It’s not just 2021.
It’s a year reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic that changed the way we live, work, and think. Business leaders and HR managers have had to rethink corporate wellness post-2020.
From questionnaires and physical assessments to live yoga classes, reimbursement packages for WFH furniture and subscriptions to wellness webinars, corporate wellness has come a long way.
Ever since COVID-19 struck, there has been an ideological shift towards wellness. It’s not just a strategic benefit to the company, but it’s the need of the hour.
With mental health gaining much-deserved significance, wellness programs are driven by empathy rather than motive.
Apart from introducing secondary health influences, the pandemic has brought about an unprecedented transformation in wellness. It’s the first time that the desire and engagement in healthcare technology have coincided with the consumers’ desire to take up a healthy lifestyle. Corporates have been quick to acknowledge the need and have come up with innovative initiatives to make wellness digitally friendly and inclusive.
Source: People Matters
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Telemedicine: Doctor on ‘call’
Telemedicine has been around for the past 20 years but has regained importance in 2020. Companies partnered with health tech companies to give employees access to 1-to-1 consultations with physicians & specialists. Ford and Kotak are some of the many corporate companies that have taken the ‘call’ to offer employees personal and professional medical advice using telemedicine.
Source: IBEF
Digital Healthcare: App to the mark
Companies have chosen to power their employees’ wellness needs with the latest apps, that offer 24/7 medical consultations, customized diet plans, home workout regimes, and much more. And it’s no surprise that IT companies are leading from the front.
Cognizant, Godrej, and Accenture are some of the major IT companies that have either partnered with health apps or launched their own apps to motivate employees to nurture healthier living habits. These health-on-the-go apps track weight loss, calorie intake, running mileage, and more.
Source: IBEF
In-Home Fitness Equipment: Playing on the ‘home’ ground
Companies like Google and Infosys are known for their sprawling campuses and one of the major highlights of the campus? The gym. With employees working remotely, companies have offered to reimburse their employees for fitness & sports equipment.
Microsoft’s wellness program, ‘Stayfit’, reimburses employees for online fitness trainings done by gyms or clubs and online weight reduction programs. The program also covered expenses for sports equipment like swimming gear, bicycles, equipment for games like cricket, badminton, TT, tennis etc.
Eldercare: Old is gold in the pink of health
Surveys continue to report an increase in life expectancy and multiple studies suggest it will go up further.
Intel launched its extensive eldercare program to its 7000 employees in the country amidst the lockdown in 2020.
The Intel eldercare program offered essential health and wellness services for their parents and parents-in-law including home health aide, transport and escorting to and from medical appointments, home nurse visits, general physician and physiotherapy visits, sample collection, and report delivery for medical tests. There was a dedicated helpline number for free medical and counselling.
IBM, Deloitte, American Express, and Paypal have similar elder care plans for their employees. Apart from and home healthcare, Paypal offers live yoga classes and an extended medical insurance cover for parents-in-law.
Source: People Matters
Mental Health & Emotional Wellness: Having the right ‘mind’set
Mental Health has emerged as one of the most significant concerns since the pandemic. Employee Assistance Programs, equipped with 24/7 counselling and guidance, are leading from the front in corporate wellness programs. Telehealth and online webinars have been one of the most popular platforms to address mental health distress among employees.
With the aim to normalize mental health, companies like Google, Oyo and L’Oréal offered extended weekends. The concept of Mental Health Day Off became quite popular close to World Mental Health Day. Urban Company has gone the extra mile by offering an industry-first, Mental Health Leave Policy.
L’Oréal announced their emotional wellness initiative called #wellnessneverstops that offered employees online fitness classes, webinars with expert speakers, and mindfulness sessions.
Source: Economic Times
Sustainable wellness: In for the long haul
“Corporate wellness” is no more just a buzzword in the corporate world so it’s imperative that the corporate wellness strategies adopted are not only useful to employees but also sustainable in the long run.
The core elements of a future-ready, sustainable wellness program are improving productivity, reducing healthcare costs, and ensuring employee engagement, employee retention, and measurable ROI.
Diversity and Inclusion too are being prioritized in recruitment and wellness drives. Credit Suisse Business Analytics has made significant D&I interventions to render its wellness initiatives sustainable.
One of the best ways to ensure long-term employee engagement is to extend benefits to family members. Icertis introduced something called ‘Four Rings of Responsibility’- an initiative that encouraged employees to prioritize, self, family, community, and business — in that order.
Another way to make wellness sustainable is to encourage employee champions to take ownership and drive the culture of wellness into the organisation.
Uber enables employees to voluntarily donate transport credits as cash donations to the drivers and their families. This way employees are not only engaged with the wellness benefit or initiative but are also motivated to bring about a behavioral change towards wellness.
Looking Ahead
As the world gets back on its feet, the future of corporate wellness is increasingly certain. Companies are looking forward to bridging the gaps in wellness by leveraging the latest technology. Prospective employees will be counting on employers to include wellness not just to earn brownie points but as an effort to empower employees to live healthy and happy life.
Whether you are working from home or the office, take charge of your wellness needs, anytime, anywhere on Wellbeing on the Web; a one-stop-shop for personal and professional wellness.
Visit www.thefullerlife.com for more.
