New Research by Tata Salt Lite confirms that Indians have become more short-tempered

The top factors for the overwhelming sentiment of stress and tension engulfing India were revealed in new research published by Tata Salt. According to the light-hearted ‘Age of Rage’[1] survey, more than half of the respondents (56%) admitted they would be likely to succumb to demonstrations of ‘Road Rage’ when delayed to work because of traffic and more than one-in-six respondents (16%) even claimed that they would be likely to lose their tempers at service providers such as drivers and traffic police for no apparent reason.

While traffic appears to be the primary cause for unprecedented levels of stress, the ubiquity of social media, work-life balance pressures and disagreements with neighbours are others. For instance, when encountered with trivial situations such as an interruption in their daily use of technology, a majority of individuals experience minor bursts of ‘Tech rage’. More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) confessed that they would get angry if their Wi-Fi connection or internet abruptly stops working and 63% of the respondents claimed they would become aggressive and angry if someone unplugs their phone while it’s charging without asking them.

Our research also uncovered some other categories of stress and tension such as ‘Work Rage’ where employees over-react to unexpected work. For example, more than half (55%) of respondents claimed they would get angry if they were assigned work at the last minute. 61% of respondents even claimed that urgent work from their manager on holiday would make them angry enough to argue and make some intentional errors.

When it comes to stress because of their neighbhours’ petulant behaviour, surprisingly, nearly 3 out of 4 of respondents (73%) claimed that they would be overcome with anger if they caught their neighbour throwing garbage into a common area.

Mr. Sagar Boke, Head of Marketing ( CPB) and Business Head – Spices at Tata Chemicals, Tata Salt, explained, “Our nation is inundated with extreme levels of stress, in fact, about 89% of the population in India states that they are suffering from stress compared to the global average of 86%[2]. Some of our humorous findings revealed that this manifests most often as anger during the seemingly endless hours’ commuters spend stuck in traffic. 17.6% of the respondents cited traffic as one of the top three causes for their anger ‘most often’. Although, nearly three quarters (74%) agree that food, exercise, and lifestyle directly impact their temper and stress levels less than a quarter (24%) claim to exercise daily. ”

“While this survey is a fun way to highlight the silly ways we all often over-react, our campaign has a serious objective. People’s patience and tolerance levels have reached an all-time low. The causes for such behavior are numerous – population growth, perceptions of inequality, social media, work-life balance pressures, etc, but a lifestyle choice and, importantly, diet, represent a key aspect of managing the same. According to research by National Center for Biotechnology Information, each 1-point increase in anger was associated with a 12% increase in the risk of hypertension[3]. As a brand, it is our intention to drive conscious consumption of salt for all our consumers so that they can best manage their temperament when juxtaposed with situations that trigger stress.”

About Tata Chemicals:

A part of the over US$ 100 billion Tata Group, Tata Chemicals Limited, is a global company with interests in businesses that focus on LIFE —Living, Industrial and Farm Essentials. The story of the company is about harnessing the fruits of science for goals that go beyond business.

Through its Living Essentials portfolio, the company has positively impacted the lives of millions of Indians. Tata Chemicals is the pioneer and market leader in India’s branded Iodized salt segment. Extending its portfolio from salt to other food essentials, TCL unveiled India’s first national brand of pulses, followed by a range of spices. Tata Chemicals has been rated as one of the top 10% in Business and Consumer brands across all industry and consumer brand categories in India by Superbrands™.

The company’s Industry Essentials product range provides key ingredients to some of the world’s largest manufacturers of glass, detergents and other industrial products. Tata Chemicals currently is the world’s third largest producer of soda ash with manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. With its Farming Essentials portfolio the company through its subsidiary Rallis, has a strong position in the crop protection business. The Tata Chemicals Innovation Centre is home to world class R&D capabilities in the emerging areas of food sciences, nanotechnology and biotechnology.