The pandemic has changed the awareness and expectations of employees on healthcare and wellness. Apart from the healthcare challenges during the pandemic, employees also faced burnout and mental health issues arising from prolonged remote work. Limited social interaction, increased use of collaboration-based technology tools, and the lack of face-to-face communication exacerbated stress at work.

There's also been a concerted effort by all parties – including organisations' HR departments, individuals, managers, leaders, and even families- to tackle some of the pandemic's challenges. Here are some of the critical shifts employees experienced.

• Greater awareness of holistic wellness:

Due to the difficulties that COVID-19 posed, employees have shown more interest in learning about holistic wellness. And that means thinking about lifestyle habits, eating a nutritious diet, and exercising regularly. Employees are also reflecting on their own work-life balance to enhance their emotional and physical wellness. There's also a greater understanding of the impact of finances on individuals.

•  The rise of mental health:

The importance of mental health has been a crucial conversation throughout the pandemic. Increased stress from everyday activities like supporting children's education from home, prolonged working hours at work, and lack of support systems have exposed employees to mental health issues.

• Importance of family healthcare: 

Any company's health and wellness efforts need to account for families, especially immediate family members. Caring for a sick family member impacts the employees' mental health and work behaviour. And studies show that employees understand this challenge. Since the pandemic, there's been an increase in the purchase of health insurance. 

• Women's healthcare:

The pandemic exacerbated the responsibilities of working women. Companies are investing in understanding the importance of targeted programs that can improve the health and wellbeing of women. "While both men and women experience behavioural health issues, the rate of depression among women is nearly twice that of men," says one study. Preventive healthcare and healthy living also need to account for women's health care needs - supporting women's cardiovascular health, breast cancer awareness, and other long-term health implications.

In this context, it's up to businesses to take the right steps to ensure the health and wellbeing of their entire workforce.

• Personalised healthcare:

Healthcare offerings should be designed for the individual. And that means giving employees the options access to regular health checkups and diagnostics, workshops, and therapists. These tools help the individuals know better about themselves it can also shape the roadmap for the kind of healthcare offerings that are most suited to them. While offering a bouquet of offerings can help organisations meet the needs of employee cohorts or demographics, personalised healthcare should be personal.

• Group health insurance:

Providing your teams with a group health insurance plan has many benefits. It can help the company provide for more than what their employee asks. It can offer employees enhanced healthcare benefits aimed at improving productivity. It can also enable the 'ease' of experience central to employees seeking care during a stressful time. Covering pre and post hospitalisation expenses, pre-existing diseases, and families at a low cost are all added benefits.

Apart for health, group personal accident insurance and group term life insurance are something that more are more employers are tending to offer the younger generation.

• Nutrition and exercise plans:

With increased awareness of holistic wellbeing, companies (including SMEs) need to invest in building resources that could help employees access nutrition and exercise plans. While information about these topics is easily available online, having access to trained and qualified professionals could ease employee doubts and confidently embark on their wellness journey.

• Mental health and virtual wellbeing for remote employees:

There's a widespread consensus that the hybrid world of work may continue to shape work in the short term. While for the long term, there may be roles that companies could consider for remote work. In this context, HR teams need to equip their employees with the knowledge and habits to make their virtual experience a success. From planning their workday to ensuring their employees are engaging in healthy practices like meditation, yoga will be crucial to long-term health and workplace success.

Refreshing your holistic wellness programs will these priorities will be a critical step as you navigate the ‘new’ hybrid world of work.