Until now, employers have only focused on the basics of health and safety such as insurance and medical tests for their employees. That’s not going to be enough in 2021 when the idea of holistic wellness is gaining momentum.
Nearly 45 percent of employees in the private sector suffered from stress-induced depression and anxiety, according to a 2015 survey by ASSOCHAM. Working from home has further aggravated the situation as the fine line between the work and life has blurred. But with the following measures, further damage can be mitigated.
* An active encouragement of employer-led wellness sessions such as Zumba, yoga, aerobics, meditation and others. These can be organised virtually.
* A standardised, easily deployable and future-adaptable employee holistic wellness strategy, that incorporates the comprehensive risks and control framework.
* Change of traditional health policies to holistic wellness policies to over mandatory inclusions of mental, emotional, physical, nutritional, social, environmental and financial controls.
* Technology-driven advanced wellness analytics to get the pulse of the employees’ data using wellness mobile apps that offer wellness dashboards, wellness gamification, wellness marketplace and linked employee rewards to wellness as a company culture.
* A comprehensive employee wellness programme covering charter of holistic wellness interventions by specialists from varied wellness domains—mental, emotional, physical, nutritional, social, environmental and financial.
* Motivation leads to productivity and this is something employers need to actively engage in.
* Assigning of senior leaders as wellness role models for the rest of the organisation can drive behavioural change.
It’s not just a company or an organisation that the workforce will be choosing going forward. It will be an employer who can provide a wellness ecosystem to cater to their comprehensive needs.
The author is Founder and CEO, GALF (Get a Life Fitness)