Redefining Employee Wellbeing
For instance, a young corporate employee caught in the whirlwind of a hectic lifestyle, with little time for exercise or healthy eating. This might be influenced by social determinants of health (SDOH), which includes lifestyle habits and environmental factors, significantly impacting their long-term health outcomes. Shockingly, even younger generations, such as Gen Z, are experiencing higher rates of health issues due to stress and anxiety caused by high-end deadlines. According to a 2023 Deloitte survey involving 14,483 Gen Z individuals across 44 nations, 46 per cent experience constant anxiety and stress in the workplace.
This highlights the need to shift from transactional wellness benefits provided to the employees to transformational wellness benefits which are innovative and personalized as per an employee’s requirement. This approach is not only centered at improving physical, emotional and clinical wellbeing of the employees to enhance their productivity but also deemed as a business necessity.
To address social determinants of health (SDOH) and establish effective employee benefits, corporates can adopt following strategies:
1. Understanding the impact of SDOH on wellbeing: SDOH includes a myriad of factors, from healthcare access and quality to social and community dynamics, economic stability, education, and neighborhood environments. Understanding these forces is critical for designing equitable benefits that address the unique needs of diverse workforces.
2. Adopting Personalized Wellness Programs: To reduce the impact of the social determinants of health, it is essential to understand that true equity in employee benefits goes beyond offering the same resources to everyone. It requires personalized support tailored to individual needs. This means affordable plan designs, diverse wellness resources, and incremental benefits catering to the diverse workforce that cater to the unique needs of Gen Z, Millennials, older adults, and everyone in between. Corporations can opt for personalized wellness programs which are developed considering the unique needs, lifestyle, and environmental circumstances of each individual, especially in today's dynamic landscape, rather than a "one-size-fits-all" approach. This will not only help in addressing specific health needs and social determinants, but also improve engagement and outcomes.
3. Prioritizing Data-Driven Health Outcomes through App Integration: For effective and efficient resource allocation, corporations can use insights derived from utilization of employee benefits for smarter implementation of wellness initiatives. This can be achieved through user-friendly applications that enable employers to analyze employee patterns via user-friendly dashboards. By consolidating member experiences and leveraging advanced analytics, it can help employers with unparalleled insights to support employees on their wellbeing journeys.
This targeted approach not only improves health outcomes but also encourages a more inclusive ecosystem which focuses on the wellbeing of the employees. Furthermore, adoption of enhanced AI capabilities enable smarter decision-making, optimizing resource utilization and improving individual health outcomes. Through personalized recommendations and data-driven insights, both members and employers can make informed healthcare decisions, contributing to lasting behavior change and healthier lives. This will allow organizations to navigate the complexities of employee wellbeing, and adopt data-centric and personalized approaches to cater to the diverse needs of their employees.
