As India’s economic growth rises, signs of stress are appearing throughout the country.
As India’s economic growth rises, signs of stress are appearing throughout the country. Sixty-two per cent of the 3,000 people surveyed in India by global health service firm Cigna in September display some physical symptoms of stress (e.g., difficulty falling asleep at night) or emotive symptoms (e.g., cannot remember when they were happy) while more Indian working women than men reported symptoms of stress.
Employees residing in non-mega cities (75 per cent) felt they had little work-related stress compared to 66 per cent living in metro cities.
Eightseven per cent of employees in Lucknow, 81 per cent in Surat and 63 per cent in Mumbai and Bengaluru say they have little work-related stress. Satisfaction with work compensation and benefits is higher among employees of non-metro cities (69 per cent) as compared to 58 per cent in metro cities.
Cigna’s “360 Well-Being Score” revealed that most of India’s employees give high ratings to their overall health and well-being, but they want more medical benefits and help from their employers as they struggle with stress and delay having children for career and financial reasons.
Industry-wise, 73 per cent in the pharmaceutical industry reported good health and well-being in the workplace as compared to 54 per cent in the technology industry and only 39 per cent in the retail sector.
The survey which was released during a forum sponsored by Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between Cigna and the TTK Group revealed major gaps between what employees desire in medical benefits from employers and what their companies offer.
Fifty-nine per cent of those surveyed want benefits for general practitioner consultation fees, while only 39 per cent say these are provided by employers. Additionally, 31 per cent of employees want benefits for X-rays, blood tests and other diagnostic tests, while only 20 per cent say their employers offer benefits for those procedures.
