Moneycontrol News
Work life balance has become a serious issue for Indian professionals from metro and non-metro cities primarily due to technology, their daily commuting and other work related stress, says a survey.
Titled, 'Understanding Work Life Balance survey' by Monster.com, the survey reports that more than half the Indian professionals surveyed have rated their work life balance as anywhere from average to terrible.
The survey was based on the responses taken from over 2000 working professionals between 18 and 55 years, with the maximum number of responses received from the age bracket of 18 to 34 years. Close to 45 percent of the respondents are from non-metro cities.
The respondents were surveyed across various key sectors comprising IT (hardware and software), banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), engineering and construction, production and manufacturing, automotive, healthcare and pharma, and telecom and education.
The report states that one-third of young professionals find technology such as laptops and mobile phones a hindrance in managing family and work commitments. This includes 54 percent of the respondents who were single and 26 percent of the respondents who were from IT and ITES sectors, those which are viewed as ‘flexible’, the report pointed out.
Other hindrances that surfaced contributing to poor work-life balance were meetings, calls and training after office hours accounting for about 18 percent and negative attitude of supervisors towards work-life balance despite the policy coming to about 11 percent.
The daily commute to office emerged as a key contributor for poor work life balance. About 75 percent of the respondents on an average spend minimum an hour and maximum of more than two hours on the road traveling to work. About 70 percent of respondents said that they either would like to work from home to avoid the commute, or at least have some days to work from home due to the time spent on the road.
Another impact of poor work life balance could be seen increasing health issues. Close to 67 percent the professionals have stated that they often or always think about work when not at work. Lack of sleep at 17 percent, depression at 16 percent, anxiety and irritability at 9 percent, hypertension at 4.5 percent came up as the top work-related illnesses. 15 percent of the respondents reported back pain, 14 percent reported frequent headaches and fatigue, and 5 percent reported obesity up as other stress-related physical illnesses.
About half of the respondents in relationships confessed that the lack of work life balance makes them or their partners irritable and ill-tempered.
Other aspects to work life balance include wanting flexible work hours and a significant portion of them wanting time to pursue their hobby and passion. Close to 22 percent feel that taking time off regularly is how they define work life balance.
The report states that these findings indicate that employers either need to establish such policies soon or need to find more effective ways of communicating them if they already have one. In organisations where there is a work life balance policy, the top three provisions offered were flexible work hours at 62 percent, holidays at 46 percent, and pursuing their hobby and passion at 25 percent.
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