The document discusses the poor health of India's workforce due to long work hours and an imbalance between work and personal life. It notes examples of employees suffering health issues like brain tuberculosis, spine infections, and heart attacks. Long hours lead to stress, burnout, and an inability to separate work and home life. This impacts family relationships and personal well-being. There is a need for sustained corporate wellness programs to motivate employees towards healthier lifestyles and reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and morale. Healthier employees can benefit companies by increasing retention and competitiveness.

1. Good Health Good Life

2. Corporate Wellness - India
The Health of India’s workforce is in serious jeopardy
jeopardy.
Work life balance is skewed with people working 14 to 15
hour shifts in India’s booming software and BPO industry.
While outsourcing has led to prosperity, we also have an
increasingly ill task force.
Some Examples:
1. 43 year old COO of a top ranked BPO collapsed on his way home. Was
diagnosed with a rare TB of the brain!
2. 27 year old woman working in an IT company kept getting weaker and
weaker till one day she could not get out of bed. – diagnosed with a rare
infection of the spine.
3.
3 34 year old man in a top bank had a heart attack while driving back home
from work. His boss called him up next day to ask “So will you be back next
week?”
Good Health Good Life

3. Corporate Wellness - India
In the Global Workplace we not only work harder, we work
longer!
When we wake up, our counterparts in the US may be just about to
sleep.
sleep To ensure seamless operations Indian team members wake
operations,
up sooner to take the download from US based offices/clients and
we may sleep later to ensure that unfinished work does not impact
the next shift.
The Impact:
1. Midnight calls may often be taken at home. Work and home life often merge so
that the distinction between work time and home time becomes blurred.
2.
2 There is often no escape from long hours constant calls and emails Absence
hours, emails.
of downtime increases overall feeling of stress.
3. Team members burn out or leave the team, if work hours are not limited, even
if compensation is appropriate. Constant flux increases pressure on other team
members to compensate for the new Boss or Fellow worker – both of whom
may take time to pick up the ropes.
“When I started this job (BPO) 2 years back, I loved it, the money
was good and I enjoyed the culture. Things are different now, I don’t
feel like going to work, I feel tired all the time and my Blood Pressure
g g , y
is constantly high”.
- 25 Year Old BPO Employee
Good Health Good Life

4. Corporate Wellness - India
Is there an email that I haven’t read? Has anyone called in the ten
minutes that I have been away from my Cell phone?.....today’s
workers are never really free from things that seemingly require
immediate and urgent attention.
The Impact:
1. Managers sometimes get 100 emails a day. They can never really respond to them.
The cumulative effect of pending work makes sure they always feel that there is a lot
to do, long hours and weekends go up in smoke trying to stay ahead.
2. After a while the need to stay connected becomes a habit, the net is always on –
even if there is really no work, the cell phone is never really switched off and the
Electronic Boss makes sure that the co-workers too are always “connected” –
perpetuating the problem.
3. Anytime, Anywhere connectivity has meant that you can work while you are travelling
or away from your place of work. While this could have led to flexi hours and more
humane work life balance, it has in fact meant no escape even during travel, family
events and vacations.
“You can’t even get rest on the weekend,” says a Senior Manager.
“There is a funny oft repeated episode of my colleague receiving a call
from his boss during his wedding ceremony. They halted the ceremony
so that a password could be given to the CTO”.
“My HR head says that my work hours are 9 to 9”
Good Health Good Life

5. Corporate Wellness - India
Employees in the city are spending 10-12 hours in the office.
This goes up to 14 hours or more at the senior management
level. Keeping up with changes in the global market and
increased competition ensures that Indians are working
harder d l
h d and longer.
The Impact:
1. Talent crunch has ensured that existing employees are given additional
responsibilities. If you are willing t work h d and l
ibiliti illi to k harder d longer – you will
ill
invariably get more work, more pay and less time for yourself.
2. “What are my work hours” is the wrong question to ask in an interview. You
are expected to work late – even if there is no work, you may need to stay
back just because your boss is there as well!
3. Longer work hours mean faster burnout – many employees in their 40’s start
feeling the impact of Long Term Stress.
“Most Indian companies don’t realize that longer work hours only ensure
short term results – for a productive, innovative workforce you need a
strong, motivated team. Long term impact of insane working hours makes
the team slack, prone to mistakes and unproductive.”
“My boss sends me a mail at 11 at night and expects a response by 6 in
My
the next morning!”
Good Health Good Life

6. Corporate Wellness - India
Not only is the impact of long hours on personal health but the
health and wellbeing of the family. There is no time for ailing
parents, small children and family outings. There is more so in
cases where both parents are working. If only one person is
working the stay at home is left to carry the burden of family
alone.
The Impact:
1. Families are increasingly feeling disconnected. Children fend for themselves and
gy g
the elderly feel lonely and uncared for.
2. The personal cost of preparing proposals, presentations, late work hours
immerse the person completely into the company without a stable balancing
influence of the family.
3. Lack of Work Life Balance and Family Time leads to guilt which further creates
stress for the Executive
A COO’s ailing daughter remarked – “ Papa you must love me a lot that you here
today on my birthday” – The executive had been travelling for months.
A senior executive’s son has severe crying bouts when he knows that his father
will be travelling again. He has been diagnosed with a psychological problem
born of insecurity and anxiety.
anxiety
Good Health Good Life

