Is your corporate job making you sick? Report sounds a grim alarm

A ground-breaking report has revealed the alarming health crisis within India’s corporate sector. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and digital health platform MediBuddy released their 2025 Corporate Wellness Index, showing that 86 per cent of employees are struggling with mental health issues.

The report, based on data from over 1,000 corporations and millions of health interactions, highlights that workplaces have become breeding grounds for stress, burnout, and lifestyle-related diseases. With corporate India employing nearly 50 million people, this translates into 4.3 crore employees mentally unwell, a figure experts call nothing short of a national emergency.

Workplace wellness, the report stresses, can no longer be treated as a token initiative. Poor health outcomes are weakening productivity and driving down overall performance across sectors.

Lifestyle health risks

Beyond mental health, the Index reveals that over 70 per cent of employees suffer from at least one lifestyle-related health risk. Vitamin deficiencies and chronic conditions such as diabetes are widespread, reflected in top health checks: Vitamin B12 serum (12 per cent), Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) (11 per cent), and complete blood counts (10 per cent).

Stress and poor diet linked to long working hours and limited sun exposure are driving these deficiencies. Dermatology (13 per cent) and gastroenterology (6 per cent) consultations have surged alongside general medicine (20 per cent), underscoring the physical manifestations of workplace stress.

The economic implications are severe. India could lose USD 1.03 trillion due to mental health challenges, an unsustainable cost for a country aiming for multi-trillion-dollar growth.

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Rising workplace stress

The report details how corporate pressures have contributed to a 15 per cent rise in mental health cases, a 22 per cent increased risk of suicide, and nearly half of employees citing stress or anxiety at work. Alarmingly, only 20 per cent of employees undergo regular screenings, despite soaring non-communicable diseases and medical inflation at 14 per cent.

Younger employees are particularly vulnerable. Online consultation data shows that 90 per cent of those under 25 report anxiety symptoms, compared to 67 per cent among those over 45. Regional findings note South India with 35 per cent of employees reporting daily anger, while only 39 per cent value workplace mental health programmes.

Despite the bleak data, the report emphasizes that investing in wellness yields strong returns. Every Re 1 spent on employee health generates Rs 3–4 in savings, with 6–8 per cent higher productivity, fewer sick leaves, and better retention rates.

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Case of Anna Sebastian

The statistics gain sharper meaning when seen through personal tragedies. In July 2024, 26-year-old Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant from Kerala, died just four months into her job at Ernst & Young in Pune.

Her mother, in a letter to the company’s India chairman, blamed “backbreaking workload” and “work stress” for her daughter’s death. She cited Anna’s anxiety, sleeplessness, and chest constrictions, which doctors linked to exhaustion. The family alleged a toxic work culture with excessive late-night assignments and weekend demands.

The incident triggered national outrage and drew attention to exploitative environments across major firms. The government launched an investigation, renewing calls for structural reforms to protect employees’ mental health and work-life balance.

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Expert concerns

Doctors and workplace specialists stress the urgency of addressing corporate health. “This isn’t just numbers; it’s lives,” said Dr DK Gupta, Director of Felix Hospital. The report and tragic cases like Anna’s demonstrate that unchecked stress can lead to dire consequences.

Industry observers note that India’s corporate burnout rate, at 78 per cent, far exceeds global averages. Studies from Statista, WHO, and Deloitte have consistently underlined rising stress levels, with blurred boundaries between work and personal life emerging as a major factor.

The corporate wellness market in India, valued at USD 2.5 billion in 2024, is projected to grow to USD 4 billion by 2033. Experts argue this growth must be accompanied by genuine change in how companies treat their workforce.

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Call for accountability

The report urges a shift from token perks to systemic wellness strategies. Actionable measures include integrated mental and physical support, quantified wellness costs, and feedback mechanisms that hold managers accountable.

Workplace experts stress the need to address toxic leadership. “People join companies but leave bosses,” noted author Divya Khanna, whose book The Company We Keep highlights caste-like divides within offices and the role of exploitative management practices.

As experts propose 360-degree feedback for leadership, the message is clear: India cannot afford to ignore a workforce where 86 per cent are mentally unwell. Toxic leadership, unchecked workloads, and lack of wellness infrastructure must be tackled head-on.

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