Employees Health?

Social Media Poster by Technopark

 
This screenshot of this poster on Technopark's Facebook page was shared it on my Angel Small Biz Kerala's Page. And, what follows are my thoughts on the topic of employee health and how the work enviornment effects the health of employees.

One of the main questions that comes to mind is the long hours at work at various tech and non tech companies. Here's the focus is not just on the jobs in IT or ITES sector. It's also the job as a teacher, a cop or a Village Officer or a day worker in a shop. And, it could be the employee working at Tesla's giga factory. 

 Whatever your occupation, there's a fair share of stress or anxiety which can effects the health of the individual. Imagine a cop standing on the road to mange the traffic. And, now think of the dust, sun smoke and sound pollution he or she's facing in a day's work. Similarly, there are many aspects of work space that will add to the physical and metal toll.

Adding to this debate, Mr Narayana Murthy, one of the icons of IT revolution in India recently quoted that employees should work 70 hours a week. And, what followed was mostly trolls about long hours and also there were people who supported his style of working. Well, for me personally, work is not just about hours at a project or task. It's about the need and the requirement and the individual desire. It should not be something that should be forced on employees. 

Also, I'll will quote two examples which I had come across in the recent times. 

1. A village office suffers multiple blocks. He had to undergo various tests, Angioplasty and other medical procedures to remove blockages. His family and friends attribute to the stress at work.

2. Couple of employees  in their 40's working in Technopark Trivandrum passed due to cardiac arrest. What could be the underlying issue? Is it the stress at work or the long hours sitting in front of the desk. Well, I'm not sure. But, when such death happens regularly, then it's a cause for oncern.

Now,  coming to the point of my thought on seeing a World Health Day poster by Technopark, Trivandrum, I have few questions. What are the genuine steps taken by offices to screen detect the risk of Cancer or Cardiac or other illness? Does a sarkar employee get the benefit of free screening. If yes, do they avail it. Who monitors it. Is it just upto each individual to test at regular intervals and do what's necessary. 

I doubt if anything realistic is being done for Government servants. Basically, administration doesn't have much time nor proper processes to see or track the health parameters of employees. 

My wish would be an app which employee can access and track their health. The current medical reimbursement system, Medisep a medical insurance scheme. Well, that's just basic. How can they take it forward with more features. For example, each Medisep App, can be programmed to provide vital information of the current diseases of the individual, the tests, blood group, weight etc. And, they can either ask employees to undergo a mandatory medical test on a yearly basic or they can give it as a subsidized test at a local medial lab. 

All these are possible, if the management and employee unions have a larger goal about the health of the employee. 

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World Health Day prompts us to reflect on employee health once again. The pivotal inquiry remains: To what extent do companies undertake efforts to establish a comprehensive checklist for monitoring the well-being of their workforce?

Is there diligent tracking of health parameters?

How is the body mass index (BMI) of employees managed?

Are systems in place to alert employees when they've been sedentary for prolonged periods?

Do employees have access to health cards summarizing their overall health metrics?

It's worth pondering whether employers have implemented systems to monitor, manage, or provide dashboards for employees to gauge their physical well-being. Furthermore, what measures are taken regarding stress levels?