Only 3% workers seriously worry about their healthcare: ASSOCHAM Survey

New Delhi: Despite an increase in lifestyle diseases, only 3 percent of workers are worried about their future health since a majority of them are hardly able to spare resources beyond meeting their daily needs and the absence of any affordable health services provided by corporates to a majority of its employees, reveals the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) survey.

It further reveals that 48 percent of such a staff is “sometimes fearful” about their future health and 37 percent are “not at all fearful” and remaining 12 percent are totally ignorant for their future health conditions. This is indicative of the fact that healthcare has yet to draw desired attention as well as sensitivities for wage earners”, says Mr D S Rawat, ASSOCHAM Secretary General.

Quoting findings of the Survey, Mr Rawat said that in terms of physical fitness, 37% of corporate employees surveyed by ASSOCHAM team said, that they hardly have any time to exercise. While 25% said that they do physical workout devoting less than one hour a week. 24% of such employees said that they exercise for 1-3 hours a week although 9% of employees said that they exercise for 3-6 hours a week. It is only 5% of corporate employees who regularly exercise for more than 6 hours a week to keep physical fit and mentally agile.

In the survey, over 500 corporate employees were interviewed between age ranging between age group ranging 25 to 50 in 18 broad sectors, which include infrastructure, power, media, telecom, advertisement, manufacturing, IT/ITeS, financial services and engineering. Other sectors include market research, management, FMCG, food and beverages, textiles etc.

On the issue of whether health problem discourage corporate employee, 48 percent responded by saying that they were discouraged by their health problem in doing various activities, while 40 percent replied that they were not at all `discouraged’ by their health conditions.

It was only 11 percent of the employee who felt that most of the time, they dare discouraged in conducting work and only 1 percent of the employees felt that they were highly discouraged by their health problems.

14 percent of respondents experience workplace fatigue but they still believe themselves to be in `good health’, while 10% of total corporate employees consider their health condition to be poor without perceiving to have `no diseases at all’. 9 percent and 5 percent of the sample population suffer problem of sleeping disorder.

Other findings of the Survey include that among the IT/ITeS sector employees, 93 percent feel that company-sponsored wellness program act as a motivating factor for them. However, 7 percent feel depressed about the healthcare program.

Employees engaged in media sector, 60 percent consider wellness program as a motivating factor, whereas remaining 40 percent feel that it acts as a depressing factor. Survey respondents engaged in FMCG sector, for 75 percent of the employees it act as a motivating factor.

For 84 percent of employees, companies sponsored wellness program acts as a motivating factor, but 16 percent of the respondents in the sector feel it as a de-motivating factor. In rest of the sectors, 100 percent of the employees consider company sponsored wellness program act as a motivating factor for them.