Loss of productivity due to procrastination and sick leave stemming from stress around information, data and technology issues cost Indian companies Rs 33,216 crore every year, said a new report on Wednesday.

Over 85 per cent of employees in India reported feeling overwhelmed or unhappy when working with data, the highest percentage globally, according to the research from Accenture and data analytics and business intelligence platform Qlik.

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Companies lose an average of more than eight working days per employee, annually, said the report.

While on one hand, the report maps India as the world’s most data literate country, the report also highlighted the rising workplace stress amongst Indian professionals stemming from information, data and technology issues.

Data is a gold mine that can fuel a culture of innovation and growth. However, when employees struggle to make sense of data, productivity and business value can be affected.

“No one questions the value of data — but many companies need to re-invent their approach to data governance, analysis and decision-making. This means ensuring that their workforce has the tools and training necessary to deliver on the new opportunities that data presents,” said Sanjeev Vohra, Group Technology Officer and Global Lead for Accenture’s Data Business Group.

“Data-driven companies that focus on continuous learning will be more productive and gain a competitive edge,” Vohra said.

The survey involved 9,000 employees around the world, including 1,000 in India.

The report titled “The Human Impact of Data Literacy” identified two ways in which the data literacy gap is causing a disconnect and impacting Indian organisations’ ability to thrive in the data-driven economy.

First, despite nearly all employees (83 percent) recognising data as an asset, few are using it to inform decision-making.

India has the highest data literacy level globally, with close to half reporting being confident in their data literacy skills — their ability to read, understand, question and work with data.

Interestingly, while more than half of employees trust their decisions more when based on data, four in five still frequently defer to a “gut feeling” rather than data-driven insights when making decisions.

Second, a lack of data skills is shrinking productivity as 85 per cent of employees reported feeling overwhelmed or unhappy when working with data.

A surprising 47 percent of surveyed employees even stated that they would find an alternative method to complete the task without using data at all.

Seven in 10 respondents reported that data-overload has contributed to workplace stress, culminating in six in 10 employees (64 percent) of the local workforce taking at least one day of sick leave due to stress related to information, data and technology issues.