The 4 Pillars of Human Well-Being

This article draws its inspiration from Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya (The Prajapita Brhama Kumari University), a university that imparts education on God, the supreme soul. The university has dedicated itself to illuminating minds not considering religion, caste, creed, color, or country as eligibility criteria.

The World Health Organization defines Health as a state of mental, physical, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In a broad understanding, well-being is living a good life with which one is satisfied. 

The human life is dependent on four important pillars which must be given equal weightage all the time.

1.       Physical Well Being

2.       Intellectual Well Being

3.       Emotional Well Being

4.       Spiritual Well Being

The absence of any of these four results in an incomplete experience of human wellbeing.

Physical well-being Physical well-being acts as a driver of rest of the three pillars. Other than the absence of disease or illness, physical well-being includes a fit body, mind, and spirit. This kind of wellbeing can be effectively achieved through Yoga.

Yoga helps in attaining this state of body and mind.  It prescribes guidelines for a life style that ensures physical well-being. This includes waking up early in the morning, spending quality time in yoga or other forms of exercise, and consuming food that is mostly “Satvik” in nature. Satvik food excludes the Rajsik  and Tamsik forms of food. In essence, all forms of meat, liquor, onion, and garlic are contraindicated for human consumption.

Satvik Guna was first defined and explained in Ayurveda and Yoga under Vedic philosophy. Satvik food has a positive impact on the body. It makes the body, mind and senses light, rational, and focused.

Intellectual Well-being ensures that we remain competitive and successful in our Karmabhumi (the land where one works). Physical wellbeing is a great influencer of intellectual wellbeing.

Intellectual wellbeing confers material luxury and convenience for humankind.  We had seen evolution of work places. As a society, we have moved from a labor intensive workforce that demanded high standards of physical wellbeing to an innovation driven society where most of our physically challenging work has been outsourced to machines. 

The shift in the nature of society has provided us with more time to innovate as well as enjoy the fruits of innovation. For example, recent innovations such as computer, mobile phones, cars, and air conditioners have significantly enhanced the quality of human life.

Intellectual well-being also acts as a differentiator at our workplace. We are known and recognized based on our ability to perform and add value to the organization, community, groups we are associated with.

Emotional Well-being is a more personal form of wellbeing, a connection with our society and values. The end purpose of our efforts is to attain a state of at peace, happiness, and love. These three drivers of emotional wellbeing are non-tangible and sometimes in dissonance with our cognitive emotions.

The inability to bridge our cognitive experience with our emotional needs has led to us distancing ourselves from people that add meaning to our lives.  The convenience, luxury and comfort which we aspire for are incomplete without human bonding.  Emotional wellbeing cannot be achieved without social outreach and through our understanding of living in harmony with society.  The concept of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is an extended family) is based on this premise.

Our ability to respond effectively to situations and conflicts that are part of our being in a society has a significant telling on our emotional experience.  Success in Workplace or in Karmbhoomi (the land where one works) is dependent equally on intellectual and emotional well power. 

Because we work with people, we should constantly work on our emotional intelligence.  Emotional intelligence defines how effectively knowledge and skills are imparted across the organization. Great knowledge without an attitude of sharing is detrimental to the wellbeing of companies in general and societies at large.

Spiritual Well-Being leads to an understanding of our self, our identity. In complete contrast to the popular understanding that our sense of being is through our physical body, who we are is a result of our understanding of our self. While our body is mortal, the spirit that drives us from inside, that we know as the “soul”, results in our spiritual exploration.

Spiritual wellbeing provides us with the understanding that our purpose in life is beyond the materialistic needs and goals. The real need is to attain a state of peace and happiness. 

Our basic structure of soul is to attain peace. If we ask ourselves, can we remain angry for 24 hours continuously, the answer would be “No” as we would come back to normal peaceful state of body and soul. If we are a peaceful soul, why do we get angry? We always believe that someone’s actions are responsible for our reaction or our being angry. While believing so, we forget that we are telling in a way that we are controlled by others. This means our reactions are triggered by someone else, we don’t have control in them and then we blame those for our behavior.   

Spirituality provides us with the perspective that our pursuit of peace and happiness is our own responsibility.  It lies in our ability to respond and take control of a negative situation and turn it into a positive experience.

Can I still bless those that hurt and abuse me? If we are at Spiritual well-being, the answer is “Yes” but can this be “Yes” otherwise? Therein lies the power of spirituality.  When we are aware that we are a peaceful soul, any situation, words, challenges, or pressures cannot change our basic being.  We have always learnt that Stress is a result of a situation or pressure. Spirituality helps us understand that Stress is not just Pressure but a product of external pressure and internal resilience.

