Slashed perks among factors affecting mental health of Assam’s tea garden executives

Slashed perks, handed down from the era of British planters almost a century ago, are among the factors affecting the mental health of executives in Assam’s tea estates, a new study has revealed.

British entrepreneurs started commercial production of tea, a popular beverage among some indigenous communities for centuries, in Assam 200 years ago. Their plantations entailed, for all levels of executives, luxury bungalows, recreation clubs, golf, and other perquisites to kill boredom in areas far from home.

The scenario changed a few decades after India attained independence from British rule in 1947. Industry deregulation, government policies, and taxes on privileges affected the perks across more than 800 large tea estates, which experienced extortion by extremists, global market slumps, and climate change-related complications.

“Lifestyle-related perks, available for executives in the tea estates earlier, are almost defunct now. This is one of the primary reasons for stress, fuelled by the administrative tightrope that the executives need to walk,” Prasun Raj Kaushik, an Assistant Professor of Dibrugarh University’s Centre for Management Studies, told The Hindu.

A former welfare officer and human resources manager at two of Assam’s biggest tea estates, he authored the study on workplace stress and management in some of the North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) estates under the guidance of Professor Pratim Barua.

The study sought to identify factors contributing to stress among middle and lower level executives, measure their level of stress, examine whether the difference in their tenure with the respondent organisations has any bearing on the stress experienced, and conduct a comparative analysis of the level of stress between Assam-domiciled executives and their counterparts from elsewhere in India. 

Stress-risk factors

The analysis identified five major categories of workplace stress risk factors: person-environment adjustment, physiological hazard, recurrent non-reciprocity, restricted decision latitude, and transactional coping. Mr. Kaushik said restricted decision latitude, referring to a severe lack of control, autonomy, and flexibility in the workplace, was the most prominent stress-inducing factor.

Perks are associated with restricted decision latitude. The study also found a noticeable difference in workplace stress levels between Assam-based and non-Assam-domiciled executives, “although not large enough to be considered alarming”. The study found that workplace stress among middle and lower level executives in the companies under NETA is influenced by both organisational practices and employees’ personal backgrounds.

Among the groups studied, lower-level executives reported the highest levels of workplace stress. “Overall, the findings highlight the need for tea companies to strengthen stress management initiatives and employee well-being programmes.

Such measures can help address the sources of workplace stress and create a healthier and more supportive work environment for executives from both Assam and outside the State,” Mr. Kaushik said.

Bidyananda Barkakoty, NETA’s adviser, said the “significant” doctoral study on the “largely neglected issue of workplace stress” addresses an important research gap and provides valuable insights that may help the estates strengthen employee well-being, enhance productivity, and improve human resource practices.

“Tea garden executives occupy a pivotal position in the management of tea estates, balancing demanding operational, administrative, and human resource responsibilities. The study should encourage greater attention to their mental health, given the critical nature of their role,” he said.

The NETA has 180 members comprising estates and standalone bought-leaf factories that process various types of teas from leaves purchased from the estates. They account for about 20% of Assam’s total annual tea production of 650-700 million kg.