"Top sectors in which the menace of stress and mental fatigue has intensified in recent times at top and middle positions comprise construction, shipping, banks, government hospitals, trading houses, electronic and print media, courier companies, SSI, retail and card franchise companies," according to a survey by Assocham.

These sectors are becoming high stress zones like BPO, call centres and IT companies due to deadlines, high performance demand, shortage of staff and threats from competitors, it said. The working condition was another factor which contributed to the stress level of employees.

The survey said while professionals like chartered accountants, lawyers, tax consultants and those in sectors like automobile, infrastructure, advertising and NBFCs enjoyed better working conditions, others were not so lucky.

In case of construction companies, employees had to execute their work in a scheduled period keeping in mind cost and time factors.

Players in public and private banking sector tend to get stressed as they had to attract large pool of customers for various schemes besides ensuring timely recovery of loans.

The government hospitals faced acute shortage of trained staff and professionals coupled with large inflow patients, which caused stress to employees.

Employees of media organisations worked under pressure for long hours, causing insomnia and other stress related problems, Assocham found.

In case of SSI units, the employees had to put in more than 15-16 hours which affected their mental health and led to depression, it said.

The chamber has suggested that rest rooms should be set up in offices and relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga should be practised during working hours, which can act as effective stress busters.