86% Employees not happy with their life in India: Report

According to the Gallup 2024 State of the Global Workplace report, only 14% of Indian employees feel they are “thriving” in life. This is in stark contrast to the global average of 34% of employees who feel the same way. The report examines the current state of employee mental health and wellbeing globally, and it classifies respondents into three categories of wellbeing: thriving, struggling, or suffering.

Classification of Wellbeing

Gallup classified respondents based on their life evaluation index, which takes into account their present life situation and outlook for the future. Here’s how they classified the respondents:

• Thriving: These are respondents who have a positive view of their present life situation, rating it 7 or higher, and also have a positive outlook for the next five years.
• Struggling: Respondents in this category have an uncertain or negative view of their present life situation, experience more daily stress and financial worries.
• Suffering: This category includes respondents who feel miserable in their present life situation (rating of 4 or below) and have a negative view of the future.

Employee Wellbeing in India

In India, only 14% of employees feel they are thriving, while the remaining 86% admit to struggling or suffering. This low percentage of thriving employees is not unique to India alone. In fact, the whole of South Asia reported the lowest percentage of thriving employees, with only 15% of respondents from the region classifying themselves as thriving. This is 19 percentage points lower than the global average.

Additional Findings from the Report

The Gallup report also revealed some interesting insights about employee wellbeing in India and South Asia as a whole:

• Daily Anger: 35% of respondents from India reported experiencing daily anger, which is higher than any other country in South Asia.
• Daily Stress: In terms of daily stress, India ranked lowest among South Asian countries, with only 32% of respondents experiencing daily stress. In comparison, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan reported higher percentages of daily stress at 62% and 58%, respectively.
• Employee Engagement: Despite the low percentage of employees feeling they are thriving, India maintained a high employee engagement rate of 32%, which is well above the global average of 23%.

These findings provide valuable insights into the state of employee wellbeing in India and South Asia, highlighting areas of opportunity for organizations and policymakers to focus on improving the overall wellbeing of their workforce.