Employee health is company’s wealth

Nidhi Srivastava - New Delhi

A glance at various organisational websites and annual reports reveal that lack of a comprehensive health plan for the employees has resulted in indirect, recurring losses for companies.

In a Canadian government study, the Canada Life Assurance Company experimental group realised a four per cent increase in productivity after starting an employee fitness program. Further, 47 per cent of programme participants reported that they felt more alert, had better rapport with their co-workers, and generally enjoyed their work more.

Swedish investigators found that mental performance was significantly better in physically fit workers than in non-fit workers. Fit workers committed 27 per cent fewer errors on tasks involving concentration and short-term memory, as compared with the performance of non-fit workers.

Studies by various US and UK-based medical research institutes have shown that 80-90 per cent of people of any age, gender, physical fitness and profession who use a computer regularly are likely to suffer from vision and health problems.

Another study conducted by Department of Human Factors Engineering, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, showed that visual strain occurred after 60 minutes of video display terminal (VCD) task.

A close look at these only supports the fact that a sizeable portion of employees suffer from health problems that are mostly work generated and that well-planned, comprehensive health promotion programmes can help in reducing such ailments. This would in turn pave the way for rise in overall productivity.

However, corporates have hardly realised the existence of this silent troublemaker, leave alone assessing the magnitude of the problem. Hence, they continue to extract more work hours which results in a stressed life-style for employees.

“While at first, corporations may appear to benefit from workers’ added effort during long, stress-filled days, rising health care premiums may show otherwise. One study based on the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial, for instance, showed men who skipped their annual vacation were more likely to die from coronary heart disease than were couch potatoes or smokers who do get away for a little annual rest and relaxation,” wrote Wendy D Lynch in Business Health about the American work scenario.

The scene back home is also not good. Taking cue from the workaholic West born companies, Indian corporate houses too can be seen flooded with over-stressed employees trying to attain strength from their cups of coffee and puffs of cigarettes. Many employees report for work on time and work for unlimited hours. That the company stands to earn more if employees put in additional work hours is only a myth.

Problems galore

Poor eyesight, spondylitis, discomfort, fatigue, tension, depression, irritability and obesity are only a few of the problems. Lack of care can lead to long-term ailments, wherein not only the person concerned, but his entire family has to suffer.

Another problem that has a direct implication on the employee’s psyche is lack of a feeling of belonging to his/her organisation. “There is much more an employee expects from his organisation, beyond a work-salary relationship. A sense of attachment to his company is very important,” opine employees by and large.

Agrees Prof B M Hedge, Vice-Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, “Japan has the lowest rate of heart attacks in the world. One of the reasons is the absence of differences between the boss and workers. So a sense of belonging helps!”

Health education programmes improves overall productivity and quality of employees. “Companies might do a lot for the medical care of employees, but precious little for preventive healthcare,” says Dr Prathap Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, stressing on the importance of preventive healthcare for diseases like cancer and heart attack.

The right approach

“Most human resources managers and corporate directors intuitively understand that neither the sleep-deprived employee nor her caffeine-powered manager who hasn’t taken a day off in three years is working at peak capacity. But what is “peak?” Lacking a definition, Americans have fallen into the “more is better” rut, with untold implications for their health,” says Lynch.

So its high-time employers actually wake up and realise the fact that more work-hours need not necessarily mean more output. To maintain that, they need to adopt their employees’ well-being as a business strategy. “It is very important to allocate not only an appropriate budget for the company’s healthcare plan. With an appropriate budget for the company’s healthcare activities in place, it is also imperative that a professional set-up and approach be followed for the implementation of the same. In other words, the healthcare vision must be total —- promotive, preventive and curative,” says Captain Dr Rakesh Dullu, dy manager health and medical services, Hero Honda.

“At the same time, we must not lose sight of the fact that if we are able to take care of the families’ health too, we are actually reducing the stress of the employees and can expect better productivity and quality from them,” he adds. But according to the current scenario there are only countable organisations that have any health plans for their employees’ families. Out of a plethora of services that can or should be provided, most companies are happy providing medical reimbursement of a few hundred rupees to their employees. Ideally, the focus should be on prevention rather than cure.

Small things like low-fat balanced meals in cafeterias and occasional serving of fresh fruits or juices can go a long way in helping the workers maintain a healthy mind and body. However, this is not the least a company can do. Considering the long working hours, die hard competition and mounting pressure, experts suggest a few “must haves” for any organisation:

Health plans: Even though health insurance has not established a foothold in India, companies must ensure that its employees get an insurance coverage. Hero Honda, for instance has an understanding with some Gurgaon-based hospitals where, depending on the availability of specialised doctors, employees are sent for treatment. All employees in the company are covered under the National Insurance scheme. “We have our own parameters for selecting a hospital and we are constantly in touch with the doctors there,” says Dr Dullu.

Morepen 3H makes use of its team of doctors for its employees too. “Though we do not have any structured approach, our team of 8 doctors and mobile clinics are always there for basic routine check-ups,” informs Atul Gandotra, Vice-President, marketing and sales, 3H Morepen.

While the senior staff is medically insured, a reimbursement of Rs 600 is given to junior employees.

Visiting doctor: Right advice at the right time saves both time and money. A good doctor not only prescribes medicines but also counsels his patients to a state of wellness. Many ailments like back pains, etc. which go unattended till the time they don’t start disrupting the day to day work (and hence work output) can be resolved in the very start.

Sports events or recreation: Such activities do not give a break from work but also help in re-energising the mind. In short, they keep one’s mind and body fit.

Health club facilities/ Gym: Most big companies like GE, LG, Infosys etc. have a well-equipped gym for their employees. Such a facility not only helps a person keep fit, but also serves as a de-stressing factor.

Right infrastructure: Ergonomics of the furniture, user-friendly computers, right air-conditioning and amount of light, height of roof, space around the work area, are all factors that affect the health and therefore the productivity of an individual.