The 'Wellness at your doorstep’ Culture

During the pandemic when the work-from-home norm was settling in, many organisations believed that the transition from an in-office workplace to a remote ecosystem would be difficult. However, we acclimatized ourselves to the new normal in a relatively seamless manner. In fact, due to the physical restrictions that the pandemic imposed, the need for online convenience is no longer limited to ordering food or groceries but has extended to medicare as well. With more and more people looking for medical solutions online, whether it is lab tests at the doorstep, or ordering medicines online, the demand for these services had surged during the pandemic and continues to stay that way because of the convenience these services offer.?

Likewise, telehealth, the practice of remote delivery of healthcare services, has gained traction too. Many hospitals and doctors have started offering tele-consultations through video calls regardless of the patients’ ability to move, especially during and post COVID times. No wonder, it has become an important criterion for individuals and companies and they have started evaluating whether these expenses are covered in their health insurance or not. Employers are choosing healthcare plans which cover expenses of online doctor consultations and ancillary features like booking a lab test or e-prescriptions etc. from the comfort of home.

This also becomes relevant in a remote working scenario. Consider this situation where an employee working from his hometown also has access to the best doctors in metro cities. Not just accessibility, but affordability also plays a role here. These online services also cost significantly less than hospital appointments, urgent care, and emergency room visits. Digital care options, or telehealth, specifically, gained significance during the pandemic mainly for two reasons: to reduce the risk of infection transmission and to help take off some load from the already stressed healthcare system.?

Another issue that was perhaps on the periphery before the pandemic, but became an important topic of discussion during the pandemic was mental health issues. The stress level among the workforce, especially working women, witnessed a spike. Working mothers are particularly more vulnerable to these accelerated stress levels as they have to juggle their time between childcare and work. Online psychologist consultations, with the potential to help such employees deal with stress by providing evidence-based practices tailored to individual needs, emerged as a solution to this problem.

Online employee wellness programmes have now become a priority for all employee-centric organizations. Not just large corporates, but start-ups and small companies too are focusing on this. A well-designed wellness programme for employees should cover a host of benefits like financial wellness, stress management, and legal advice. Some of these programmes are gamified to reward employees for achieving wellness goals. This is particularly significant for employees with children or with added responsibilities. They might not have enough time to exercise or look after themselves. Such individuals especially benefit from these programmes.

Not to forget, these wellness programmes also incorporate various features like online yoga, meditation podcasts, fitness programs, etc. among the wide range of benefits to choose from. Basically, a complete package for a holistic lifestyle!

Technology is changing the wellness game. With more evolved online healthcare and wellness programmes and the increasing uptake among individuals, many employers have started taking a holistic approach that embraces the overall well-being of their employees and not just their health risks. It’s just a matter of time before every employee-centric organization will have to give due importance to technology-driven employee wellness strategy.

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