The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reshaped the understanding of employee well-being for industry people and its impact on productivity, safety, engagement, and other business outcomes and Tata Steel was not an exception to this. In a post-pandemic world, Tata Steel has adopted a holistic approach towards employee wellness, encompassing physical, emotional, social, occupational, and financial well-being.

Atrayee Sanyal, VP HRM, at Tata Steel, says they evolved from traditional wellness methods to more proactive, personalised, and outcome-focused wellness programmes. “We foster a culture that enables them to “Do More, Live More, Grow More.”  

To enhance the quality of life for individuals and cultivate a workplace where employees are happy, balanced, safe, and cared for, mentions Sanyal that Tata Steel has established key performance indicators, including reducing Health Index, BMI, Reversing lifestyle disorders, Leadership Engagement in Wellness, Health Checkups, Usage of Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), Counselling sessions, Manager Wellness Score, Emotional Wellness Score, Employee Volunteerism Score, Workplace Amenities Score, etc.

 Strategies to support employees’ well-being

“At Tata Steel holistic wellness journey began with employees’ feedback on their specific wellness needs,” says Sanyal. According to her, this resulted in a comprehensive wellness strategy and action plan addressing diverse needs. “A dedicated chief wellness officer leads the initiative, supported by over 1000 wellness champions across various councils representing different locations and business units.” She further adds that Tata Steel offers health checkups resulting in early disease detection. The organisation has a "Wellness for Life" portal and "The Wellness Corner" app, offering personalised programmes, resources, and leadership engagement is also there for employees, she informs.

“Regular wellness webinars and tailored sessions for diverse employee groups, including the LGBTQIA+ community; successful Lifestyle Transformation Programmes with remarkable weight loss and medication; daily online yoga sessions; Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) support; and Insurance schemes for 100,000+ contractor workers are also available for employees. Fitness challenges and a robust reward & recognition system further incentivise employees to embrace a culture of wellness.”

To further incentivise a culture of wellness, Tata Steel has introduced a Wellness Recognition Policy to acknowledge departments and divisions excelling in wellness initiatives.

 Hinderance to the workplace well-being

While tremendous efforts are made to develop a culture of wellness, says Sanyal. However, she cautions that some issues like commitment towards wellness and ensuring participation from everyone, and long-term sustenance of healthy lifestyle habits need to be addressed for sustainable results.

“Additionally, extending infrastructural resources to all employees, especially those in remote locations and destigmatising mental wellness at the workplace and advocating ‘seek support’ need to be addressed,” believes Sanyal.

Starting the wellness journey from purely voluntary participation at the individual level, business units are now being assessed on their efforts and contributions toward strengthening the culture of wellness and encouraging participation at Tata Steel. “If wellness becomes part of the culture, integration with the Performance Management System (PMS) may not be required,” adds Sanyal.

 Catering to specific employee groups

Tata Steel’s wellness benefits cater to all employee age groups and are voluntary, says Sanyal. “Employees of all age groups can opt for the benefits according to their needs. Most programmes are accessible online and supported by digital tools.”

On ways to enhance well-being programs and crafting a holistic wellness programme for the organisation, Sanyal adds that their campus engagement programmes, like Steel-a-thon and Queerious, provide young minds with real-life case studies on wellness to solve and inspire innovative ideas. “We also assign critical projects on wellness to our management trainees and interns to develop creative and implementable solutions. These inputs have helped us craft a holistic wellness programme for the organisation, which we continually aim to improve.