Answering The Call For Prioritising Wellbeing

Good health and wellbeing are crucial elements of sustainable development. As per the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), good health and wellbeing are one of the top priorities that must be achieved to create a sustainable future for all. With its large and diverse population, India is perfectly placed to realise this.

For ages, India has been the epicentre of health and wellness practices. Today, the country has not only assumed the presidency of G20, during one of the most tumultuous times of world history, but it has also guided the world with its covid vaccination drive and become the vaccination capital of the world.

Economy and wellbeing are in the best cases closely interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Economic growth improves people’s wellbeing, whereas wellbeing and health of the population enhance economic growth and stability. This interlinkage must be better recognised especially with India positioned to have an average size of the GDP of $26 billion on the occasion of its 100th anniversary as a democracy.

Envisioning Wellbeing for the Country

The Indian health and wellness market is expected to exhibit a growth rate (CAGR) of 5.55% between 2023 and 2028. As compared to the global wellness industry, which is estimated to be around $4.2 trillion, the Indian wellness sector commands a fraction and the growth potential is huge.

As India gears up to be a 5 trillion-dollar economy, wellness and wellbeing have become key pillars in enabling that vision. To foster a community of like-minded leaders in India to come together and strengthen the ecosystem that will fuel the movement of “Making India a Healthy Place to Work For All”, HDFC ERGO General Insurance and Great Place To Work India hosted “The Wellness Confluence” on 24th March at Taj Lands End, Mumbai.

This event provided a momentous occasion for the formal launch of “Habit of Life” in front of 200+ CXOs and wellbeing leaders. The day was kicked off with a thought-provoking session aptly titled “Creating the Charter” as corporate and individual architects across diverse industries and backgrounds stood united through the one common focus of furthering healthy ecosystems for India. This session encouraged collaboration and brought up multiple action points for all participants to carry back to their respective ecosystems.

The stage was set for the keynote speaker Shri CK Mishra, Ex-IAS, Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Government of India to focus on how prioritising wellbeing is part of the foundation for India’s 100th year as a democracy. His core message was to usher corporates and government to work together and ensure India is positioned as a wellbeing first nation.

Taking the cue from the keynote, the leadership dialogue that followed brought to attention the power of collective action across the three key cohorts of the country – Individual, Institution, India. The night was brought to a close by celebrating the top 40 Best Workplaces in Health and Wellness.
Reflecting on the learnings from the event, Anuj Tyagi, Deputy Managing Director, HDFC ERGO General Insurance mentioned,” Wellness and wellbeing is an evolving story across the globe. A wellness charter for India has been long overdue. Through enthusiastic participation by corporate India during the vaccination drive, wellness and wellbeing became critical elements of workforce engagement and today, Corporate India wishes to invite the cities and countries to collaborate and create an Index.”

“The foundation has been laid. Great Place to Work India has ensured Individual to Institution is now linked by Health and Wellness. The next step is to build the linkage to the larger population and build it for India. Habit of Life has emerged to collate the thoughts and aspirations of the larger population on wellness and wellbeing, channelling them into action plans for all stakeholders in this journey.”

Defining Wellbeing at HDFC ERGO

At HDFC ERGO, the belief is that people are the head, heart and muscle of the organisation. The holistic wellness charter Niramaya aimed at welcoming our 10,000+ employees to bring their whole self to work.

It is centred on the five pillars of Physical, Mental, Emotional, Financial and Social Wellbeing. Here the framework is to democratize wellbeing and enable each individual to go on their unique journey. Some programs and initiatives that are ensured under this banner are Yoga, Pre-natal & Post-natal programs, Self-Defence Workshops, brain gyms, employee assistance programs and more.

Onetastic communities under our social wellness pillar, including Klick, Fittastic, impressions, Binge and Kahani Kafe, ensure employees have common platforms to help them make connections and discover their true potential. Whether it is about trekking, book reading sessions or nature watching, - this has given birth to a workplace that respects differences, celebrates similarities and believes in being more together.