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The article flows from a fundamental premise, namely, employees seek work to address their needs—psychological, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem and, finally, self-actualisation. Depending on where the employee is situated on this hierarchy of needs, specific engagement initiatives may be required. The authors explore what leads to real employee engagement and question the prevalent actions that organisations and managers take to enhance it. They ask about the need for any employee engagement actions when work can be motivating and challenging on its own. Work and workplace dynamics play a significant role in ensuring an employee remains motivated, enthusiastic and challenged to deliver to and beyond the expectations of her role. Careful crafting of interventions that connect employees to what they care about most, including fundamental job redesign, could result in the employee owning and seeing meaning and purpose in fulfilling work responsibilities.

Moringa concanensisNimmo (Wild Drumstick) is an underutilized edible plant used to treat various diseases. The present study was designed to investigate the phytochemical content and therapeutic potential of M. concanensisseeds using spectroscopic, chromatographic and various in-vitro assays. GC–MS analysis identified 34 compounds with palmitone, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, n-Pentacosane and octacosane as major constituents. Methanolic extract of seeds revealed maximum amount of phytochemicals like phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, flavanols, proanthocyanins and vitamin E. Similarly, methanolic extract showed moderate α-amylase inhibitory effect (72.81 ± 0.46 µg/mL), and ethyl acetate extract revealed notable α-glucosidase inhibitory effect (IC50of 40.80 ± 0.53 µg/mL). All the studied extracts exhibited decent free radical scavenging ability. Chloroform and ethyl acetate extract of seeds displayed the lowest MIC against the growth of Bacillus subtilis(59.37 µg/mL). The study results support the possible use of M. concanensisseeds towards the preparation of therapeutic and food formulations.

Lettuce tree (Pisonia grandisR.Br.) leaves are underutilized vegetables with diverse nutritional and medicinal properties. Herein, P. grandisleaves (PGL) were explored for biological potentiality and chemical profiling using different solvents of varied polarity. The enzyme inhibitory property was evaluated by α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and tyrosinase inhibitory assays. Antioxidant property of PGL was done using five assays and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) required to inhibit the growth of six bacterial strains was tested. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 43 constituents. Phytol (27.5 and 12.3%) and squalene (14.6 and 4.9%) are identified as major compounds in petroleum ether (PEE) and ethyl acetate extracts (EAE). The EAE (IC50of 29.04 ± 0.16 µg/mL) exhibited strong α-amylase inhibitory activity. Whereas, aqueous (IC50of 53.41 ± 0.50 µg/mL) and methanolic (IC50of 60.20 ± 0.38 µg/mL) extracts showed moderate α-glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibitory effects respectively. Methanolic extract of PGL showed better free radical scavenging activity in ABTS, DPPH and FRAP assays with an IC50of 44.58 ± 0.42, 34.80 ± 0.21, and 61.51 ± 0.10 µg/mL respectively. The concentration (MIC) of PGL extract at 23.4 µg/mL is sufficient for the inhibition of the bacterial strains like Staphylococcus epidermidisand Vibrio cholera. The phytochemicals present in the PGL extract could be the basis for its promising biological properties. The results revealed the efficacy of this underutilized vegetable for use as a dietary supplement and other applications in food and pharmaceutical industries.

