Employer Event, Awards Ceremony Sponsored by Cigna TTK
- Third year of pioneering public health program
- Addressing chronic disease among India’s workforce
- 2015 Healthy Workplaces employ 178,000 employees
- 47 Healthy Workplaces in India now; goal is 100 companies
MUMBAI, India–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Twenty companies from a variety of sectors across India employing a workforce of 178,000 employees were named Healthy Workplaces tonight, in the third year of a pioneering public health program underway by Arogya World. A global health non-profit organization, Arogya World works to prevent non-communicable diseases – 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.
Arogya World announced this year’s Healthy Workplace winners and commended them for their commitment to workplace wellness at an award ceremony capping off a day-long employer educational event sponsored by Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between Cigna, the U.S. based global health services leader, and Indian conglomerate TTK Group. Employers from multiple industries representing manufacturing, technology, pharmaceuticals, health care and financial services all met key criteria to earn the designation of a Healthy Workplace. Since the program began in 2013, 47 companies have been named Healthy Workplaces in India, with a collective workforce of 333,000 people.
The 2015 Healthy Workplaces (some with multiple divisions) include the following companies:
- Johnson & Johnson PRIVATE LIMITED, INDIA
- Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., Automotive Sector, Nashik Plant-1
- SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd.
- Tata Power Company Ltd.
- Hinduja Hospitals
- HITECH
- Citigroup India
- Emami Limited – 13, B.T.Road, Kolkata
- Reliance Infrastructure Limited – Dahanu Thermal Power Station
- Hindalco Industries Ltd., Belgavi
- Persistent Systems Limited
- Emami Limited – EPIP, Amingaon, Guwahati
- Novartis Healthcare Private Limited
- SBI Life Insurance Company Limited
- Wipro Limited
- Quinnox Consultancy Services Limited
- Sasan Power Limited
- Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd.
- Madura Fashion and Lifestyle
- Printo
In addition, two companies that became Healthy Workplaces in 2013 were recertified this year:
- MTR Foods Private Ltd.
- Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.- Mumbai Transmission Business
“The winning companies deserve congratulations for being champions of employee wellness, and for stepping up and becoming Healthy Workplaces this year. We are also grateful to our partners who are actively collaborating with us to use the workplace as a platform for chronic disease prevention. No one entity can do it alone, but together, we can make a profound public health impact,” said Nalini Saligram, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Arogya World.
To be considered a Healthy Workplace, all companies completed a formal assessment and site visit as part of the selection process. Criteria that mark a workplace in India as “healthy” were developed in 2012 by Arogya World with the input of multiple stakeholders. The Healthy Workplace criteria are organized into three levels — Bronze, Silver and Gold — and include establishing work-life balance, having a workplace no-tobacco-use policy, and providing easy access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. See the full Healthy Workplaces Criteria.
With this year’s winners, Arogya World is one step closer to meeting its 2013 Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action: to get 100 companies in India to become Healthy Workplaces, and to help one million working professionals lead healthier lives. The commitment partners include Aon and Public Health Foundation of India. At this year’s award event, Arogya World made a Commitment to work with many partners to create Healthy Workplaces:
https://arogyaworld.org/programs/healthy-workplaces/our-commitment/
“Cigna TTK is honored to provide Arogya World with a platform to present this year’s Healthy Workplace award. We believe ‘Health hai toh life hai,’ and it is our mission to partner with our customers in improving their health, well-being and sense of security. We do this by delivering products and services that educate and enable our customers to lead healthier lifestyles. We congratulate these companies for taking important and proactive steps to improve the total well-being of their employees,” said Cigna TTK CEO and Managing Director Sandeep Patel.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 20 percent of Indians have at least one chronic condition. Some 60 million Indians live with diabetes, and one million die from it each year. Indians develop type 2 diabetes 10 years earlier that most Westerners, making the public health burden in the country even more significant. According to the WHO, these diseases are largely preventable with lifestyle changes including avoiding tobacco, eating healthy foods, and increasing physical activity.
At the awards ceremony, held annually in the same month as World Diabetes Day, Mumbai celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar offered the keynote remarks. She noted, “It is both wonderful and critical that organizations like Arogya World and Cigna TTK are coming together to share employers’ ‘best practices’ in workplace health that contribute to a healthier workforce, and by extension, healthier communities.”
Cigna’s support for Arogya World to fulfill its mission began last year when the Cigna Foundation donated $260,000 to the organization for the creation and deployment of a mobile app called myArogya, which helps people better manage their health and prevent diabetes, heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. The effectiveness of the mobile app, designed to assist people with behavior change, is being evaluated in a year-long study. The app is being provided to employees who work for Healthy Workplaces in India.
For information on how to apply to be a Healthy Workplace in India, contact Dr. Geeta Bharadwaj, geeta@arogyaworld.org.