Implementing Proactive Wellbeing for a Healthier Workforce and Resilient Businesses, ETHRWorld

Sick employees are a significant burden for businesses. When employees are in poor health, businesses are more likely to experience increased absenteeism, disrupted workflow, and reduced productivity. In addition, skyrocketing healthcare costs are becoming a critical financial challenge. In other words, leaving employees vulnerable to illness is not a risk businesses can afford to take today, especially as respiratory illnesses become a global health concern.Therefore, organizations must proactively protect their employees from these health threats, ensuring their resilience and longevity. Unlike traditional reactive healthcare, proactive wellness interventions work to reduce the risk of the disease itself, making health a constant priority. ETHRWorld and Pfizer recently hosted a roundtable on “VaxFit: The Path to a Healthy, Productive, and Thriving Workplace,” highlighting corporate initiatives that promote holistic health and wellness and the critical role of vaccinations in the workplace.

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A key part of proactive healthcare, vaccinations strengthen an individual’s immune system against infections that could otherwise lead to serious health complications. The need for vaccinations in the workplace becomes especially important today, as many of these infections are actually preventable. As such, the esteemed panelists delved into practices and strategies for incorporating vaccinations as part of a health benefit while promoting a culture of proactive wellness.

How vaccinations improve employee health

Kicking off the discussion with a thought-provoking keynote address, Dr. Prashant Chajjed, a chest physician and interventional pulmonologist, cautioned that respiratory infections have become common among adults and are now a common reason for doctor visits. He noted that stress in the workplace puts workers in a precarious situation because stress weakens an individual’s immune response. Smoking, chronic diseases such as diabetes and COPD, and pollution make the working population more susceptible to developing respiratory diseases.

Pneumococcal disease is a known respiratory infection that can be life-threatening in severe cases. “It carries a high risk of hospitalization. In fact, 1 in 20 elderly people who get this infection die from it,” said Dr. Chajjed. He added that the infection is easily spread through cross-contamination from one person to another. Moreover, people with underlying conditions such as heart and kidney disease are more susceptible to severe infections due to their already weakened immune systems.

However, Dr. Chajjed noted that serious infections such as pneumococcal disease can be prevented with vaccines. By strengthening an individual’s immunity, vaccines significantly reduce the risk of certain infections, he explained. However, he added that vaccinations for children cannot be relied on because their effectiveness decreases with age, so vaccinations for adults are equally necessary. Pneumococcal and influenza vaccines are two of the vaccines he suggested as extremely important.

Awareness: The First Step to Well-Being at Work

While companies have indeed stepped up their wellness initiatives recently, participation rates remain low. Esteemed panelists discussed practices to foster a culture of wellness among employees so that they understand the importance of wellness and lean towards wellness programs. Chandini Kamal, global director, diversity, equity and inclusion, and people and culture (employee engagement and experience, wellness, rewards and recognition), HCLTech, said, “In addition to the preventive health screenings offered to employees as part of the insurance, HCLTech extends the benefit to family members at no cost.” However, she noted that awareness is paramount to ensuring that such efforts lead to increased participation.

Adding to this point, Deepa Poncha, Human Resources Director of Centrum Capital Group, noted: “Awareness is important because many people have no idea how poor health can affect their lives in the long run. Therefore, awareness must be the first step in this endeavor.” Vivek Sapre, CHRO, Veranda Learning, highlighted common misconceptions and old wives’ tales that make it difficult for people to benefit from wellness programs. He reported that during Covid-19, their organization had encountered resistance among employees to vaccinations. By actively spreading awareness and dispelling myths and fears, they ultimately achieved 100% employee vaccination.

“There is less understanding that not being in good health means being sick, especially among the younger workforce,” noted Ranjana Singh, associate vice president of HR at Xorant, adding that companies need to align health benefits with workforce demographics. “Since our organization has very young employees who are more attached to gadgets, we developed a health bot that sends a message every day to help employees live healthy and happy lives.”

Strategies for healthier behavior change

The panel also emphasized the need to focus on instilling healthy behaviors among employees as well as spreading awareness. Only by effectively changing employees’ approach to well-being can companies encourage greater and consistent participation in everyday life and improve health. Tushar Prabhakar, AVP-HR, HDFC Credila discussed behavioral strategies to encourage employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle. He noted that events such as family sports days can have a profound impact on individual behavior at a micro level.

Kamal suggested role modeling as another way to influence employees. She explained that managers and leaders can set a positive example for others by adopting healthier habits in the workplace. Additionally, the panel members also agreed that creating a workplace culture where work-life balance is a priority, with the help of leadership, is essential to reducing stress and supporting the overall well-being of employees.

Using healthcare data to optimize reimbursements

Panelists also explored the potential of data-driven insights to understand employee expectations and restructure wellness programs for better outcomes. Ranjana Singh said her organization analyzes data provided by insurers to identify health issues, participation rates and priorities and plan wellness strategies accordingly. “Over the years, it has helped us control our insurance claims,” she said, adding how such benefits also help garner leadership support for wellness initiatives.

Neha Gupta, director of HRBP at NSEIT, stated that by leveraging data, their organization has been able to develop initiatives that are much more targeted and streamlined.

In conclusion, the distinguished speakers explored the integral role of employee well-being in increasing workplace productivity. They noted that the benefits of well-being strategies such as vaccination programs extend beyond traditional return on investment (ROI) metrics. By ensuring a healthier and happier workforce, companies can not only improve the overall health of their employees, but also increase retention and engagement rates.

The following experts contributed their insights to the roundtable discussion: Ankur Jain, Senior Director, Rewards and Talent, Delhivery; Debashish Majumdar, Director, HRBP and Rewards, Godrej Capital; Deepa Poncha, Group HR Director, Centrum Capital; Harpreet Singh Anand, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Kotak Life; Joy Banerjee, Group HR Director, IL&FS; Natasha Chander, AVP and Chief Talent Engagement & Employee Experience Officer, IIFL Finance; Neha Gupta, Director, HRBP, NSEIT; Ranjana Singh, Assistant Vice President HR, Xorant; Ravi Mishra, HR Director, BITS (Pilani, Dubai, Hyderabad and Goa); Rohit Khurana, Vertical Head Compensation, Yes Bank; Sanjay Srivastava, Chief Human Resources Officer, Boehringer Ingelheim; Sharvil Gandhre, Deputy Director HR, CARE Ratings; Tushar Prabhakar, AVP-HR, HDFC Credila; Vivek Sapre, CHRO, Porch Science; and Prakash Lakhani, HR Director – Vice President – ​​People Experience, Prime Focus Technologies. Chandini Kamal, Global Head of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion and People & Culture (Employee Engagement & Experience, Wellbeing, Rewards & Recognition), HCLTech, expertly moderated the discussion.

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