In over 30 years as a corporate professional, mostly with multinational organisations, Gangapriya has worked closely with Indian, non-Indian managers and co-workers. These interactions allowed her to dig deeper on what being ‘Indian’ means. In this article, she writes about how working with employees from across the world, in multinational organisations, gives us the advantage to look critically at ourselves, while also having the opportunity to observe and learn from ‘the other’.Based entirely on her observations, experiences and inferences, she focuses on typical aspects of ‘Indian-ness’ that stand out—the abiding regard for hierarchy, the inexplicable relationship with time, how competitive Indians can be and how it drives them, and how Indians contend with conflicts of interest and deal with issues about data privacy and the general unease with compliance. It is her firm belief that with reflection, self-awareness and confidence arising out of knowing oneself, Indians may be better placed to deal with the underlying confusion and anxiety around whether to ‘stand out’ or ‘fit in’ and navigate with ease in a multinational and multicultural environment.For Indians employed in multinational, global organisations, she believes that such experiences provide a valuable opportunity to become better versions of ourselves. Similarly, organisations get to appreciate the differences that Indians bring to the table, while, at the same time, understanding the common characteristics that come with such a diverse workforce. Through this article, she explores what ‘Indian-ness’ means to her and how in this ‘flat’ world, it is imperative and important for us to retain our identity as an ‘Indian’ yet be comfortable in a globalised environment so that we feel connected with the larger team without being lost at an individual level.

Wellness coaching is all about partnering with individuals in a thought-provoking and creative process to enable them to live life to their full potential. A life that is built upon self-awareness and choice; and is self-directed and active. As a wellness coach and mentor, there is a meaningful sense of contribution I experience towards creating a healthier planet, one conversation at a time. Equally so, in this journey of contribution, there is much more I have learnt and gained from my clients—knowledge, insight and deepening of real-life perspectives about wellness!In this article, I will reflect upon my coaching experiences, build on and outline my learnings regarding the following: How wellness manifests itself in the life of an individual and how wellness coaching can help holistically?Top 10 wellness lessons—that contribute to the success and sustainability of an individual’s wellness journey. These include what could be some of the derailers and challenges in embracing wellness.Insights (based on the above) that organisations and wellness champions could incorporate whilst building wellness programmes.

The coronavirus has altered the well-being efforts in corporate India irrevocably. By altering the working construct from office to home to (possibly) a hybrid, the pandemic has changed the base assumptions of what initiatives are needed by employees, how and where they consume it and how important it has become to the organisations. Like most swords, this has more than one edge. In this article, we attempt to find out, by asking people in industry, what the next year is likely to bring by way of changes in the focus, roll out, funding and measurement of well-being plans in corporate India. The survey indicates a sea change is afoot in how important these programs are, who is responsible for them and what they cover.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic during the year 2020 affected various facets of every business. Emphasis on employee health and wellness, digitalization, virtual workplaces and online business became the new normal. This article is a narrative about the multipronged approach adopted by Mumbai refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), an Oil & Gas Central Public Sector Enterprise, towards ensuring continuity of business as well as the health and well-being of its employees and their family members during COVID-19 pandemic. HPCL being in oil and gas sector, which is categorized as ‘essential goods and services’, continued all business as usual even during the nationwide lockdown to ensure uninterrupted supply of petroleum products. The management of the refinery showed exceptional agility and resilience in responding to the challenge and connecting with employees to meet the objective of enhanced employee engagement. Existing policies, systems and procedures were remodelled, and several additional measures were taken to upskill employees to work and perform in the new scenario. The HR team demonstrated sensitivity in curating initiatives towards ensuring health and well-being of employees and their family members as well. The happiness and mindfulness activities organized by HR team helped them overcome fear and anxiety, bond together and connect. Patriotism that stirred out of all these activities kept their spirit high to ensure business continuity. Consequently, Mumbai refinery not only maintained the productivity to serve the nation during the critical period but also witnessed a cultural transition into a ‘caring culture’ focused on employee health, healing and well-being.

Human capital is undoubtedly one of the main engines of any successful business, and there is nothing more critical to the overall health of a business than ensuring health and safety of its people. Employers are uniquely positioned to improve health and safety through the workplace, yet many organisations struggle to decode the right formula for impactful initiatives and measuring success. It is particularly timely, as the ‘new normal’ of work has pushed workforce well-being up to the top of the priority list.Evidence supports that a healthy and safe workforce can provide a competitive business advantage by positively impacting productivity, business output, sustainability and corporate brand and reputation. The article shares insights into the evolving well-being risk, social profile and medical trends globally with country-specific highlights. We delve into the survey findings on employer and employee perspective of well-being and expectation on the solutions that can support in ensuring overall well-being.

