<div>At 5:30 pm on a Friday evening, Sumit Gupta, 32, a senior executive with Citibank, is wrapping up for the day and looking forward to spending a lazy evening at home with his young son. He is leaving his Gurgaon office early as it is a hot day. Yes, the mercury is rising but that’s not the only reason. HOT means Home on Time, a Citibank initiative for its employees to ensure they get quality time with family.<br /><br />At the Happiest Minds office in Bangalore, Mayura Udiashankar, 28, has spent the last 15 minutes doing a combination of standing asanas, breathing exercises and meditation, while still at her work station. In her otherwise fast-paced life, these 15 minutes are all she devotes to her health. Had it not been for a company initiative, she probably wouldn’t have done that. <br /><br />A decade ago, if one spoke of companies taking care of the health and wellness of their employees, it more often than not meant a health insurance policy for all. Then gyms became a rage, and every company worth its name either went for in-house gyms or provided subsidised memberships to fitness centres that cropped up all over urban India. But all that is passé now. Employee health and wellness is top priority for corporate houses across the country and initiatives include health care infrastructure, emergency fund for the employees, onsite clinics, disease management programmes, self-defence workshops, concierge services and alternative work strategies, among others. “Organisations today drive employee wellness initiatives, which have a direct impact on the happiness quotient of employees. All initiatives emanate from a health risk assessment that indicates the collective need of the organisation in terms of health and wellness,” says Nobby Nazareth, managing director, Chestnut Global Partners India, which in partnership with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) announced the first ever employee health and wellness rankings for India last year. “From setting up onsite clinics, involving family members in community events, introducing healthy food options on the campus to encouraging employees to participate in marathons, organisations are pushing their workforce to be physically, mentally and emotionally healthy,” says Achal Khanna, CEO, SHRM India.<br /><strong><br />Physical Well-being</strong><br />With employee health becoming a chief concern, HR heads are brainstorming to come up with new initiatives. Desk yoga, laughter yoga and tai chi at Happiest Minds were the result of one such session. “We earlier had daily tai chi classes but once the initial excitement died down, there were hardly any takers. So we figured that if the employees were not going to come for the sessions, we should take the sessions to them,” says Gaurav Saini, associate director, People Function, Happiest Minds, a tech company. The organisation also has an in-house doctor to take care of back, neck and shoulder ailments that typically afflict employees who work for 8-10 hours continuously, some for even longer. <br /><br />At Citibank, the management realised that often employees delayed health check-ups as they could not take out time from their busy schedules or were just pure lazy. So the company decided to set up a diagnostic centre in office itself. Every alternate week a clinic is set up within the office complex for employees to get various tests done. <br /><br /><img width="640" height="397" src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=3eb7e3dc-d4af-4afc-92cb-6d0fd80a66fb&groupId=222861&t=1431350407732" alt="" /><br /><br />Similarly, HP has set up onsite clinics that are well-equipped to offer primary and preventive care. “Onsite clinics help reduce absenteeism due to common illnesses such as cold, cough, fever and more,” says Ramendrajit Sen, vice president, Human Resources, HP, India. HP also runs a Power of Prevention campaign that focuses on cancer screening, eye checks, dental screening and biometrics. The onsite health checks and biometrics include a comprehensive blood count, BMI, BP, ECG, lipid profiling and pulmonary tests. This is followed by a consultation with the doctor to help employees understand their reports and get advice. “The aggregate analysis of the onsite biometrics has helped us identify high-risk employees with diseases such as cancer, diabetes and others,” adds Sen.<br />360-degrees Wellness<br /><br />While physical well-being is important, it is not the only factor when it comes to employee health. “With stress being the number one lifestyle-related risk factor followed by diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, companies need a holistic employee wellness programme that focuses on physical, emotional and mental issues impacting the workforce,” says Nazareth. Bangalore-based Happiest Minds takes it one step ahead with its comprehensive wellness programme based on seven parameters — physical, environmental, social, intellectual, professional, emotional and spiritual. For instance, it has provided pedometers to employees at discounted rates and encourages a running/walking culture in the organisation. Depending upon the number of km employees walk monthly, the organisation sponsors meals through Akshaya Patra, a mid-day meal institution. It also encourages employees to volunteer for different NGOs. Besides conducting regular stress audits, the employees’ happiness index is also measured through anonymous surveys. To take care of their spiritual well being, Happiness Evangelist Sessions are conducted periodically where employees are taught to be grateful for all that they have, and to show gratitude for friends and family, etc.<br /><br />At SAP too, they believe that emotional and psychological well-being is extremely important. “It is also the well-being of near and dear ones which affects employee morale and productivity,” says Ashish Dua, senior principal consultant, HR Business Partner, SAP. SAP has an employee assistance programme called Sabayon aimed at providing employees confidential counselling services to deal with a range of issues relating to stress, work-life balance, marital counselling, alcoholism or substance abuse or depression. “The Sabayon campaign has helped to focus on depression and suicidal tendencies amongst young employees,” says Dua.<br /><br /><strong>Work-life Balance</strong><br />Given the hectic work schedules of most employees, it is important that organisations help them maintain a work-life balance. Besides initiatives like HOT, Citibank offers flexi work hours. Employees can work remotely for 1 to 5 days a week. Even when they are working in office, they can work early or late in the day. “Our Citi Work Strategies programme is an innovative approach to how, when and where work is accomplished. The programme allows employees to realise both personal and business objectives while having meaningful work and career opportunities,” says Anuranjita Kumar, chief human resources officer, Citi South Asia. <br /><br />HP has a special programme called WIN (Women’s Integrated Network) for employees planning to have a child. It is a 18-month package, where experts provide pre-natal, pregnancy and post-natal advice. “Expectant mothers can use this platform to exchange their thoughts and views. And new mothers, with the help of their managers, can return to work with less fear and apprehension,” says Sen. <br /><br />SAP has an in-house crèche called SAPlings, which caters to children in the age group of nine months to six years. The maintenance costs are borne by SAP and employees get subsidised rates for the crèche which is 50 to 60 per cent lesser than the market rate. <br /><br />(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 18-05-2015)</div>
