News - One in four of India Inc lacks sleep
Behind the shining success of India Inc is a tired, sleepdeprived and chronically ill corporate workforce, which is collapsing under the weight of tough targets and extreme stress, a nationwide survey of corporate sector employees has found.
One in four employees in the corporate sector is sleep-deprived, managing less than six hours of shut-eye in a day. Nearly a third hardly exercise, while a fourth manage less than an hour a week of physical exercise, a survey by industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has found.
''Nearly 24 per cent of corporate employees sleep less than six hours in a day due to high stress levels that arise out of tough targets set for them by employers,'' says a healthcare status report brought out by Assocham.
Loss of sleep has wide ranging effects, including daytime fatigue, physical discomfort, psychological stress, performance deterioration, low pain threshold and even increases absenteeism, it says.
Releasing the report in New Delhi on Wednesday, D.S. Rawat, secretary general of Assocham, pointed out that even the National Commission on Sleep Disorders estimates that sleep deprivation costs $ 150 billion a year in higher stress and reduced workplace productivity.
Health experts concur. Dr Manveer Bhatia, consultant, sleep medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, feels an increasing number of professionals are suffering from sleep deprivation because of the corporate set-up, which requires one to work round-the-clock.
''You bring office work home, which eats into your sleep time. Use of caffeine and other stimulants are increasing among office goers, which means their brains are always in attention mode. Increasing levels of stress due to modern lifestyle also mean rise in the number of insomniacs,'' says Dr Bhatia.
Use of electronic devices like computer and television is also affecting the quality of sleep. ''Ideally, you should shut these devices two to three hours before hitting the bed so that your mind can get into relaxation mode. In addition,
more and more people are working in shifts. They work at night and sleep during daytime. It's a known fact that daytime sleep is more fragmented and disturbed than night sleep. So, what's happening is that the reasons for stress are increasing while the time for relaxation and rejuvenation is shrinking,'' says Dr Bhatia.
If sleep deprivation continues for long, it can lead to several side effects. It can affect neurological functions like memory and attention span, disturb the metabolic system leading to diabetes and heart disease and even impact the immune system making you more susceptible to infections.
Assocham's findings support this. While 21 per cent of respondents said they felt fatigue on a regular basis, close to 17 per cent admitted they regularly suffer from headache.
Sleep disorders led to depression among 13 per cent of respondents.
The fitness levels of corporate staff is quite low with just five per cent managing six hours or more per week of exercises, which doctors say is the minimum required to stay physically fit.
Of the respondents, 16 per cent claimed 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, reduce productivity and hike healthcare costs.
According to Assocham, depression, fatigue and sleep disorder are conditions or risks that are often associated with chronic diseases and have the largest impact on productivity.
The survey found that most corporate employees tend to ignore treatment for chronic conditions.
The report has recommended that under Section 17 of the Income Tax Act, medical reimbursement to corporate employees should be exempted from tax up to a ceiling of Rs 50,000 per annum and expenditure incurred in approved hospitals should also be fully reimbursed by the employers considering the increase in cost inflow index.
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