Changing demographic profiles coupled with the pervasiveness of digital technology have transformed workplaces.
It has forced organisations to restructure and reinvent every aspect to remain relevant. As the lines between work and life blur—longer hours at work, multiple roles, 24/7 hyper-connectivity—wellness becomes inevitable and integral.
In the current workplace milieu, the narrowed focus on physical and mental wellness is inadequate. The need of the hour is a shift in mindset from employee wellness to overall wellbeing.
How can corporate programmes address the eight parameters?
Physical: This entails taking proper care of the body and involves adopting a healthy lifestyle. Most organisations usually make available nutritious/healthy food at work, regular health check-ups, gym memberships, etc
Emotional: Emotional wellbeing relates to the ability of an individual to identify, acknowledge, understand and accept how they feel.
Programmes such as positivity workshops, stress/anger management workshops, meditation sessions, counselling, and mindfulness training help employees deal with stress.
The way employees navigate with emotions has become a core skillset for high-performing organisations and leaders today.
Financial: Financial security is probably the main reason why we work. But not all employees are experts at handling money or building wealth. Companies must care about employees’ financial wellbeing and educate them on how to save and invest, advise them on the need for insurance, and pitfalls of overspending on credit cards, etc.
Spiritual: Morals, ethics and values define and determine the spiritual compass of one’s life. Spiritual wellness leads to peace and harmony at the workplace and gives both direction and purpose to what an employee does. Well-defined, transparent vision statements, facilitating diversity and inclusiveness enable spiritual wellbeing.
Social: This governs how we interact at the workplace to create a sense of ‘belonging’. Organisations can facilitate social wellbeing through open and transparent communications, promoting group activities and social events, and encouraging cross-divisional interactions outside of work.
Career: The extent to which an employee feels engaged determines their productivity. Organisations could enable career wellness through suitable reward/recognition programmes, offering flexibility of location/time, encouraging innovation/creativity, etc
Environmental: It implies ensuring a healthy and safe workplace, with clean fresh air and filtered water, amenities such as air-conditioning, comfortable seating etc.
Intellectual: The intellectual dimension is often a key factor in acquisition and retention of talent. Employees who feel inspired and motivated are creative and innovative. It determines the attitude to new ideas and concepts, products, technology, etc.
The author is VP-Marketing and Sales, Sodexo BRS India