The untouched side of employee well-being is now receiving attention

Working professionals today are experiencing increased stress levels induced by modern-day lifestyle and erratic/long work schedules. A recent survey conducted by the global health service leader Cigna with 3000+ working professionals in India, revealed that “63% of those who worked more than 50 hours a week experienced signs of stress. Additionally, compared to men, more women reported symptoms of stress” (Read more about the report findings here)

Stress coupled with other lifestyle-related health problems impact one’s productivity at work. Hence, organizations have now started paying attention to the health and well-being needs of employees. By providing on-site gym facilities to reimbursing gym memberships, by ensuring light and healthy food in cafeterias to reimbursing medical expenses (wherever applicable), organizing health camps and information sessions for raising awareness etc., commendable progress has been made.

However, there are organizations who are constantly on the lookout for newer ways of taking care of their employees. And doing that by touching a very special aspect of care, that was not part of the policy/benefits discussions until now, makes it important to applaud their efforts. As people have moved away from their hometowns in search of better careers, taking care of their parents who are still back home, often becomes a challenge for many such employees. With the hectic pace of life experienced, one unintentionally tends to neglect these priorities and later feels stressed/guilty about doing so. Needless to say, all of this is a potent mixture for a distraught and distracted employee. But times are changing. Companies like IBM, Deloitte and American Express have recently launched programs that focus specifically on elderly parental care. For example in January 2016, IBM launched a senior care program that provides a series of benefits for employees’ parents and parents’-in-law. Through this, “the company offers many services like  escorted pick-up and drop service to elders for hospital/medical center visits, home health aides or attendant services for 4-12 hour periods as back-up care, home visits by nurses for shots, as well as blood sample collection for medical tests from residence and delivery of the hard copy of the report” (Source ET Article – see here)

American Express in India has designed the 'Dil-Se' parental care programme, which among other things, provides a 24/7 health helpline — “an exclusive toll-free number for employees and their parents — to assist in the resolution of emergency and primary medical queries, booking doctors' appointments pan India, and getting health advice from qualified medical practitioners. The programme also offers concierge services, customized preventive and curative healthcare packages, diagnostics at discounted rates to ensure that wellness remains affordable and easily accessible to employees' parents" (Source ET Article – see here)

On similar lines, Deloitte’s Well-Being Programme (launched November 2015) provides an exclusive helpline for employees’ parents to reach out and seek counselling on issues and anxieties they might be dealing with.

With so much innovation happening regards policies at work, how can startups be behind in catching on this trend? Help at Homes <see website > is one such startup that focusses on being there for your  family as personal caretakers even for basic errands like taking parents for doctor visits, buying groceries, repair and maintenance work, bill payment, purchasing medicines on time, or accompanying them to visit relatives. They even help you with property management, finding tenants-taking care of their verification, lease agreements etc. This innovative venture has been launched keeping in mind today’s hyperactive generation who are under too much work pressure. “For us, a client’s family is no less than our own. That’s why we promise utmost care and support for your loved ones. Expect a smile on their face and relief in their eyes” says Amit Bhardwaj, IIT alumnus and the founder of the company “We are there for you, just like family is not just our motto it’s our promise.” (You can follow him on Twitter @amitbhardy)

Needless to see, on reading stories like the above, we can be assured that the organizations and our eco-system have their intent in the right place. There has been a positive start in this direction and hopefully in no time, we will have more patrons for such benefits. Reduction in the stress-levels of employees is a win-win situation for companies as no distractions can enhance performance. To add to this, when organizations begin to take care of even the subtle aspects of care, it definitely can be a big booster in employee engagement levels.

Here’s to more power, to wellness and well-being!

Image source