Article: The nexus between well-being and productivity

Corporate Wellness Programs

The nexus between well-being and productivity

At the People Matters Rewards and Wellness Conclave 2021, Sumit Sabharwal, Vice President - HR at Fujitsu, Mashreq Bank’s Ashok Gopal, Schneider Electric’s Lipika Verma, DBS Bank’s Navin Chaudhary and InnerHour’s Neha Kirpal, discussed how employers can support their employees’ well-being and enable them to lead happier and healthier lives.
The nexus between well-being and productivity

The pandemic has taught us that ‘survival of the fittest’ is not just a theory. The statement is much beyond reality and the brutality of the present crisis has triggered this thought across minds. Professionally, surviving or being productive in these uncertain times does take a toll on the mental health of employees. 

Navin Chaudhary, Head of Rewards at DBS Bank ideated that Darwin’s theory of the “survival of the fittest” is the basic principle of every aspect of life. According to Navin, “Well-being is something which has been prioritised by most of the organisations. This means nothing but to help people survive the technological world with ease, keeping in mind the personal work-life balance.”

The productivity of a person is highly impacted by the psychological situation of an individual, and psychology differs from person to person depending on the circumstances and other factors. Thus, Ashok Gopal, Head - People Development & Employee Wellbeing, Mashreq Bank emphasised that employers have to focus on the fact that in order ensure an employee’s wellbeing, leaders have to consider the fact that he is beyond a mere employee. An individual has several roles to play in life such as a parent, son/daughter, spouse and so on, and all these factors including his circumstances decide his quotients of wellbeing.  Thus, according to Ashok, factors affecting well-being also vary with such factors. 

“The moment you take accountability yourself, you will shape what you want to do by way of action,” said Ashok

Elaborating on the thoughts of Ashok, Lipika Verma, Vice President-Rewards & Performance Innovation &, Schneider Electric said that it is clear that performance creates well-being and well-being generates performance. Adding further, she said that there is this direct correlation between productivity and wellbeing because only when an individual or an employee is happy, satisfied, and the emotional commitment of the person is high to the organisation. 

“We have seen a higher level of productivity and often a lot of us know that some of the organisations have really come back saying that the productivity has enhanced in the last one and a half years, because of the fact that the company has given the feeling of being a very caring organisation,” Lipika said.

So, she stresses on the needs of offering an employee the best of his professional experiences to draw out the best of his productivity.

Juggling between financial insecurity, a new form of worklife, combating the virus, and such other factors drove the deterioration of mental health over the last two years. Thus, according to Neha Kirpal, Founder of InnerHour, there has been a boom of seeking psychological help and therapies. 

“And that's been a very sort of useful insight for us to have and recognize that people are reaching out and dealing with a whole range of needs, and organizations are stepping forward and wanting to support,” Neha said. 

As newer variants of the pandemic-causing virus emerge, the uncertainty of the future is raising brows at the world. Due to the spike in the number of covid patients again, questions are arising on the future of work and this may be devastating for a major part of the global workforce. However, depending on the circumstantial factors, the effects may differ. Thus, concluding the discussion, Navin Chaudhary said that it is time for the organisations to prioritise what is important and realise that in the era of a flat globe, no one formula fits all. 

“Maybe the future of work will call for hyper-personalisation, whether a physical wellbeing or mental one,” said Navin. 

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Topics: Corporate Wellness Programs, Benefits & Rewards, #PMTRWC

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