Young workers and women face the highest workplace stress in India despite improving wellbeing ADP Research

Chennai, 12 October 2026: Workplace wellbeing in India is showing signs of improvement, but younger workers and women continue to experience disproportionately high levels of workplace stress, according to ADP Research's People at Work 2026. While the proportion of Indian workers reporting low stress increased slightly over the past year, younger employees remain significantly more likely to experience high stress and feelings of overload. The findings come as nearly one in four Indian workers report working 16 or more unpaid hours each week, the highest rate among all markets surveyed.

Key India-specific insights from the survey:

• Workers aged 18-26 are more than twice as likely to experience high stress (11%) as workers aged 55-64 (5%).
• Women are more likely to report high stress than men, with 10% of women experiencing high stress compared with 8% of men.
• Employees aged 18-26 are twice as likely to feel overloaded (16%) compared with employees aged 55-64 (8%).
• Workers aged 55-64 are more likely to report thriving at work, with 26% saying they are thriving compared with 14% of workers aged 18-26.
• Workers at smaller businesses report higher levels of stress than those at larger organisations, with high stress reported by 10% of workers at small businesses, compared with 8% at medium-sized businesses and 6% at large businesses.
• Nearly one in four Indian workers (24%) report working 16 or more unpaid hours each week, the highest proportion among all markets surveyed.
• Despite these challenges, the share of Indian workers reporting low stress increased year over year from 63% to 64%.

Kanchana Krithivasan, Senior Director for HR, India & Southeast Asia at ADP, said, "While workplace wellbeing in India is improving overall, our findings show that younger workers continue to experience workplace pressure differently compared with more experienced workers. For example, workers aged 18-26 are more than twice as likely to experience high stress as those aged 55-64. This highlights the importance of creating environments where employees can manage pressure in healthy and sustainable ways rather than becoming overwhelmed by it."

"Real progress comes from embedding wellbeing into everyday work through realistic workloads, supportive leadership, opportunities for growth, and clear boundaries that help employees recharge. At ADP, we recognise that supporting wellbeing requires ongoing effort, which is why we provide initiatives such as wellness talks, awareness campaigns and resources that encourage employees to look after their physical and mental wellbeing. Organisations that get this right are better positioned to build a resilient and thriving workforce."