Inclusion, diversity top driver of benefit strategies offered by companies: Survey

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes are the major social wellbeing initiatives provided by organisations on the back of a rapidly evolving work landscape, according to a survey.

The programmes offered under DEI programmes include inclusion and diversity training (71 per cent), accessible office spaces (71 per cent), gender neutral company communications (71 per cent) and inclusive benefits options (62 per cent), the Wellbeing Programmes India Survey by global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW said.

Some companies also offer programmes like gender neutral restrooms (33 per cent) and diversity scholarships (20 per cent), it added.

The WTW's Wellbeing Programmes India Survey was done among 210 employers across the country during October-November 2022.

''In order to accomplish holistic wellbeing, companies must first understand the employee's sphere of influence and expand specific benefit programmes to these influencers. For instance, it is natural to expect a spouse or partner to contribute to financial decisions and it is important to include them in such education programmes. Covering families under financial wellbeing programmes can also help address the gender wealth gap, which remains a major concern in India,'' WTW Head of Health and Benefits, India, Vinod V K said.

Similarly, the emotional wellbeing of partners, children and parents has a direct impact on the employee, and any such programmes would be sub-optimal if they do not involve these family members, he added.

The survey further revealed that an increasing number of companies are now moving towards offering programmes under lifestyle risk management and target specific conditions.

These include weight management programmes (32 per cent), healthy sleep programme (29 per cent), cardiovascular disease management (26 per cent), diabetes management (26 per cent) and cancer management (25 per cent), it said. Programmes targeting specific conditions are also becoming more inclusive with 35 per cent companies offering maternity management and 19 per cent companies offering fertility support, it stated.

''The pandemic was a watershed moment when companies started moving away from merely benchmarking their employee benefits towards taking an inward-out approach. This starts with looking deeper into the correlation between employee behaviour and preferences. Progressive organisations should focus on listening to their employees, identifying their needs and wants, understanding employee cohorts and moving towards purposeful and relevant benefits,'' Vinod added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)