One-third of Indian workers face increased burnout at work: Microsoft study

Workers in India are facing increased burnout due to lack of separation between work and personal life as well as concerns of contracting COVID-19, according to Microsoft's latest Work Trend Index report released on Wednesday.

Close to one-third of workers in India cited increased rates of burnout over the past six months with the lack of separation between work duties and personal obligations as negatively impacting their well-being.

Surveying over 6,000 information and first-line workers across eight countries globally including Australia, Japan, India and Singapore, the study found that India had the second highest percentage of workers facing increased burnout in Asia at 29 per cent.

India came out top with over 41 per cent of workers citing the lack of separation between work and personal life as negatively impacting their well-being, resulting in increased stress levels.

In the last six months, COVID-19 has created an era of remote anywhere. It has led to the evolution of a new workplace -- from a physical space to one residing in a virtual world.

"As businesses adapt to a new way of working, it is important to examine the multi-faceted impact that the new working conditions are having on employees. This is helping us provide relevant and timely solutions to all our customers and users," said Samik Roy, Country Head of modern work division at Microsoft India.

The report showed that top stressors shared by workers in India was the worry about contracting COVID-19 at work and feeling isolated or disconnected from co-workers at 42 and 35 per cent respectively.

The study also found that 19 per cent of workers have not been provided the tech or protective equipment they need to effectively socially distance by their company, contributing to increased stress levels.

Workers also cited differing factors contributing to work stress. The lack of separation between work and life was a prime stressor among 34 per cent of workers with unmanageable workload and/or work hours coming closely behind at 28 per cent.

Nearly 23 per cent of workers cited too many meetings and not enough focus time as factors contributing to stress at work.

( With inputs from ANI )