Great Place To Work® India Released The Wellbeing Manifesto

Great Place To Work® India released The Wellbeing Manifesto – a guide to building and institutionalizing a culture of holistic well-being, as a part of the global action by the World Health Organization (WHO) focused on “Health For All”. The first of its kind initiative in the country saw India Inc. leaders, subject matter experts, and industry practitioners co-create a charter to drive the movement of Making India a Healthy Place to Work For All. It also showcases insights from the institute’s research representing the voice of over 8.94 lac employees across 18 industries. The Manifesto outlines the key components of a workplace culture with illustrative examples of companies who have already implemented such programs including:

· Flipkart’s Leaders as Wishmasters program to emphasize on compassionate leadership.

· Accenture India’s employee resource groups and networks to customize/ personalize programs for different cohorts.

· GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals’ Partnership for Prevention program to cater to physical wellness benefits.

· Titan’s Maithri program for supporting mental health in their organization.

· Grant Thornton Bharat’s SuperCoach program for sensitizing and enabling people managers.

· Pepsico India’s Managing Your Energy workshop for identifying and managing burnout.

Yeshasvini Ramaswamy, CEO Great Place To Work® India said, “There is an urgent need for India Inc. to accelerate adoption of new practices that are technology enabled in their workplace that look at an inclusive approach to support all aspects of wellbeing, be it physical, emotional, financial, or environmental.  We remain committed to partnering with organisations to create workplaces where wellbeing is an integral part of workplace culture and business strategy. I am hopeful that a day will come when companies can report out their Workplace Wellness IndexTM in addition to the regular financial statements as a part of their corporate governance norms in India.

We truly believe in the power of collective action to build workplace cultures that nurture holistic wellbeing leading to a happier and healthier workforce as India Inc. gears up for hypergrowth. We are delighted to be releasing this Wellbeing Manifesto as the first creation of this power collective where leaders came together to drive the shared vision of creating a strong foundation for a healthier India, and a workplace policy for wellbeing in future.”

Even as the pandemic played a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of organization-wide employee wellness practices, many organizations still struggle to drive such programs consistently or show return on business investment. However, research indicates that a conscious and structured approach to well-being is necessary to develop a competitive advantage in an inclusive and sustainable way. Companies in the top quartile of best workplaces in Health and Wellness list identified by Great Place to Work® saw 89% retention and 92% discretionary effort among employees. To that effect, the Manifesto invites India Inc. leaders to contribute on an ongoing basis to evolve benefits and policies in line with changing people requirements. It will be a public document that the institute will keep refreshing on periodically and also incorporate key inputs received from India Inc.

“We founded our well-being practice with the vision of ‘Making India a Healthy Place to Work For All.’ Today is an important milestone in this journey and the manifesto is the first initiative in the country that aims to crowd-source the collective learning and experience of corporate India in the larger interest of the community. Occasions like World Day for Safety and Health at Work are reminders for all of us to bring well-being centerstage and Make Health a Habit. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the industry leaders for their contribution and involvement in creating this manifesto and generously sharing their valuable time, experience, and expertise to fuel the movement of Making India a Healthy Place to Work For All” said, Preeti Malhotra, Co-owner and Practice Head – Wellbeing at Great Place To Work® India.