Mental health is increasingly being recognised as a critical component of employee well-being. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) provide a comprehensive range of services to corporations to enhance the mental well-being of employees, leading to greater productivity. Increased uptake of EAP services across industries in India over the past two decades clearly indicates the growing recognition of the value of such services. Is there a real need in India for mental health services or are EAPs more suited to a western context and typically introduced only in response to a global mandate? How do employees and organisations benefit from the introduction of an EAP? This article seeks to address these questions by examining mental health data and EAP utilisation trends in India. It also explores the business case for EAP, outlines the components of a comprehensive EAP and draws attention to the unique attributes that would make an EAP effective in the Indian context thereby providing a significant return on investment for the organisation.

We live in an era of globalisation where technology, automation and digital networks drive disruptions in various spheres of life, work, family, health and society. They have increased productivity, ease of working and material comfort for humans worldwide, along with accelerating the pace of work and life. With the continued growth of technology, we are on the verge of Industry 4.0. The implications are changing at a fast pace and are associated with negative impact on health and wellness, as employees struggle to cope. In the last two decades, there has appeared a growing awareness of the need for total wellness, with implications for employee engagement and productivity. In the recent months, COVID-19 has caused further pressure on mental health, with employees struggling with anxiety, stress and depression, when organisations need them to be fully engaged, focused and making critical decisions.In this article, the authors highlight the need to equip employees with tools to build total resilience: physical, mental and spiritual. They propose a toolbox called ‘R-box’ (resilience box) to enhance employees’ ability to perform under stress. The toolkit is developed from the perspective that employees and leaders see themselves as corporate athletes (Loehr & Schwartz, 2001) and train themselves as athletes do, so as to sustain high levels of performance and, in the process, achieve high personal growth. Considering time as a major resource constraint for low adoption, R-box uses a range of mini-interventions, focused on the four areas of ‘run’ (body movement), ‘refresh’ (nutrition), ‘restore’ (sleep) and ‘rebalance’ (mind-related).Being Strongis a programme for leaders which has been running for a few years in Asia-Pacific (APAC). ‘R-box’ is central to this programme. An exploratory study was conducted with women leaders in Southeast Asia, especially from Malaysia and Indonesia, who were a part of the Being Strongprogramme. In the study, the authors try to find out how the R-box toolkit, practised by the participants over 12 weeks, has impacted their ability to deal with stress and grow their resilience.This article elaborates the findings of the survey conducted in 2020, 90 days after the programme. The survey showed over 80 per cent adoption by the participants. Further, over 85 per cent of those who adopted the toolkit saw an improvement in their ability to deal with stress with enhanced resilience. This appears to demonstrate the usefulness of R-box as a powerful toolkit for enhancing resilience.Based on the above, the authors propose the study to be extended to a larger audience in Southeast Asia and beyond. They also recommend HR to play a lead role in bringing wellness, as a driver of employee engagement and productivity. This has implications for the immediate situation of COVID-19 pandemic-impacted work and life, and the future of work too.

Companies providing employees with nutritious and wholesome meals strike the right balance in achieving a productive, creative and well-bonded team. Compass India’s study on ‘Eating at Work’ (EAW) suggests that energy and productivity levels peak between 9 am to 12 pm. Post-lunch these levels registered a sharp drop due to food intake with a high glycaemic index. Even as we peg it on natural human behaviour, with the right diet, one can boost those afternoon levels. Human resource teams plan for initiatives like sleeping pods, massage stations and yet the outcome continues to be a challenge. EAW research shows that these perks start great, but soon decline, that is, the usage of gyms was less than 2 per cent or 3 per cent. Also, ‘73% chose café meals as their preferred non-monetary perk, ranking ahead of flexible work hours and employee wellness programs’. Good food goes a long way in contributing to productivity. For many organisations, while wellness is a big part of their agenda, the role of food is still at its nascent stage. There is opportunity to elevate that. Hence, companies are taking constant intelligent decisions about workplace food.

