Feeling depressed in office? Cheer up, you are in a big company

About 42.5% of employees in private companies suffer from depression or general anxiety disorder, according to a study conducted by industry body Assocham. The next is obesity, which afflicted 23% of the employees who took part in the survey. High blood pressure followed with an affliction rate of 9%, spondylitis with 5.5%, heart disease with 4%, cervical with 3%, asthma with 2.5%, arthritis 1.5% and slip disc at 1%.

The rate of emotional problems such as anxiety and depression has increased by 45-50% in the last eight years.

The study was conducted on a sample size of 1,250 employees from 200 companies in major cities including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun.

What ails India Inc

42.5% obesity - 9% high BP- 5.5% spondylitis- 4% heart disease- 3% cervical- 2.5% asthama- 1.5% arthritis- slip disc

Delhi ranked first in the number of cases of depression or general anxiety disorder, followed by Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Pune. These companies ranged from a wide range of sectors like media, telecom, knowledge processing units, etc.

Around 55% of the respondents were in the age group of 20-29 years, 26% of the respondents were between 30-39 years, 16% were between 40-49 years and 2% were in the age group of 50-59 years while and 60-69 years comprised of approximately 1%.

Employees today put work ahead of themselves and that is unhealthy, says Mumbai-based psychiatrist Dr Harish. "These may also be signs of burnout, which are similar to signs of depression. Employees of private companies sleep less, eat at odd hours, are stressed due to their job and are not secured of their future. We must be very careful about this. In the 2-3 years that employees want to push themselves harder for success, they tend to destroy themselves," says Dr Shetty.

The survey revealed that 38.5% of the employees said that they slept less than six hours per day, while a whopping 57% said that they did not exercise at all. Only 7% said that they exercised more than six hours a week. Exercise, the report revealed, can delay or prevent diabetes, cancer and heart problems, and reduce depression and anxiety.

Dr Jitendra Nagpal of the psychiatry department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) felt that the study was talking of symptoms and not of the affliction of depression as such.

"I think a clinical diagnosis is not the tool in the study. However, having said that, corporate India must look at the health of its employees. Stress is a cardinal factor here. When financial targets are burdened on an individual with unrealistic demands, there is a carry-over at home which strains domestic relations," says Dr Nagpal. "And before you know, you are a victim of depression."

Noted psychiatrist Dr Samir Parikh said that corporates must look into the health of their employees. "There needs to be a focus on the health of employees as a key area. Only then will there be a productive human resource," said Dr Parikh.

Dr Shetty feels that corporate plans are mere lip service. "Corporate companies think only of profit curves, and not health ones," said Dr Shetty.

Dr Nagpal feels that an urban population marred by depression is not the right idea of development. "High-risk factor jobs need to have screenings to avoid a disaster like the Germanwings crash. The army, and aviation officers should definitely be screened," said he said.