$237 billion : Why do we not care

In a recent article, Indra Nooyi, chairman and chief executive officer, PepsiCo Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman, World Economic Forum have covered the impact of companies commitment to employee wellness in the workplace on a global scale.

The WHO estimates that China will lose $558 billion, India $237 billion and Russia $303 billion in national income from 2005-2015 due to heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Professor K. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India, has said that “heart disease is the number one killer throughout India. By 2030, 18 million potentially productive years of life will be lost.”. Recent studies show economic losses in developing countries will threaten the stability of social security systems in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations. So while the problem is local, the impact will be increasingly global.

Yet, there are practical, tangible steps, which can be taken now. The role of the workplace, as integral to addressing the major causes of death and disease in adults, was first recognized by the international AIDS community. Their energy and expertise propelled workplace AIDS programs to the highest levels of government and corporate attention.

There is incredible potential for nearly 3 billion productive people in labor markets around the world to affect change in the workplace. We must now ensure that heart disease, diabetes and cancers – by far the largest contributors to ill health and premature death at work – receive the same attention as the AIDS epidemic.

The private sector has the tools and knowledge to address most major health problems in the workplace. Tobacco cessation programs and smoke free workplaces work; screening and treatment for high blood pressure and cholesterol works; stress management programs work.

The recently completed WHO/World Economic Forum joint report on workplace wellness indicates that workplace programs targeting physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary habits, are effective in reducing the risks for major non-communicable diseases in a cost-effective manner. Further, it highlights key elements for the development of sustainable wellness programs and includes examples of successful programs implemented in countries as diverse as India, Malaysia and the US.

Some steps are simple – such as providing affordable, nutritious foods and access to physical activity – but there are tough problems still to solve and answers will only come through collaborative innovation. For example, a relatively new frontier for wellness is obesity. There is no major success story of reducing obesity levels in a large workplace setting and sustaining it over time. We have yet to pull together our best efforts to simultaneously address the input of calories and working to drive calories out by engaging employees in becoming more physical.

A good company does more than focus only on short term profits – it makes products that responsibly nourish people and societies, minimizes the impact on the environment in which it operates and cherishes its employees. A work environment which enhances health and wellness demonstrates to employees their importance to the company by enabling them to live life to its fullest.

This is a challenge that cannot be tackled just by medical and health services. It will take a companywide effort to make a difference. And for us to sustain the impact it will demand full involvement of the community.

Employee Wellness: An Indian Survey

Indian Council For Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) in its study based on a survey of disparate companies across 15 states of India, showed 12% of blue-collar workers were at a high risk of getting a debilitating disease compared to 4% of the medium and senior-level employees.

While blue-collar workers are generally afflicted with acute as well as chronic infectious diseases like tuberculosis and AIDS, senior executives are more prone to lifestyle diseases, owing to lack of exercise and dietary control.

ICRIER’s survey corroborates what Apollo Hospitals found in its study ‘Health and Wellness Survey (2003)’. The study said more than half of the executives were prone to lifestyle diseases. And nearly 71% of the employees and 82% of CEOs were overweight. It had also found nearly 48% of the employees and 69% of CEOs were physically unfit.

The direct impact of employee sickness is reflected in man days lost. ICRIER’s survey shows almost a quarter of the companies lose approximately 50 man days in a year due to sickness. Another 34% companies lose between 10 to 50 man days. This translates into an equal percentage of loss in their productivity and bottomlines.

The survey notes that companies are aware of how employee sickness affects their bottomlines. To mitigate some of the cost, two-thirds of respondent firms have introduced preventive healthcare as part of their corporate governance strategy.

However, less than one-third make provision for the whole range of preventive healthcare measures for their staff. Many of them feel providing health insurance is good enough.

The report also suggests a well-designed employee wellness programme by companies could lead to 25% reduction in their health-plan costs, sick leave, disability pay and workers compensation. Reducing just one health risk increases an employee’s on-the-job productivity by 9% and cuts absenteeism by 2%.

The report sums up with some suggestions both for the government and India Inc. These include conducting a health audit of all employees at regular intervals, introduction of preventive healthcare benefits and vouchers.