Last week, Deepinder Goyal, chief executive of the online food delivery platform, announced the appointment of Anmol Gupta, the company’s first ever chief fitness officer, or CFO, who would be working with employees towards wellness and healthy living, as well as with an in-house team of trainers, nutritionists and wellbeing counsellors.
The addition of a chief fitness officer to the Zomato leadership reflects a growing commitment at India Inc — taking the health and fitness levels of employees very seriously.
Other companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Capgemini, Flipkart, Tata Power, EY, Marico and UpGrad are also rolling out programmes such as running challenges, access to gym memberships, marathon coaching, regular awareness sessions on healthy eating, as well as complimentary annual health evaluations as part of their employee wellbeing initiatives.
With a majority of employees back in workplaces, desktop yoga and flashmob dance performances have come back in vogue, too.
A few months back, Tata Power rolled out a marathon coaching programme, aimed at preparing employees for national and international level marathons. It has also introduced a company-wide one-month challenge based on points, encouraging employees to achieve 20,000 steps daily, do follow-along exercise videos, and prioritise healthy eating. These activities can be logged on an app and the employees can compete with their colleagues.
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EY has introduced complimentary yearly health evaluations for all employees and their direct relatives.“We also encourage people to prioritise their wellness journeys, including organising regular interactive sessions and webinars with fitness experts on sleep cycles, pranic healing, chair yoga, digital detox, immunity boosting workouts, and lifestyle diseases,” said Sandeep Kohli, EY India talent leader.
According to a recent study on employee wellness by digital healthcare platform MediBuddy, shared exclusively with ET, eight in 10 companies say the primary goal of their wellness programmes has been to increase employee engagement.
In May, TCS organised a Fitness Premier League between different business units, which included time and distance-based activities like brisk walking, running and cycling.
“We have introduced desktop yoga and sun salutation programmes as well. This November, we’re organising a running challenge across locations,” said Sangeeta Chandran, head of safety and wellbeing programmes at TCS.
Employees at Flipkart can customise their FlexBen policy to choose from health and wellness offerings that suit them best — including access to gym memberships, spa, health clubs and other recreational facilities.
“Our office premises are also designed in a manner that encourages taking breaks and doing some form of physical movement,” said Krishna Raghavan, chief people officer at the ecommerce firm.
UpGrad has been organising flashmob dance performances to break the corporate monotony. These have led to reduced absenteeism, increased focus and teamwork, Saurabh Deep Singla, the edtech firm’s chief HR officer, told ET.
Mental health, too, remains as important a focus as physical wellbeing.
Capgemini is in the process of designing and implementing programmes around mental wellbeing, including in areas like awareness on mental health and how to get help.
“We plan to launch manager-focused programmes that will equip them with the knowledge and confidence to address mental health issues among their team members, learn how to spot the signs of stress and know what action to take,” said Aarti Srivastava, its CHRO – India.
FMCG major Marico is training its sales supervisors under its ‘Manager as Wellness Coach’ programme, to enhance their cognisance of diverse aspects of wellbeing and signs of stress among team members. This helps them assume the role of first responders to mental health challenges and encourages members in need to reach out for professional help.