Holistic view of employee wellbeing: India Inc wants staff to be ‘fit’ enough for hikes

Bengaluru: Corporate India is stepping up its focus on employee health and wellness, crafting a range of programmes to provide holistic support, boost productivity, and reduce absenteeism and attrition. Recognising that employees are increasingly prioritising optimal health and well-being alongside professional success, a clutch of companies such as Deutsche Bank, Aditya Birla Health Insurance, upGrad, Philips, Thales and Meesho are integrating health goals into performance reviews. They are also offering access to onsite diet and nutrition consultants, launching wellness sessions for enhanced mental balance, assessing heart health and actively tracking health metrics within privacy norms.

Aditya Birla Health Insurance has made the move to integrate employees’ health goals into the performance review process this appraisal cycle onwards. Effective FY25, all employees will now be required to incorporate at least one health goal into their key result areas (KRAs). “The health goals, which carry a weightage of up to 10% in the annual performance review, encompass activities like weight loss, regular exercise, yoga, improved nutrition, better sleep management and giving up unhealthy habits like smoking,” Mayank Bathwal, CEO of Aditya Birla Health Insurance, told ET.

Under the initiative, managers will be engaging with team members for regular discussions about pro- gress on health goals, and employ- ee health metrics are to be tracked through comprehensive tests and digital evaluations. Additionally, daily step counts and workout acti- vity are monitored through the company’s app. The company plans to offer personalised health coaching for employees at higher risk for health and lifestyle disea- ses, Bathwal said. There has been a 110% surge in companies offering comprehensive healthcare, found a survey conducted by insurtech firm Plum earlier this year. Philips has rolled out the Heartprint initia- tive, a tool to assess employees’ he- art health and prevent potential he- art-related issues. The programme allows early awareness of dynamic health risks and helps postpone or avoid medical interventions. “We actively track health metrics wit- hin privacy norms to gauge the im- pact of our initiatives and continu- ally refine our offerings to better support our people,” said Vishpala Reddy, head of HR, Philips Indian subcontinent.

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