Our study of 419 white-collar professionals and 275 rotating shift workers indicates that 79.2 per cent of the white-collar participants and 11 per cent of the rotating shift workers endured poor sleep quality. Forty-eight per cent of white-collar participants and 18 per cent of the shift workers reported suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness. Poor sleep quality has been associated with obesity, hypertension, diabetes and a host of other adverse health outcomes including poor mental health. Studies show that among organisations offering lifestyle management programme as part of their employee wellness programmes, the most targeted behaviours encompass nutrition/weight control activities (79%), smoking (77%) and fitness (72%). However, there is hardly any organisation that offers a well-planned intervention to promote healthy sleep behaviour. Sleep appears to represent a neglected dominion of health behaviour in terms of employee wellness. If sleep health and wellness programmes are endorsed in the workplace, there are several positive outcomes such as productivity enhancement, less work injury, increasing employee satisfaction, good physical and mental health that are likely to supervene, all of which generate a better working environment.

The top causes of stress for employees, based on various studies, are financial or money matters and their challenges. Organisations recognise the impact this worry creates for the firm at large and thus financial wellbeing programmes are slowly gaining popularity. There is evidence to show how financial wellbeing is an integral part of holistic wellbeing, and organisations are experimenting with methods to disseminate financial literacy. In order to avoid the pitfalls of trying something big and failing, organisations and particularly human resource (HR) should spearhead the initiative of duly customised financial wellness programmes (FWPs) for their employees which address their pains and keep aside a budget for the same. Like any relationship, this too needs time to grow; finding a partner early whose objective aligns with that of the HR in ensuring holistic wellbeing for the employee is the important first step. The recent regulations for Registered Investment Advisors promulgated by SEBI allow HR in organisations to use them as a first filter in selecting their financial wellbeing partner.

Beginning in 2004, long before the CSR Act1ushered a new spirit in corporate contribution in social development, iVolunteer has worked with over 100 leading Indian and multinational companies across a range of volunteering types from one-time episodic volunteering to more recently virtual volunteering. Our programmes have the potential to engage a range of employee motivations to volunteer. In this article, we examine the perceived notions about volunteering impact on well-being and if it can make a difference to work life? We share our experience over the years and will examine the impact of volunteering on wellbeing and positive mental health of the volunteers. There are almost no known Indian studies that explore this in detail. Individual companies do report higher satisfaction among employees who volunteer, regarding their work life. The article will draw upon insights from the HR community as well as from those executing volunteering in corporates in addition to some conclusions that we will draw based on some research studies. We hope to provide some possible ways forward for corporates to play a part in greater citizen engagement while creating pathways for mindful volunteering benefitting their employees both from a work and a societal perspective. The aim is to create a strong action plan to increase volunteering to both serve a social purpose and sustain the same by drawing out the positive impact that it can have on the individual.

Human beings have always strived towards excellence and progress since time immemorial. Industrialisation, automation and technological disruptions have led to increased comfort and quality of living of human beings and enhanced output, productivity and efficiency. Consequently, of late, health and wellness are receiving increased attention globally. Stress and stress-related diseases and workplace-related ailments have significantly increased over the last few decades and gained attention from society and industrial organisations. In the recent past, in the coronavirus pandemic context, wellness has been focused upon in many countries, communities and organisations worldwide. Yoga has been part of the Indian ethos for centuries. In this article, the authors discuss the General Yoga Programme (GYP), its broad coverage, and the impact it has had on the participants in terms of their wellness. With the help of a survey of the participants and linking it to relevant literature and research in the field, the authors highlight how GYP is a useful tool for enhancing various wellness dimensions. They recommend that GYP in its simplified form can be extended to the workplace; and also, HR professionals can play a facilitative role in the process.