93% of India Inc. employees are stressed about returning to the office: FYI Survey

FYI, a health-tech community product conducted a survey to assess the anxiety level of employees and observed that employees expect their employers to take responsibility to ensure a healthy and safe environment for them post-Covid-19 lockdown.

The survey revealed that an overwhelming 93 per cent of employees are anxious to return to the office. Their fear is on account of their health being compromised.

All employee polled, an overwhelming 99 per cent said that they would like to see a system of Corporate Health Responsibility (CHR) made mandatory for employers, just like there is in force a system of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Nearly 85 per cent expect their employers to sanitize the office space, implement, enforce safety guidelines and advisories, and seek out new and innovative ways to protect their health while they are in the office.

The survey further disclosed that 82 per cent agreed to participate in measures that require them to be monitored, while 18 per cent said that they would comply if the privacy of their data were assured. A high sense of solidarity and doing the right thing by their co-workers emerged strongly among employees, with 96 per cent confirming that they would embrace and comply with health monitoring initiatives, despite the inconvenience.

Employees expect the new normal to bring changes and are cognizant of what these could be. Eighty-one per cent said that employees would resume work only in batches, while 73 per cent expect employers to enforce work from home as an ongoing process.

A post-pandemic world offers employers an opportunity to win the hearts of their employees and customers by deploying stronger solutions for the overall wellbeing of their workforce, said a majority of the respondents. While 81 per cent of employees strongly feel this will be the case, 16 per cent said that this has always been an expectation, regardless of recent events.

Covid-19 has left all of India Inc.’s professionals anxious on several accounts. While a majority, 59 per cent are concerned about their health, 25 per cent said they are anxious about their financial situation, while 16 per cent fear that the crisis will be a prolonged one and this uncertainty leads to high anxiety.

Yeishan Goel, Cofounder, FYI stated in the official release of the survey: “It may be an understatement to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way we live and work. This event has very quickly served as a tipping point to unprecedented change in the mindset and attitudes of people, to both life and work. Our survey informs India Inc. of the new priorities they would need to juggle when it comes to the health and safety of their employees.”

He added: “India Inc. employees are clearly stressed on account of their health, and that needs to be managed on priority. Evidence supports the fact that happier and secure employees are more productive and perform their jobs better while those under stress, perform worse.”

Methodology

FYI undertook this survey in the last week of April 2020. MindMap Advance Research surveyed with 560 India Inc. employees across small, medium, and large enterprises in major metro cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Of these employees, 85 per cent were male, and 15 per cent were female.

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