The employer-employee relationship is crucial for an organisation. Given the competitive scenario, an organisation is required to think continually about people practices. A mutually beneficial working relationship has many aspects attached to it. However, our focus today is on health and how it plays a useful role in employee productivity.
Health coverage is an important part of workplace benefit. An employer should consider it closely, and holistically. The underlined factor is, “All employees are exposed to occupational risks.” There can be a risk of contracting heart problems if you have work stress. It is likely you have a group mediclaim policy to cover health hazard on duty, but is it enough?
Let us pick one aspect of health first- accidents. It is important to understand all risks associated with accidents, to be able to provide adequate benefit to an employee, in case it happens.
What Happens When Employer Has only a Symbolic Group Insurance cover?
Suppose an e-commerce company has group life insurance coverage for its employees. The company called Teacup is a retail café. It delivers tea packs in the Gurgaon region only. Jay, an employee with Teacup, meets with an accident and suffers serious injuries requiring an arm surgery. Jay is a 26-year old man, and his income is not sufficient to meet his expenses. He needs to bear his hospitalization and post-hospitalization (recovery period) expenses. Jay is living alone in Gurgaon.
His group health cover (at Teacup) is not sufficient, as it does not provide personal accident benefit. Jay had to borrow money to meet his treatment expense.
It is likely that Jay, once he recovers, will try to find a new job with better health coverage (and Personal Accident Insurance as well). He will require higher income to meet his living (post-accident).
Could this be different?
Had his employer provided sufficient insurance coverage, Jay was not likely to leave his company. Also, his emotional bonding with his company would reach a level of unmatched loyalty.
This is just one health risk associated with an accident. There are other work risks too. What are these risks, which an employee is exposed to at workplace 2.0?
Workplace hazards can include any injury during the work hours. It is no longer wise to associate risks with respect to certain industries like manufacturing, chemicals, or construction.
Occupational Risks for White Collar Jobs
White collared jobs or desk jobs have a higher loss value attached. Body straining due to long sitting, wrong sitting posture, continuous typing, less physical movement, are some activities which can give rise to paralyzing risks for the employees.
Obesity is being seen as clear workplace threat. Irregular working hours means binging and inviting health problems like heart diseases, blood flow problems, due to lack of movement.
- Certain industries like hospitality or healthcare put employees at risk of contracting infections.
- Retail industry workers are in danger of contracting DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) because they stand for long hours.
- Call centre workers are exposed to anxiety, and lack of sleep, leading to further complications.
- Even administration staff in a hospital is exposed to health risks like contacting infections etc.
- Physical injuries are Any employee might slip on the floor, or fall from the stairs at the workplace. Lack of sleep can make an employee delusionary, and result in a road accident outside the office premises.
How to Avoid Such a Scenario?
Luckily, there are multiple options available to an employer now.
- Group health insurance policy is affordable and easy to administer, as all employees are covered under against standard risks. No medical check-ups are required, and an employer can decide the insurance coverage, depending upon the nature of the job, the salary of employees, and other factors.
- Group term life insurance policy- includes risk cover for an employee. The beneficiary will benefit in case of any unfortunate incident to the employee. An individual employee has an option to add a personal cover, at a cost to be borne by the employee.
- Women-centric policies- are also available to provide maternity cover benefit. It offers flexible working hours, maternity expenses, full pay, and security of a job.
- Group Personal Accident Policy- is insurance to provide protection to a group of people against the consequences of an accident. The cover benefit includes death, disability, partial disability, etc. The group cover can include a family of an employee too.
Every employee risk deserves its due attention. Group personal accident policy, for example, is a special interest policy cover, covering all types of risk associated with an accident.
It can be difficult, given the number of insurers offering the policy, to decide on one. Online insurance advisors like SecureNow can help you in such a scenario, by providing multiple quotes from various insurers, and assisting you in the management of policy once you have bought one.
About The Author
Himanshi
MBA Insurance Management
With over 8 years of dedicated experience in the insurance industry, Himanshi has established herself as a leading expert in group insurance. As a prolific writer for SecureNow, she produces informative and engaging blogs and articles that shed light on the intricacies of group insurance, helping businesses and individuals make informed decisions about their coverage options. Throughout their career, Himanshi has developed a deep understanding of various aspects of group insurance, including employee benefits, policy selection, and risk management. Their expertise allows them to translate complex insurance concepts into clear, actionable insights, making their content an essential resource for readers looking to navigate the world.
