Mental health and anxiety among unorganized sector labour

Abstract

Background: National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2009–10, the total employment in the country was of 46.5 crore comprising around 2.8 crore in the organised and the remaining 43.7 crore workers in the unorganised sector. Out of these workers in the unorganised sector, there are 24.6 crore workers employed in agricultural sector, about 4.4 crore in construction work and remaining in manufacturing and service. The unorganized labour is overwhelming in terms of its number range and therefore they are omnipresent throughout India. As the unorganized sector suffers from cycles of excessive seasonality of employment, majority of the unorganized workers does not have stable durable avenues of employment. Even those who appear to be visibly employed are not gainfully and substantially employed, indicating the existence of disguised unemployment. Though unorganized sectors contribute substantially to the country’s growth, the status of labour force remains unchanged. In developing and over populated countries like India persons working in unorganized sector are at high risk of job insecurities. As per the India labour Market Update, July 2016, the Construction sector has been the main creator of job. Objectives: to study the mental health of labour in unorganized sector and anxiety among them. Methods: This study is conducted at construction sites in City of Pune, Maharashtra, India. This study included 110 randomly selected construction site labours (62 males and 48 females). For data collection researcher used Sinhas’s Comprehensive Anxiety Inventory (SCAT) and Mental Health Checklist (MHC) by Kumar (1992). Results: The findings of the study suggest that there lies significant difference in anxiety and mental health of male and female labour as well. It was further concluded that there lies a high correlation between anxiety and mental health of labour in unorganized sector. Conclusions: The study shows that the work in organized sector contribute moderate to high level of anxiety amongst the labour. There must be a management policy with reference to mental as well as physical health of these workers. It should take into consideration the issues concerned with in time assessment and treatment as well as rehabilitation. Work stress can be prevented by the techniques of human engineering, by designing the work environment effectively. The work environment and working conditions has to be developed in a very sensitive and responsive management system.