Survey Reveals 80% of Women Employees Face Stereotypes in Offices: Is Your Workplace Healthy? Find Out Inside

8% of Women Employees Face Stereotypes atWorkplaces

Ms Srabani Banerjee cites Mpower - An initiative of Aditya Birla Education Trust, which conducted a survey on Employee Health covering 3000 people across 8 cities in India and found that 47% of them are at risk of poor mental health.

Data shows that women are at a greater risk than men. 80% of female employees said they face stereotypes at the workplace. 90% of employees agreed they are expected to work while on leave.

Today, the workplace is increasingly becoming a space full of diversity with employees coming from varied socio-economic backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, and abilities. Therefore, it has become extremely important to create inclusive and healthy work environments. A healthy workplace environment not only protects and ensures employee well-being but also considers the deeper health inequalities.

6 Characteristics of a Healthy Workplace

The term “health inequalities” refers to the differences in health outcomes and access to healthcare that are experienced by diverse groups within a society. These disparities are often influenced by socioeconomic status, race, gender, ethnicity, age, geographic location, etc.

Creating healthy workplaces that cater to this diversity goes beyond providing physical wellness initiatives – it involves cultivating an inclusive environment that recognizes and respects unique employee needs.

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“By providing the benefits necessary to live a healthy life, ensuring their offerings lead to equitable outcomes, working with the communities in which they operate and collaborating with partners to advance polices that drive health equity, every company is ultimately a health company.” – World Economic Forum.

So, a healthy workplace is not just about occasional wellness programs or webinars, or ergonomically designed chairs. It is considered healthy if it includes the following:

• Safe settings: A workplace is considered safe when it has proper ventilation, minimal exposure to harmful substances, and hygienic spaces.
• Availability of healthy/nutritious options: It is important that employees have access to healthy food options and facilities, encouraging physical activity.
• Mental health support: Along with physical health, it is important to ensure that employees get mental health support. This includes measures such as counselling sessions and stress management activities.
• Inclusive health programs- There is a possibility that some employees have specific health needs; therefore, inclusive health programs must be implemented to help address these needs.
• Fair measures- Flexible working arrangements, parental leave, and mental health days help employees to function more effectively.
• Preventive and Consistent health screenings- Health screenings are important as they help in the diagnosis of possible health issues.

How Does a Healthy Workplace Impact Productivity?

• Less absenteeism: Healthier employees are more likely to work efficiently, thus improving overall productivity. This reduces the chances of them taking sick leaves, resulting in better outcomes.
• Ensuring inclusion and diversity: DEI Initiatives and programs that address specific/unique needs of the employees, discrimination, and implicit bias at work indicate the organisation’s commitment to health equity. This further helps attract and retain talent.
• Improving brand reputation: The chances of organisations prioritising employee health and enjoying better public trust are higher than those where it is not given much consideration.

Why Ensuring Health Equity at Work is Important

It is increasingly becoming important to address health inequalities at work, and this requires sustained effort. It is the responsibility of the employers to collect, maintain, and analyze data to find out health-related disparities. This helps in creating policies and implementing measures catered to the needs of the employees.

Blanket solutions are not enough, it is important for companies to implement wellness initiatives aimed at reaching out to all employees. For instance, initiatives such as regular health screenings, flexible working hours, and mental health counseling can prove to be more effective than offering onsite gyms.

As we collectively re-envision a healthy & equitable workplace, let us be mindful that there will never be a one-size-fits-all. It begins with understanding what workplace health means to everyone in the organisation — tailored to its size, stage, industry, region, individual roles & needs, and much more.

This meansmeasuring key employee health parameters and asking about employees’ perspectives on a regular basis, and acting on them in real time, through meaningful interventions that are diverse and tailored to their needs.

Further embedding these efforts into an organisation’s culture, systems,employee life cycle, and business strategy ensures that health equity and well-being are being built into the business itself, not simply relegated to HR in the form of a Zumba session.

In today’s fast-paced and evolving environment, it is no longer just an ethical obligation but a necessary tool or strategic imperative to create healthy workplaces. Organisations have the power to unlock the full potential of their employees by addressing health inequalities proactively. This way, they also contribute to building a healthier society.

We believe that workplaces have a tremendous potential to bring about a significant change, by shaping the minds, habits, and behaviours of young professionals towards healthy living and driving health equity across all employee demographics.

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