Work stress taking a toll on Indians

Kolkata: Work related pressures, finance related issues are taking their toll on Indians, at large. The stress levels in India remain very high compared to other developed and emerging countries such as the US, the UK, Germany, France and Australia. As high as 82 per cent of India's population are suffering from stress and those in the sandwich generation (aged 35-49) are most affected with around 89 per cent reporting some level of stress. The major causes of stress in the country today are work, health, and finance related issues. At least that's what a recent survey by Cigna TTK Health Insurance, a JV between the US based global health service leader, Cigna Corporation, and Indian conglomerate TTK Group, along with Manipal Group, suggested.

The survey titled: 'Cigna 360 Well being Survey- Well & Beyond- 2019', which is on its fifth year of existence, aims at examining people's perceptions of well-being across five key indexes - physical, family, social, financial and work. The addition of numerous health-related topics makes this Cigna's most comprehensive survey to date. This year's survey shines the spotlight on India's workplace wellness programs, which are more widespread and have higher participation rates than most other markets.

Prasun Sikdar, MD and Chief Executive Officer, Cigna TTK Health Insurance, said that it's extremely worrying that 1 in 3 people don't think high blood pressure is curable with lifestyle change, as these silent conditions can lead to a deadly heart attack or stroke if untreated. A major finding of concern is that India has witnessed an alarming rise in the occurrence of heart disease and stroke in the past 25 years.