Women more stressed than men: How exhausted are corporate employees?

Nearly one in every two corporate employees in India is dealing with high stress because of long working hours and pressure to stay available even after office hours, according to a new study by fitness and wellness platform cult.fit.

Companies are also increasing spending on employee wellness as concerns around burnout, productivity and employee retention continue to grow.

Stress levels rising in corporate India

The study found that only 19% of India’s corporate employees feel in control of their work life because of the growing “Always On” culture.

Around 30% of professionals deal with stress through unhealthy habits like stress eating or spending too much time on screens. At the same time, nearly 40% said they use fitness activities to manage stress, showing a growing link between health and work performance.

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Employees were divided into different categories based on their work-life balance. Only 19% were placed in the “WFH Zen Zone” category — employees who are able to maintain balance and healthy boundaries.

Meanwhile, 56% were categorised as “Monday to 5” employees, meaning they are present at work but not fully engaged.

Another 24% fell into the “Exhausted 12+ Hour” category, with employees regularly working beyond healthy limits and moving towards burnout.

Women reporting more stress than men

The findings also showed a big gender gap in stress levels at work.

According to the study, 72% of women reported high tension levels compared to 54% of men.

Nearly 60% of employees get only two to four hours of personal time every day, as work and work-related demands take up most of their time.

Wellness market may cross ₹4,000 crore by 2027

Companies are increasingly making employee wellness a bigger part of their business strategy.

The corporate wellness market across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata could cross ₹4,000 crore by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.6%.

Wellness programmes are most popular among Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and BFSI companies.

Yoga has become one of the most widely used wellness activities in offices, with adoption rates between 73% and 90%. Gym facilities inside office campuses and gym memberships are also among the most common wellness benefits offered by companies.

Bengaluru alone makes up 23% of the total corporate wellness market because of its large number of GCCs and technology companies.

Companies seeing benefits from wellness spending

Companies are getting returns of 300–600% on wellness investments through better productivity, lower absenteeism, improved hiring and stronger employee retention.

While physical fitness and health programmes still get the biggest share of wellness spending, companies are also focusing more on mental health and preventive healthcare services.

Employee retention becoming a major concern

Nearly 49% of employees surveyed said they are actively looking for new jobs, while 34% said they experience anger daily.

Poor mental health is estimated to cost Indian employers nearly ₹1.1 lakh crore every year because of lower productivity, absenteeism, employee turnover and healthcare costs.

The findings show that companies are increasingly treating employee wellbeing as an imortant factor linked to productivity, retention and long-term business growth.