Arogya World Recognizes 12 Companies in India as the 2017 Platinum Healthy Workplaces

BANGALORE, November 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

• Pioneering companies with a total of more than 200,000 employees track workplace health metrics 
• Address chronic disease among India's workforce 

Arogya World is proud to announce that 12 leading companies in India were named as 2017 Platinum Healthy Workplaces today at its annual Healthy Workplace award ceremony, in recognition of their considerable efforts to quantitatively track employee health. This is the second year for this ambitious, data-driven workplace health effort, the highest level in Arogya World's ongoing Healthy Workplace program. 

The 2017 Platinum Healthy Workplaces are: 

• Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. - Dahanu Thermal Power Station
• TVS Motor Company
• Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Igatpuri
• NTPC Limited
• Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd.
• The Tata Power Company Ltd.
• Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd.
• Hinduja Hospitals
• Dow Chemicals International Pvt. Ltd.
• Fortis Hospitals Limited, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore
• MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. 
• Infosys Ltd. 

Congratulating all the Platinum Healthy Workplaces, Dr. Geeta Bharadwaj, head of the Healthy Workplace program, Arogya World India Trust, said, "By initiating a culture that values metrics, these Platinum companies have made a remarkable commitment to improving the health of their employees and communities."

Key Metrics 

Across the 12 Platinum companies, with a total workforce of about 213,000 employees, evidence of health improvement was seen over the last year: 

* More employees completed their health risk assessment (8.12 percent increase), took part in biometric screening (7.15 percent increase) and received an annual health check (9.32 percent increase). 

* Total blood cholesterol went down in the 2017 Platinum population by 2.22 percent, and hypertension by 1.34 percent. 

* A 16.4 percent reduction was seen in number of employees who smoke. In one company a remarkable 50 percent decrease was reported.

* Encouragingly, a huge increase (43.02 percent increase) was reported in the number of employees who exercise regularly (3-5 times per week). This year we also found that more employees enrolled in company exercise facilities (25.79 percent increase).

Tobacco use, alcohol misuse, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diets have been shown to cause four major chronic diseases - cardiovascular, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and certain cancers - that cause two-thirds of premature deaths globally, many before the age of 60, and result in high associated human cost and implications to a business' bottom line. "That is why it is encouraging to see the positive data trends in our Platinum companies, which make up about a fifth of all our Healthy Workplaces. It is our hope that by shaping the culture of these companies to become data-driven, we will drive continuous improvement in employee health and further our mission of preventing non-communicable disease," said Usha Chander, Senior Consultant, Arogya World. 

Arogya World celebrates the remarkable achievements of the new Platinum winners at its Healthy Workplace conference and award ceremony today in Bangalore. See the agenda: http://arogyaworld.org/2017-agenda/ . Arogya World counts 101 companies spanning approximately 2.3 million employees as Healthy Workplaces.

Platinum Award Methodology 

The Gold level Healthy Workplace achievement is a necessary pre-requisite for companies to be invited by Arogya World to participate in the Platinum exercise. This invitation-only effort scores each company's leadership and commitment to workplace health, and asks for data on employee engagement and on participation and outcomes from workplace health programs including non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention programs, mental health programs, and community health programs. Costs where applicable and year-on-year biometric screening trends are also requested. All applicants will receive a detailed report on what else they could do to improve their productivity going forward. 

In all Platinum companies, encouragingly, a clear strategic focus on employee health was evident and they all reported significant senior leadership support for health and wellness in the company. Companies reported they shared information on employee health in annual reports and/or to their board. Good examples of tobacco cessation and healthy living programs, mental health programs, and community health efforts were reported. They also all clearly defined productivity and how they would measure it.

A global health non-profit organization, Arogya World (http://www.arogyaworld.org) and its India affiliate Arogya World India Trust, work hard to prevent NCDs - like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and chronic lung diseases - through health education and lifestyle change. Arogya World targets workplaces for chronic disease prevention because work is where so many people spend a large part of their day. 

Media Contact :
Nalini Saligram
[email protected]
+91-9731749911
Founder, Arogya World