Click to play videoNew Delhi: An employee in a reputed corporate firm has not gone to office for three days now.
The reason- in his own words, “I have taken leave of three days in a row. I am stressed out,” says Sushmit.
Sushmit is not alone. A survey by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations has found that 25 per cent of Indian firms lose about 14 per cent of their annual working days due to employee sickness.
Long work hours and night shifts only go to affect both the mind and the heart.
“They have emotional effects like irritability, sadness and anxiety and have social effects because when the corporate workers are working in a night shift the world is sleeping,” says psychiatrist, MAX, Dr Samir Parikh.
“There are a group of people with heart attacks coming in by leading such lives which is alien to the normal body,” adds Chief Cardiologist, MAX, Dr Ashok Seth.
This cumulative decline in productivity all over India is now taking its toll on the national economy.
Reports suggest that India stands to lose over $200 billion in the next 10 years. And the hugely successful outsourcing industry could be one of the worst hit.
“Big issues need to be addressed if India has to compete in world market,” says Gen Manager HR, LG, Ashok Kumar.
The Government is now all set to frame a health policy for BPO staff. Ministries of Health and Info Tech will be meeting this week to put a dedicated IT policy in place by 2008. Preventive health care is the need of the hour
“We actually have to make sure that gymming facilities, and relaxation facilities are provided to the employees,” says Dr Seth.
And many firms have already started going the health way.
“We have an employee health plan and also have an exercise and yoga session,” says Kumar.
So India's per capita expenditure on health is one of the lowest in the world, but now corporates are realising that health is actual wealth.
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