Workers in pharma companies healthier: Survey

Mumbai: Country's pharmaceutical companies seem to be giving more attention to the overall well-being of their workers compared to other sectors, with more than 70 per cent employees in the industry reporting good health in the workplace, says a report.

According to global health services company Cigna's survey of over 3,000 individuals in India, 73 per cent employees in the pharma industry reported good health and well-being in the workplace as compared to 54 per cent in the technology industry and 39 per cent in the retail sector.

"Employees in the pharmaceutical, professional services and transportation report that they have good health and well-being in the workplace compared to those in manufacturing, telecommunications and retail," Cigna said.

Cigna has noted that with India witnessing economic growth, stress-levels among its workforce is also increasing.

More than 60 per cent employees have displayed some physical symptoms of stress like difficulty falling asleep at night or emotive symptoms such as failure to remember when they were happy.

Interestingly, the survey has found major gaps between what employees desire in medical benefits from employers and what their companies offer.

About 59 per cent of those surveyed want benefits for general practitioner consultation fees, while only 39 per cent say these are provided by employers.

Additionally, 31 per cent of employees want benefits for X-rays, blood tests and other diagnostic tests, while only 20 per cent say their employers offer these facilities.

City-wise, employees in the non-metro cities reported having less stress than those in the metro cities. They are better compensated and have reasonable working hours.

As many as 75 per cent of employees residing in non-mega cities felt they had little work-related stress compared to 66 percent living in metro cities.

A large number of employees in Lucknow, Surat, Mumbai and Bangalore felt they have little work-related stress, the survey said.

Among women respondents, those aged 25-29 years delayed having children due to pressure from work, while those in 30-39 age group gave financial implication of raising children as major reason for the delay.