Future Of Corporate Wellness In India: Trends & Predictions
As the corporate world is getting back on track, employee wellbeing has become the focal point of organizations worldwide. According to recent reports – only 15% of India’s total workforce is currently covered under corporate health and wellness programs. But ever since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, organizations have ramped up efforts to include the bulk of their workforce under the ambit of corporate wellness.
Driven by the rise in lifestyle diseases, breakthroughs in the healthcare industry and greater employee awareness, corporate wellness has become the matter of the moment. As corporate wellness picks up steam in India, organizations are rethinking their approach toward corporate wellness and widening their horizons to include outpatient department (OPD) services, pharmacy bills, diagnostic tests, teleconsultations and gym access, among others.
Full-stack platforms for a seamless experience
A lot of organizations nowadays are joining hands with tech-enabled platforms that provide employees access to primary and secondary healthcare services. In this digital-first age, organizations want to offer their employees access to full-stack platforms rather than broken experiences under conventional corporate insurance or wellness program. As technology transforms the wellness landscape, platforms offering subscription-based models are likely to gain more traction. These platforms allow employees to choose from a wide range of health benefits like telemedicine consultations, diagnostic tests, medicine bills, diet and fitness coaching, etc.
Cashless outpatient department services
Of the various trends that have picked up pace in recent years, cashless OPD seems to be the fastest-growing and most demanded service. Up until now, corporate wellness programs have been synonymous with secondary healthcare but with rising out-of-pocket expenditures, organizations are providing comprehensive coverage that includes outpatient expenses. Cashless OPD schemes insure employees and their families against pre and post-hospitalization expenses, lab tests, doctor consultations, medicines, etc. Unlike reimbursements which are time-consuming and complex, employees can get quick access to OPD services with new-age corporate wellness programs.
End-to-end wellness benefits
For a long, corporate wellness has been dominated by secondary healthcare cover only, which is contingent on hospitalization. But as the global pandemic draws attention to the need for primary healthcare services, many organizations are including primary health benefits under corporate wellness programs. Employees brave a plethora of health challenges in today’s workplace such as burnout, work pressure, depression, anxiety, stress, anger and many more. Instead of providing employees just a few tick-in-the-box services, organizations are now offering their human capital end-to-end wellness benefits.
Gamification & customization
Owing to the global pandemic, remote work has become the new normal, leaving employees isolated and stressed. To drive engagement and alleviate stress among employees, many organizations are introducing gamification to their corporate wellness programs. Additionally, the one-size-fits-all approach is gradually departing from corporate wellness programs and personalization is taking its place. Customization in corporate wellness allows employees to choose relevant offerings for themselves and their family members and craft their wellness programs as per their needs, thereby elevating effectiveness and experience.
Technology elevating flexibility
With the advent of digital tools and advanced technologies, employees find themselves in the driver’s seat to choose how and where they work. A similar trend seems to be catching on in the corporate wellness landscape as employees demand more autonomy and flexibility to choose and curate their own wellness programs. The emergence of tech-enabled platforms has simplified the selection of healthcare services from a large bundle of offerings, allowing employees to personalize corporate wellness. At the end of the day, the most effective employee wellness programs are ones that put employees at the center of wellness program design.
The Road Ahead
In a pandemic-afflicted world, the demand for robust and holistic corporate wellness programs has skyrocketed. The coming years will push the boundaries of wellness even further to widen the ambit of inclusion of healthcare services. Comprehensive, customizable and seamless wellness programs will allow organizations to reap long-term gains in terms of improved employee productivity, morale and satisfaction. Organizations should strive to work towards wellness to unlock the potential of their human capital, reduce the growing burden of medical inflation, make the workplace more desirable and build a healthy global community.
