Side Effects of Working Too Much: There has been a trend of working more and more to get success in a job. Everyone wants to prove themselves hardworking, but doing so is proving to be fatal. Recently, a chartered accountant (CA) from Kochi died due to excessive workload. Anna Sebastian Perayil was just 26 years old and her first job was in EY company. In just 4 months of work, Anna Sebastian was burdened with so much work that she died. Anna Sebastian’s mother wrote a letter and made many revelations about the toxic work culture, after which discussions are going on about workload. You will be surprised to know that the trend of overwork is very common in India.
One of TOI’s Report According to a survey of 30 countries by McKinsey last year, 60% of people in India feel extremely tired and anxious due to workload. Earlier, a report in 2019 found that Mumbai was the hardest working city in the world. The capital Delhi is at number four in this case. Hanoi and Mexico City were at number two and three in this list. A survey in 2018 found that Indians felt the most deprived of holidays in the world. In simple words, Indians got the least number of holidays.
Working more than 55 hours a week increases the risk of death!
In the year 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) conducted a study on the effects of working long hours. It said that working 55 hours or more a week can increase the risk of death manifold compared to those working 35 to 40 hours a week. Not only this, this study has revealed that India had the highest number of people who died due to health complications due to long working hours. It is not just about the population, because despite having a higher population in China, the situation was better than India.
2 lakh people died due to workload in one year!
Anna Sebastian Perayil had her first job in EY and it is believed that she died due to excessive workload in just 4 months. This is the condition of millions of people in India. According to recent data, 2 lakh Indians have lost their lives due to overwork in a year. ILO data shows that more than half of the employed Indians (51.4%) work 49 hours or more per week. India ranks second in the world in this matter after Bhutan (61.3%). Many middle and low income countries are better than India in terms of work culture.
India’s weekly average work hours are 13th among 170 countries. In terms of maximum working hours, India’s condition is worse than countries like Congo and Bangladesh. Barring high income countries like United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, working hours in other prosperous countries are much less than India. India’s high pressure working culture is worse than China. In China, people work an average of 46 hours per week. China’s ‘996’ work culture means working six days a week from 9 am to 9 pm. This work culture was glorified by Chinese tech tycoon Jack Ma.
The pressure is highest in the information and communication sector
The pressure of overwork is highest in India’s information and communication sector. ILO data shows that employees in this sector work 57.5 hours a week, which is about 9 hours more than the international standard. Employees work 50 hours or more a week in 16 out of about 20 sectors. Professionals, scientific and technical sectors in India also demand 55 hours of work a week. Sectors like agriculture and construction have the lowest work week in India, with 48 hours of work.
Junior employees have more load than seniors
ILO data shows that young workers work longer hours than their senior colleagues. Between the ages of 20 and 30, Indian workers work about 58 hours a week. By the mid-30s, they work about 57 hours. The biggest drop comes when the average worker reaches around 50, then he works 53 hours a week. However, this is also much more than the international standard of 48 hours.
Is working longer hours increasing GDP?
Now the question is how much does working long hours contribute to our GDP? According to experts, one hour of work in India contributes $8 (about Rs 650) to the GDP. In such a situation, money can be earned by working long hours only when people are productive. Working long hours reduces productivity. India’s labor productivity of less than $8 is better than only small, low-income and lower-middle-income economies.
India is also a lower-middle income economy, but $8 per hour is quite low for an economy of this size. Outsourcing competitor Vietnam earns $9.8 per hour, the Philippines $10.5 per hour, Indonesia $13.5 per hour. Another overworked hub China earns $15.4, which is not even close to the productivity of high-income economies.
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Tags: health, Lifestyle, Trending news
FIRST PUBLISHED : September 26, 2024, 10:28 IST
