Indian affluent prefer mail gazing and lazing on the beach

The average affluent Indian is 34 years old with a household income of at least Rs 15 lakh annually and is mostly married as per a new report titled 'Visa Affluent Study'. He is way younger than his counterparts in developed economies like Japan (46) and Australia (40) but on par with China (33).

But the combination of youth and money is translating into more work than play for him or her. As per the survey, not only does the affleunt Indian travel less frequently than his regional counterparts, he also finds it difficult to turn 'off' during family time and holidays.

When on holiday

The affluent Indian is the quintessential tourist, not traveller. The preferred choices are to laze on the beach, join sightseeing tours or shop at malls on a holiday. Not many choose to explore destinations independently via walking or camping trips.

It could be attributed to the finding that most use holidays to cement relationships with their family. Few use their time off to do volunteer work or engage in personal development.

Stay connected

Being out of office also does not mean being disconnected for the affluent Indian. The survey finds that it is common for him to do work-related tasks outside of the office.

The group has the dubious distinction of being the ones to check and respond to work emails the most when on holiday compared to other regional counterparts. The incidence of working on a weekend was also found to be the highest among Indians.

Bottomline: Aff luent Indians are almost as driven to meet their financial goals as they are to have downtime, so it is no surprise that their worklife balance often suffers.