Workplace wellness is the new mantra

Disease costs are hurting corporate profits: PwC.

Expanding waistlines of employees are most likely to show up in profit margins, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

As work becomes more sedentary the global workforce is becoming less healthy and consequently less productive due to chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. The report identifies chronic disease as a growing and costly threat to corporations and their workers.

As the workforce ages and gets obese, the weight of the world is falling on the bottom lines of the world's largest companies in the form of reduced productivity, increased tax burdens and declining competitiveness.

About two per cent of capital spent on the workforce is lost to disability, absenteeism and 'presenteeism' (or diminished productivity from ill employees who go to work, but work below par) due to chronic disease. Combined, these indirect costs are more than the additional direct medical claim costs that some employers incur.

The report concentrates on the growing IT and ITeS sector in India. It says that in 2005 chronic diseases in India accounted for almost 53 per cent of all deaths and 44 per cent of disability-adjusted life years.

It is estimated that deaths from chronic diseases would register a sharp increase from 3.78 million in 1990 to 7.63 million in 2020, accounting for 66.7 per cent of all deaths.

India's loss in terms of losing potentially productive years due to deaths from cardiovascular diseases in people aged between 35-64 years is one of the highest in the world. By 2030, the loss is expected to rise to 17.9 million years, which is 940 per cent more than the loss estimated in the US.

The projected foregone national income for India due to heart disease, stroke and diabetes during the period 2005-2015 is estimated to be more than $200 billion. The report exhorts global CEOs to make wellness central to their corporate business strategy, suggesting that multinational employers have the best opportunity to prevent chronic disease.

Globally, the economic toll of chronic disease is estimated at about three per cent of world GDP. According to the World Health Organisation, the US might be the world's fattest nation but China and India are growing fatter at a faster pace. By 2015, the number of overweight and obese adults in China and India will grow by 66 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively.

Traditionally, governments, not employers have been responsible for managing health risks. Not anymore. Now companies in India run a number of wellness programmes to attract and retain talented, healthy employees.

The report says the programmes rolled out include nutrition consulting, health centres, medical camps, employee wellbeing events, and initiatives to provide counseling for employees.