessment check-ups for employees and have facilities such as gym and fitness centres in office premises, many people at the top level do not even have the time to avail of these.

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