Tornado Stress Hits Corporate Executives in India

This October, stress, deep fatigue and alienation from his family forced Vivek Gupta to quit his job as a vice-president in the institutional equities team at one of the biggest investment banks in Mumbai. He is 33.

All this, he says, is collateral damage inflicted by the punishing pace of work at his former employer. "My work hours were terrible...about 80-100 hours a week. I was not getting any time for my family and children. Health problems such as body aches and dizziness forced me to take a break," he says.

One month on, Gupta feels energized and refreshed. He wants to stick with this slower pace of life - helping his children with school admissions, concentrating on health and taking up things that interest him.

Tushar Sehgal, a 39-year-old advertising professional, has chucked his job not once, but twice, both for the same reason. The tipping point for his second break was being asked to work on Diwali. Sehgal was a creative director for a growing agency; this meant managing multiple assignments to steer the agency to a certain size. "I wanted to spend some time with my nephew and family on Diwali and realized that quality of life was far more precious than a fat pay cheque," he says. He took an off on Diwali and quit soon after. He is now a freelance writer and makes corporate films. "I keep getting calls from headhunters, but I will not go back to that life again."

Gupta and Sehgal (both names changed on request) had enough savings to throw away their jobs.

But thousands of India Inc executives, entrapped in their stress-filled jobs due to poor savings and high EMIs, are sinking into emotional distress every day.

Sixty-six per cent of working professionals in India are suffering loneliness, 77% wish they had someone to share their highs and lows with, and 63% feel they work harder than they want to because of competitive work environment, reveals a survey by Cadbury India. The survey polled over 2,100 professionals in the 25-35 age group in cities including Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, etc. The findings were released late last month.

Psychologists and counselors say they are treating more people for workplace-related emotional turmoil. "The numbers of such cases have doubled over last year," says Dr Puneet Dwevedi, head of department (mental health & behavioral science) at Fortis Healthcare "I treat three to four working professionals every day."

Cadbury did the survey as a part of an attempt to understand consumer psyche. It plans to use the data to craft its new advertising campaign this festive season.

Consulting firm PwC has also been studying work-life balance. Executives at the firm say the findings are alarming. "Our research tells us that around 72% of Indian professionals work beyond regular working hours and around 92% of the population takes work home," says Kaustubh Sonalkar, executive director, people and change practice at PwC. Ninety-five per cent of the working population, ranging from Gen Y employees to top leaders, all admitted to a new form of morning sickness - checking their smart phones immediately after waking up.