7. Corporate Wellness - India
Night shifts – disrupted bio rhythms
Constant late nights – 14 to 15 hours days
Excessive Travel – (Jet Lag, Travel on Weekends)
High levels of Stress in City Commuting
Competitiveness / Corporate Policies
Unhealthy ti h bit
U h lth eating habits – stress eating / fast food
t ti f tf d
Sedentary Lifestyle – no exercise
Poor Work Life Balance – absence of any slack time
y
Chronic Fatigue
Heart Problems Asthma
Carpel Tunnel
Cancer Thyroid Diabetes
Depression Stress Frequent Flu, Coughs, Colds Stroke
Blood Pressure Spondylitis Back Problems
Good Health Good Life

8. Corporate Wellness - India
Setting up Gyms
Most gyms are set up at high cost of space and equipment, but most of them lie
unused – “to use the office gym seems to imply that I am not working”
Diagnostic Tie Ups with Hospitals
“I get the corporate health check up done once a y
g p p year….what g
good is that if I
am working all hours and weekends”.
Art of Living Workshops /Yoga Sessions
“These sessions relieve stress, but should be done more regularly, they are so
sporadic and unplanned” – Employees
“What is the tangible benefit to the company of these activities” – HR H d
“Wh t i th t ibl b fit t th f th ti iti ” Heads
Insurance Policies
Most insurance policies cover in-patient visits to a hospital – whereas
employees are looking at OPD cover, Wellness benefits and something for their
families.
families Medical Insurance in India is still in its infancy
infancy.
Sport/Club Memberships
Club Memberships are given only to senior level executives – for them, playing
anything other than golf is passé. Cricket championships etc. are organized by
ESPN/Local Clubs in which few Companies/Employees p
p p y participate.
p
Good Health Good Life

9. Corporate Wellness - India
The Need:
1. HR Managers are realizing that sporadic one off
activities such as Executive Health Check Ups, Doctor
on Call are not very successful.
successful
2. The Need is to foster a change in lifestyles and
employee sensitization towards Health and Wellness. In
addition, health needs are varied and no single provider
can take care of all of them. The need is therefore to
change mindsets and constantly track success.
3. The Need is for a SUSTAINED CORPORATE
WELLNESS Intervention which is visible and available
through the year.
4. Develop an actionable and measureable framework to
improve Health and Wellbeing of ALL Employees
Good Health Good Life

10. Corporate Wellness - India
Is your Staff
StressedSad
Unhappy
Unhealthy
Annoyed
Irritated Ti d
Tired
We can help!!
Healthji Sustained Corporate H lth P
H lthji – S t i d C t Health Programs D i
Designed t M ti t and I
d to Motivate d Inspire
i
your Employees to achieve the Best for your Business
Good Health Good Life

11. Corporate Wellness - India
How can healthy
Increase
Productivity
staff benefit your
business
Higher Morale
Reduce Absenteeism
Team Building
Increase
Retention
It is common knowledge that healthier bodies and healthier minds go hand in
hand so the benefits of a healthy lifestyle plan for your employees might be
obvious, but healthy staff could actually increase your bottom line!!
Good Health Good Life

12. Vision – Healthji
To be the Premier Health and Wellness Portal serving
the Global Indian Community with a Brand
Synonymous with a Healthy Lifestyle and a
Compelling Customer Experience.
The Portal will leverage Innovative Technology to
Deliver for its Corporate and Individual Clients
Sustained Wellness Programs through Health &
Wellness Tools and Services.
C-CubeSM Promise – Consistent and Compelling Customer Experience
Good Health Good Life

13. Culture - Pride
Innovation – In our
Services, Technology and
Responsiveness – To the
needs of our customers –
I Offerings
internal and external.
R D
Determination – To
succeed as individuals,
d i di id l
teams and the Organization
as a whole. WIT – Whatever
It Takes.
P
Passion – In everything we
do. Because we believe in
our Vision, our Culture and Execution – An un-yielding
our Values. focus on Excellence and to
E Deliver to Promise. To our
community, customers,
colleagues and stakeholders.
PRIDE in our Work, our Colleagues and our Firm
Good Health Good Life

14. Core Value - Touch
Urgency – A sense of
urgency and speed in all our
actions and interactions.
Openness – A Collaborative
U Customers – Delivering a
and Open environment with
effective Communication.
C consistent and enriching Customer
Experience to all Users of our
O Services and Tools.
Healthy Lifestyle – To live and
H deliver a message of Healthy
Lifestyle and Wellbeing to all our
T
Teamwork – Put the cause
Clients and Stakeholders
Stakeholders.
of the organization and the
team ahead of the individual
at all times.
TOUCH the lives of Human Beings in a Positive and Meaningful Way
Good Health Good Life

15. Become employers of
choice
h i
Attract and retain healthier
Healthy C
H lth Companies
i
employees
Enjoy a sustainable competitive
advantage
Good Health Good Life