Corporate Yoga ~ Devise A Perfect Wellness Program for Your Organization

By Ravi Onkari

Lack of robust corporate wellness programs are costing Indian organizations up to $20
billion each year, says a recent Assocham study.

Over the last decade, there has been increasing momentum towards a holistic state of
well-being for employees. Organizations and employers have realized that a healthy,
happy and stress-free workforce is more productive and valuable than an overworked
workforce that puts its health on the line.

We have crossed the days from corporate wellness programs being viewed as good-to-
have rather than as a need-to-have. Indeed, employee wellness has become a
strategic imperative for most organizations across the globe with the necessary reasons.
An exceptionally large number of studies indicate that ROI on wellness programs go
way beyond healthy and happy employees.
Research shows employees with access to a wellness program spend more on
improving their health than workers who don’t have access. (Source – SHRM
2018 Employee Benefits survey report)

An Assocham study indicate that corporate wellness programs, if implemented

effectively, can save India Inc. nearly $20 billion, as a result of bringing down the rate of
absenteeism by just 1%. It added that such programs would also help in managing
chronic and lifestyle diseases of corporate employees. The paper titled, ‘Corporate
Wellness Program: Benefits to Organisation and Economy,’ covered the industries of
engineering, FMCG, Financial Services, IT/ITeS, Infrastructure, Market Research/KPO,
Media and Real Estate during its analysis.
(http://www.assocham.org/newsdetail.php?id=6684)
The following are the highlights of the study:

 For every rupee that is spent on employee wellness, employers get a saving of
Rs.132.33 as savings on absenteeism costs, and Rs. 6.62 back as reduced health
care costs.

 83% of the respondents of the study are willing to contribute a percentage of

their salary in company-sponsored wellness programs.

 In the IT/ITeS sector, 93% of the employees were of the view that a company-
sponsored wellness program will motivate them, whereas the remaining 7%
 felt depressed about healthcare programs.

 Similarly, 60% in the media industry, 75% in FMCG, 84% in financial services,
consider such programs to be motivating, whereas the remaining did not express
any interest in participating in wellness programs.

 Employees belonging to the sectors of engineering, infrastructure, market

research/KPO and real estate recorded a 100% approval of the view that
wellness programs motivate them.

 The motivation to participate in a wellness program stems from a concern to

lead a healthy life but is further accentuated if the company offers incentives to
participate in the program. The numbers for both the factors vary greatly over
different sectors though.

 Several top 500 Indian companies undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility

(CSR) initiatives offer healthcare programs and facilities in areas around their
factories, yet 42% of them ignore the health of their employees.

 Despite the availability of preventive health care benefits, most of the

respondents are unable to take advantage of the same. This is due to lack of
awareness of the benefits or hesitation in asking for clarifications about them.

 48% of the respondents stated that their company offers wellness programs, of
which 62% are of the belief that the program needs improvement.

Of the 52% who said that their organization offers no wellness program, 51%
admitted that if in the future, their company does initiate a wellness program,
they will participate in the same.

 Over three-fourths of the respondents (76%) deny that they can fall prey to heart
diseases, cancer, diabetes or stroke.

A study by Towers Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health shows that
organizations with highly effective wellness programs report significantly lower voluntary
attrition than do those whose programs have low effectiveness (9% vs. 15%). On the
other hand, an internal assessment by Johnson & Johnson found that the return on their
wellness programs have been $2.71 for every dollar spent, resulting in cumulative
savings of $250 million on health care costs for the company over the past decade.
Thus, it is no longer 'why employee wellness' program but 'how?'
As wellness incorporates gradually becomes the norm, membership passes to a fitness
center is no longer enough to generate and sustain employee interest in wellness.
Employers are now riddled with the need to offer creative and comprehensive wellness
facilities in order to bring about a real difference in employee health and more
importantly, motivation.
Structuring the Best Workplace Wellness
There is now an increasing trend towards enhancing onsite programs aimed at stress
management and holistic wellness. Since almost about 50% of corporate healthcare
costs are said to be lifestyle related and therefore, potentially preventable,
organizations not only want to spend on cure but also invest on prevention and good
health. It is in this respect that the ancient science of Yoga has found preference in the
corporate world as a comprehensive wellness prerogative, replacing all other
healthcare investments.

