’Lack of work-life balance’: Study reveals Indian women significantly more stressed than men

Indian women are significantly more stressed than their male counterparts with ‘lack of work-life balance’ cited as a primary reason. The findings were shared in the latest ‘Emotional Wellness State of Employees’ by YourDost and highlight some of the key stressors in the workplace. Researchers also found that workers aged between 21 and 30 were the most stressed demographic.

YourDost surveyed more than 5,000 Indian professionals — with nearly three quarters of the female respondents reporting high stress levels. In contrast around 53.64% of men answered the question in a similar manner. 20% of the women and 9.27% of the men reported that they were always feeling low.

A lack of work-life balance appeared to be the leading cause of stress with 18% of women admitting to difficulties in juggling the personal and professional. Women also flagged lack of recognition, low morale and fear of being judged as other major stressors.

The survey — which included employees from numerous sectors — also saw 64.42% of workers aged between 21 and 30 reporting high levels of stress. This was followed by individuals aged between 31 and 40. As per the survey, people between the ages of 41 and 50 were the least stressed — with only 53.5% of employees reporting high levels of workplace stress.

"The shift in workplace dynamics and the evolution of remote and hybrid work models has had an impact on the 21-30 age demographic. Organisations should prioritize regular communication and engagement to support them,” HT quoted Dr Jini Gopinath — the Chief Psychology Officer at YourDost — as saying.

The survey results came even as an US-based study linked anxiety or depression disorders to heightened risk of developing deep vein thrombosis — a serious blood clotting condition. The multi-year study saw researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital analyse their dataset of over 1.1 lakh participants to understand links between mental health issues and the risk of deep vein thrombosis. 

Researchers found that while having either anxiety or depression disorder was associated with roughly a 50% chance of developing deep vein thrombosis. Having both the mental illnesses was associated with a 70% chance of developing the clotting condition.

(With inputs from agencies)