To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise, we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear,’ said Gautam Buddha. Many including the leaders from the Information Technology industry, believe in this statement and act on it.
IT being a 24x7 running business sector, people have to constantly raise their performance bar. The demanding work, deadlines, meetings and business trips make the employees extremely vulnerable to chronic stress and other disorders. Many a times, the physical and mental exhaustion compels workers to quit the job and change their profession altogether.
Although no one can alter the way businesses function, a little change in the operations could help both, the business as well as the employees, to do better.
And that change is happening, slowly but surely. Giving an insight into the same, Dinanath Kholkar -- VP, TCS, Rangarajan Raman -- VP, Transformation project IBM VIL, and Bhavesh Ved -- Sr Vice President, Delivery Head, Xoriant, tell us how they are balancing the task of keeping up the work and ensuring the happiness of their employees.
Wellness business
he Tata group has been a great initiator of sports, especially Indian sports. A decade earlier, TCS launched its global initiative called TCS Fit4life which focused on ensuring that its employees are involved in some fitness activity or the other. TCS takes its employees’ well-being very seriously and motivates them to lead a healthy life.
Dinanath Kholkar (51) — VP, TCS, a fitness enthusiast, says that sedentary work can damage your health. Starting off with the easy exercise like running, TCS workers try to remain fit. The leaders have to travel a lot, so it is tough for them to get into sports. However, they run for half an hour or one hour, he says.
“Most Indians are not necessarily into sports. We focus so much on classroom education that we never encourage children to take up sports. Later in life it leads to issues like diabetes, obesity, hypertension, etc, among youngsters. As an organisation, we are concerned and have been looking at these patterns and giving a lot of recommendations to our staff,” says Kholkar.
TCS knows how to use technology for the betterment of their employees. It makes it mandatory for the staff to log the number of hours they have spent on different exercises — running, walking, cycling or other sports. They have to also commit to their goals. The goals are tracked, and they are motivated to achieve the same. TCS offices also have gyms, areas to play badminton, table tennis and so on.
Practising what you preach could be difficult but not for TCS seniors. “If you look at the leaders at the TCS, they are very fit because most of them are into running. We believe in leading by example. From organising events and activities to plotting it, the organisation bears all the expenses,” Kholkar shares.
Not restricting only to physical fitness, the organisation strongly considers mental well-being and stress-free living. Kholkar believes that a fit person is very much capable of contributing to the overall development of the company and his/her personal life. “Our Western clients are inclined towards fitness. The number of sick leaves employees take has a direct impact on the business. If you are not able to travel for meetings or work, it affects the business. Clients lose interest in dealing with a person who does not present himself and the organisation well,” says Kholkar while concluding that health and wellness are crucial to a successful business and happy living.
Pass on the knowledge
A runner himself, Rangarajan Raman (51) — VP, Transformation project IBM VIL, experienced the benefits of running and got rid of a lot of ailments. He has run a half marathon and says, running lightens up his mood and cheers him up. He believes in passing on his skills and knowledge to others.
“We are a group of four-five people who started running two years ago. After seeing the benefits that we were reaping, we thought of sharing it with our colleagues. We get to meet a lot of people and experts from the running community and they motivate us through various sessions. This has helped many to run and take their health more seriously,” explains Raman.
The fitness programmes and activities conducted at IBM for its workers are free of cost.
“We have a WhatsApp group with 120 health-conscious people. If someone shares their achievements, performance photographs like cycling, running, weight training, etc, we motivate them. Though there’s no reward given to these people, we have a floor recognition programme where we appreciate them,” he says.
IBM conducts many sessions on meditation, yoga and walkathon. The company believes in the healthy development of its employees. “I believe a healthy employee is a happy employee. IBM has a culture of involving our customers in activities too, be it running, cycling, yoga and so on. It creates a very nice spirit amongst the whole team which then improves their personal lives,” says Raman.
World of wellness
Bhavesh Ved (53), Sr Vice President — Delivery Head, Xoriant, believes that fitness is a crucial part of everyone’s life. He walks four kilometres on a daily basis and recently participated in a corporate run held in Mumbai. Being at a senior position, Ved has to travel a lot. He says that he takes control of his diet as it is really hard to manage a healthy lifestyle when you have to travel so much.
Speaking about the tell-tale signs of an unhealthy employee, Ved says that at times, the employees gain a lot of weight and their performance level decreases. At such times, the company gets into a little more details and recommends the employee to do some tests to ensure that basic health parameters are okay.
“We are in an industry where our work mentally exhausts us too, so we groom our employees to be mentally tough. We have come up with an initiative where we organise yoga camps and have doctors guide the employees. Depending on their work and habits, it is relatively easier to spot something that can be corrected,” says Ved.
Xoriant has an internal group of runners. This group very actively participates in full-marathons, half-marathons and corporate runs.
They have an internal programme known as World of Wellness (WOW). All the sessions and guidance held for the employees come under this programme. The company monitors the fitness routine of their employees. All the services are provided to the workers free of cost, though, if they are participating in the external fitness-related programmes where Xoriant is not the sponsor, the company pays only 50 per cent of the total amount.
“Happiness index and the performance index are the two parameters that indicate that the employee is at the peak of his health and life. Better productivity, proactiveness and work quality can be seen in a person who is at the peak of his health. However, when a person is not healthy, it badly impacts his/her work,” says Ved.
Apart from physical fitness, Xoriant is considerate towards its employees’ mental well-being too and conducts a some sessions for the same. They also have a special consulting doctor for the employees who are going through some kind of mental challenges and stress. “We hold yoga camps, relaxation programmes where we teach the employees some relaxation techniques. If they use it even for 10 minutes a day, it helps in their well-being,” says he.
