As business is evolving, so is the workforce. Unlike Boomers, Gen Z and Millennials are engaging with wellness services through embedded healthcare platforms at far higher rates. 

For today’s workforce, health is no longer a side concern; it’s central to well-being, performance, and business outcomes. Health and well-being have shifted from HR initiatives to strategic business levers. As personal wellness and professional productivity increasingly intertwine, a new workplace paradigm is emerging: employee health isn’t a support function, it’s a core driver of organisational success.

At the recent executive roundtable in partnership with Loop on the theme “Health as the New Business Strategy: Predict, Prevent, Personalise,” HR and business leaders from diverse sectors came together to explore how organisations can shift from reactive policies to holistic, data-driven wellness ecosystems that unlock business value.

The strategic shift from reactive to preventive healthcare

The session kicked off with a resounding message: health is no longer a fringe benefit. It is a central pillar of performance, retention, and sustainable growth.

“We need to stop seeing healthcare as just a statutory checkbox or a compensatory perk,” said Arvind Laddha, CFO at Loop and co-moderator of the session. He further reflected on how Loop’s own journey from digitising rural health records to building tech-enabled, personalised care mirrors what forward-thinking companies are striving for today.

Multiple leaders throughout the session underscored this strategic shift: from merely protecting employees against health issues to actively preventing them, and from generic well-being programs to tailored healthcare interventions.

Breaking the silence on mental health 

While physical health checks and insurance have long been part of employee benefits, the conversation also spotlighted mental and emotional well-being as today’s top priority.

As one speaker revealed, mental health services have become the most utilised wellness offering in their company. Some organisations have responded to this by rolling out confidential, round-the-clock Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), while other companies have broadened their approach to include community-building, meditation sessions, and caregiving support.

The leaders agreed collectively that employees need spaces to talk their hearts out. “Wellness today isn’t just about fitness, it’s about connection, empathy, and psychological safety.”

Business or HR - Who owns wellness?

While HR has traditionally led health initiatives, several organisations have seen business leaders step into the driver’s seat. Some leaders shared how their ‘CEO’ goes first for health checkups and leads by example, sending the message that health is not just a sideline, it’s a part of our strategic goals.  Other leaders reinforced the idea that well-being must be role-modelled, not managed top-down. For example, not only HR but the whole organisation must take the initiative to participate in health check-ups.  

Yet, the organisations that have rolled out increasingly generous benefits, from free breakfasts to in-house gyms to parental wellness, have also faced a few pitfalls.

Kalpak Khudal, CHRO, Foundever, shared, “We have created so many safety nets that sometimes, employees take shelter in them to avoid accountability.” He also added that if someone receives critical feedback, they may claim stress, and then HR can't objectively measure that aspect. 

The discussion highlighted a case where an employee stayed abroad for two months, citing mental health issues after receiving performance feedback, which put the employer in a tough ethical and legal dilemma.

The key takeaway that the leaders agreed on is keeping the balance between company policies and practising them with empathy and intent.

Solving the ROI riddle in wellness initiatives 

While adoption rates remain a challenge, some organisations have turned to claims data, engagement analytics, and retention trends to assess effectiveness. Others have also highlighted the need for more meaningful insights from wellness vendors, for example, the health issues are caused by long hours, poor diet, or lack of movement.

With the employee data analytics in mind,  the leaders agreed that the next five years would be driven by data and artificial intelligence [AI]. Everything from steps walked, hours worked, to phone screen time could be tracked. 

Employee wellness is not a trend but a transformation

The leaders unanimously agreed that whether through daily yoga, mental health leave, or simply asking the employees how they are doing, organisations could embed care into the very fabric of business.

“Ultimately, if we don’t do this well, we will lose talent, productivity, and our competitive edge,” Arvind Laddha summed it up at the closing.