Highlights:
- LinkedIn says Indian professionals facing increase in stress as they continue to work remotely
- The Indian professionals also fear slowdown in career growth
- 39% of Indian professionals say they experience increased stress and anxiety
The novel Coronavirus has impacted the human race in a lot many ways and among them is the economic fallout. The impacts of the economic fallout in India has been very severe and amongst them has been of the Indian professionals feeling vulnerable to job uncertainty and financial instability amid bleak company outlook, as they continue to work remotely in social isolation.
In turn, this has had repercussions on their mental well-being of the professionals, as 39% of them experiencing increased stress or anxiety, as per the mental health survey conducted by LinkedIn. The findings of the survey highlight that the need for stronger employer support in these times of distress and complements the vision of World Mental Health Day 2020, which aims to improve and democratise access to the mental health services.
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51% of the Indian workforce were working remotely due to the pandemic, and the survey questions the effectiveness of the work-from-home model.
The findings from the survey also showed that while 60 % of Indian professionals had felt lonely at some point while working remotely, 37% still continue to feel this way. More than one in three also believe that working remotely has been slowing down their career progression (41%), making them feel more lonely (37%), and harming their work-life balance (36%).
The data from LinkedIn also displayed that the employees’ appeal for the stronger well-being support as findings show that almost only one in four (23%) of the Indian professionals were offered emotional well-being initiatives and flexible work hours by their employers in the early months of the lockdown.
Findings also show that just a little over one in five (21%) got more time off through paid or unpaid leaves, while 42% think their companies will not do so after the pandemic.
As industries in India are making attempts to bounce back, around 40% of the Indian professionals continue to experience financial instability, signalling high levels of stress and uncertainty predominant among Indian workforce.
And as most of the work places are not resuming functioning, half (50%) of professionals expressed concerns about the risk of exposure to the deadly virus. More than one in three were also worried about the proper workplace sanitation (36%), exposure to large groups of people in meetings or public (34%), and the uncertain workplace safety guidelines (34%), compounding distress for an uncertain future of work.
The global pandemic has taken its toll on the working parents, especially the working mothers, as findings from the survey showed that around one in three currently provide childcare full time (28%), and work outside their business hours to provide childcare (33%).
The data also suggests that working mothers are more likely to cope with distractions from childcare, as 36% say they are unable to focus on work with children at home, compared to 25% of working fathers.
It was found that men are also more likely to seek support from friends and family as only 23% of the working mothers rely on a family member or friend to take care of their children, compared to 31% of working fathers. Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager at LinkedIn said, “The ongoing stress around the 3 ₹— Remote work, Return to work, and Risk of exposure — are adversely impacting the mental health of Indian professionals. Companies in India are beginning to bolster their mental health programs to support their employees in such times,”.
