Work Life ‘Balance’? 60 Per Cent Indians Say Its Terrible; Lack Of Sleep, Depression Top Reported Illnesses

According to a recent report, more than half of Indian professionals rate their work-life balance as terrible and 67 per cent of India’s workforce either sometimes, often or always think about work when away from work, reports Economic Times (ET).

The report titled ‘Understanding Work-Life Balance' was based on a survey of 2,000 working professionals. Jobs portal Monster.com published the report.

Also around 50 per cent of those surveyed who currently were in a relationship stated that the lack of work-life balance made them or their partners irritable or ill-tempered.

17 per cent of the professionals reported that lack of sleep was the top work-related illnesses. This was followed by depression (16 per cent), anxiety & irritability (9 per cent), hypertension (4.5 per cent). Back pain (15 per cent), frequent headaches & fatigue (14 per cent), and obesity (5 per cent) were cited as other stress-related physical ailments.

In the survey, when the professionals were asked to what work-life balance stood for, ‘flexible work hours’ was the top response at 41 per cent, followed by leaving work on time and not bringing work home at 39 per cent. Around 40 per cent of the workers stated work-life balance also involved the time get time to pursue their hobbies and passion.

Dichotomy Visible

Commenting on the negative outlook among the workforce, Abhijeet Mukherjee, CEO, Monster.com, APAC & Gulf said: “If, there’s one thing that comes out distinct in this survey is dichotomy. At one level, 60 per cent of Indian respondents feel that they balance their work and life; while on the other hand, as high as about 78 per cent respondents would like to be ‘segmentors’ and not ‘blenders’ i.e. clearly defined boundaries between their personal and work lives and not blurring the line.”

Also Read: Home, Not So Sweet Anymore? New Study Says Working From Home Could Be Stressful