A growing number of businesses are finding that offering Yoga to their employees is a
low-cost, preventive and holistic healthcare measure, making the discipline a
resonating success with human resource teams looking for strategic returns on their
wellness investments.
Regular practitioners of Yoga would stress that its many benefits include:
 Emotional wellness,
 Improved strength,
 Flexibility,
 Balance and
 Postural alignment amongst others.

In the boardrooms of companies, Yoga adds dimensions such as :

 stress reduction,
 energy-enhancement,
 enhanced creativity and
 focus and
 healing for employees and
 convenience and increased productivity for the employer.

Why Yoga?
Yoga is not just doing some acrobatic complicated poses and movements. It is a
holistic approach to physical and mental health, as well as a person's well-being and
personal growth. Corporate Yoga is the extended concept of working peacefully in the
midst of a hectic corporate environment. An international report by the World Health
Organization reveals that depression is the most disabling illness for the corporate
sector, second only to cardio-vascular diseases.
Long hours, multi-tasking, stiff competition, rigorous commute, irregular eating habits,
sedentary desk jobs and bad sitting postures, all combine to create a pool of highly
stressed, inefficient and thus despairing workforce.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that U.S. employers lose $70
billion a year due to absenteeism, lost productivity and disability caused by
mental distress.

The core benefits of corporate Yoga to correct it is the best compared to other wellness
programs, as the basis of the Yoga discipline is a mind-body balance. It is the only form
of exercise known to increase flexibility, strength, balance, concentration and breath
capacity while reducing stress and anxiety. Yoga also helps boost morale and
interpersonal communication - which for an employer means no more scattered or
defocused teams or dissatisfied individuals, power struggles or dirty politics.

There is strong evidence supporting the fact that offering even one Yoga session in a
week brings about noted changes in employee behavior by helping them manage
stress better, enhance clarity and creative thinking, improve communication skills,
cultivate leadership and teamwork, and increase overall effectiveness in the
workplace.

Yoga, Anytime, Anywhere

Perhaps the best reason for bringing in Yoga into your employees' wellness program is
the ease with which a corporate Yoga program can be implemented without much of
resources. The only logistics expected for a session of Yoga are some floor mats and a
bunch of enthusiastic participants with a desire to be happy and healthier. A Yoga
program can be conducted just about anywhere such as a conference room or an
empty lunchroom.

What is even most interesting now is the development of desktop yoga practiced near
the workstations and you really don’t need a dedicated space. Live and interactive
Yoga sessions delivered right at the employees’ desk. For many corporates the sessions
can be personalized to suit the timings and space constraints of companies as also the
individual needs of participants.

Yoga generally is suited for people of all levels and age groups and can be tailored to
address the needs of people with completely different fitness levels. Although it may
sound simple, the creation of a yoga program, if you want it to be successful, requires
serious commitment.

Here is what you must keep in mind while developing a corporate Yoga program:
 Send an email to employees to assess the interest levels of the employees so that
they sign up before hand and there is a confirmation from the employees and
their attendance for the sessions.

 Empanel a Yoga provider This is an extremely important process, as your Yoga

instructor should be an experienced and capable person. It is recommended to
engage with an organization with a training school attached which provides
experienced yoga teachers. And is teacher’s availability in multiple geographic
locations. And if the organization can bring someone to assist in nutrition and
diet schedules as well, the overall benefits can be maximized.

We recommend Sri Sri School of Yoga trained teachers, the SriSri Style of yoga is
simple to practice at the same time very effective on the body and mind, the
school having 5000+ teachers across the Indian continent is the largest and
preferred school in India.

 Do ensure that participants get to spend individual time with the instructor. It is
important for every employee to take back something positive at the end of
each class. Continuous monitoring through pre-assessment and post-assessment
measurements to track improvements is essential.

 The question about what is the effective duration for yoga program, generally
we suggest sessions up to Six to eight-week Yoga sessions with 15-20 classes work
well but you could alter it depending on your budgets and requirements. For
fresher's, signing up for even a one-week program with two or three classes is
apt. While it is possible to accommodate effective Yoga poses even in a 15-
minute session, a 45 to 60-minute devoted practice works best for Yoga as it
helps participants establish proper breathing and connect with the instructor.
Eventually you need to remember that corporate Yoga should be designed to
increase well-being for employees' optimal health, productivity and
performance. It must be made accessible to people at all levels and offered in a
safe and comfortable environment to pursue balance, healing and inner
strength.