Neither mind nor muscle alone, employers focus on total wellness

Neither mind nor muscle alone, employers focus on total wellness

Aware of the pandemic’s toll on workers’ lives, companies are helping them improve their physical, mental, financial and emotional health

Namrata.Singh@timesgroup.com

25.02.2021 

Employee well-being is no longer just a box for HR to tick. Organisations are increasingly looking at it in a holistic manner and taking a 360-degree approach to make it a 24/7 initiative. Yoga and zumba sessions, and employee assistance programmes (EAP) apart, companies are stretching the definition of wellness to ensure they cover all aspects of physical and mental health of an employee.

At RPG, where well-being covers eight areas — physical, intellectual, emotional, occupational, financial, spiritual, social and environmental — special task forces have been made to create policies and processes to measure the “happiness quotient” of employees.

Anamika Bhargava, DGM, group organisation and talent development, RPG Group, said people mistake physical health for wellness. “Mental and emotional health is the most ignored aspect of people’s life. In fact, most people don’t know that physical health is an output or effect, and emotional imbalances and mental patterns are the cause or input,” said Bhargava.

To nudge its employees towards wellness, Kotak Mahindra Bank offers a fitness allowance which employees can avail of based on their fitness goals that are updated periodically. Close to 90% of Kotak employees have registered their health goals and are eligible for a fitness allowance. These goals show HR the priority areas to help staff mitigate health concerns through various health and wellness initiatives.

Sukhjit Singh Pasricha, president and group CHRO, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “Workplace well-being programmes help in improving the overall health and productivity of employees. Increased energy levels improve overall employee morale and, therefore, result in a more engaged workforce. From a long-term perspective, this improves an organisation’s ability to attract and retain people.”

‘TCS Cares’, an intervention by Tata Consultancy Services that focuses on the mental and emotional wellbeing of its employees, aims to develop a culture where people are aware of their mental and physical health, understand it better and can reach out for help and support when they need it. The programme works towards creating a culture of understanding and support for others through a peercounselling support programme.

“We believe that associate empathy and customer-centricity are two sides of the same coin,” said TCS CHRO Milind Lakkad. “We look at wellness in a holistic manner that encapsulates practices that aid both physical and psychological well-being, and we have been focused on building more awareness and greater adoption of this holistic approach.”

At Kellogg’s, the wellness philosophy goes beyond physical, mental and emotional to cover financial and even social well-being. “The challenges of last year left many of us feeling unsettled and having to function in an unfamiliar or alien environment. We had to change the way we live and work. Our recreation has become constrained. In-person interactions now come at a premium, and much of this has fed into the stress, frustration, or anxiety that we experience at times,”

Nimisha Das, director HR at Kellogg’s South Asia, said.

Das added that Kellogg’s decided to take a holistic view on wellbeing, realising that “this challenge was not going to be a matter of a few days or weeks but rather we are in it for the long haul.”

The pandemic gave people pause to discover their hidden emotions. They realised what really mattered to them. “At this time, it is important to give direction to these energies. This is the time when one can go down the emotional spiral or lift upwards in a good emotional state,” said Bhargava, adding, this is the time to “discover the purpose of your life... find yourself and be yourself.”

Mental and emotional health is the most ignored aspect of people’s life. In fact, most people don’t know that physical health is an output or effect, and emotional imbalances and mental patterns are the cause or input

—ANAMIKA BHARGAVA DGM, RPG GROUP