Stress = Pressure / Resilience

Our ability to be at resilience can be achieved through spirituality. The first important aspect of achieving this is meditation.  Meditation is a powerful tool that helps us achieve spiritual, emotional, and intellectual well-being. 

If we had to pick tools that help us strengthen all four pillars of human being, they would be Yoga and Meditation.  Yoga helps us achieve physical well-being whereas Meditation helps us achieve the other three components of well-being: Spiritual, emotional, and intellectual.

Om Shanti!!

A Different Take on Total Rewards: The Preferential Rewards System (Email: rajiv.naithani@globallogic.com)

Praveen Goel is happy and worried. Happy when he holds the two kids that got delivered within matter of minutes; worried when he looks at his wife that decided to quit her job because of them. And after six years of service in the same company, he is waiting to receive his offer letter from BeDifferent India., an IT company, today.

How Praveen Goel was hired

Monday 10:00 HRS, HR Division, BeDifferent India.

For BeDifferent, Praveen is the ideal candidate for the position at middle management. But there’s a catch. Based on the company’s policy, Praveen’s total rewards aren’t going to be very different from what he is currently earning. While he picks up the phone to ask his secretary to let Praveen in, the VP, HR ponders over the company’s tagline,” BeDifferent: We are just not like everyone else.”

Director HR: Welcome, Mr. Goel.  Congratulations on the twins! Just saw their pictures on Facebook. You are a lucky guy.

Praveen: Thank you, sir. God has indeed been very kind.

Director HR: Sit down, Mr. Goel. We are hoping to extend your streak of good fortune.

Without much ado, let us get to your offer letter. Before I do that, thank you for being very forthcoming about what’s on top of your mind while you seek to engage with us.

You told us that you have loans to clear and money is on topmost of your mind. We perfectly understand that fatherhood brings with it additional responsibilities and concerns.

 

To take care of your loans, the experts at our preferred bank are ready to talk to you. They tell us that they can reduce the rate of interest on your home loan by 2% and your personal loan by as much as 3%.

 

The bank also has a great deal on children’s plans that will ensure enough security for your children’s future while not imposing on your present capital. And you can choose to allocate more in future based on your requirements.

 

Just in case your wife happens to change her mind in future, our best-in-class daycare center is at your disposal for a nominal fee. You can drop in to see your kids whenever you have the time for it at office. And… if we continue to grow at our current rate, we should be able to hire your wife as well.

For working parents, we have a flexible policy that allows you to work from home whenever there is an emergency, or when you have to make that urgent visit to the doctor’s.

Our HR teams have tried to ensure that your requirements are met to the best of abilities. And this is your own, tailor-made offer letter. Do go through it carefully and let us know when you are ready.

Monday 21:00 HRS, Vista Boulevard, Praveen’s home.

Taking a sip of his favorite coffee custom brewed by his mother, Praveen thinks of the offer letter he signed that day.  He had told his beaming wife everything in the offer letter leaving out the day care center and the prospects for her career at BeDifferent. There will be a time for that, he had told himself.

How Sunita Matkar was hired

Monday 10:00 HRS, HR Division, HireDifferent India.

Sunita Matkar is all confidence as she steps into the room for her final round of HR interview. Her stellar academic career has been eminently aided by the many loans the banks have invested in her. She isn’t worried though. Every company that has interviewed her wants her.

Sunita isn’t sure how a start up like HireDifferent is going to match what’s already hers for the picking. But she is curious. Three of the four top ranking students in her University picked up offers from HireDifferent in the previous two months.  She smiles as she reciprocates the handshake from the HR Director. So far, there isn’t anything very different, she thinks in her head.

Director, HR: Hi Sunita, take your seat.  It has been a pleasure going through your resume. It talks of a very spirited person with great ambition.

Sunita: That is most flattering, thank you sir.

Director, HR: No, you most deserve your laurels. And going by what you previously told us, there are many companies that have been as flattering.

 

Sunita: Thank you sir. It has been quite a struggle to get to where I am.

Director, HR: Absolutely. And at this company, we appreciate such tenacity very well.  Our team of experts went through your requirements to come up with an offer letter that I am now going to discuss with you.

We see that you already have an account with our preferred bank. They have agreed to reduce the interest rate on your loan by 4%. At their current rate, and allocating 30% of the salary we are about to offer you towards the loan, you should be able to clear your liabilities in under three years.

To further your academich credentials, a sum of 1 Lakh rupees is available at your disposal for certifications that fall within your line of interest. And this is over and above your total compensation.

The best caterers in this city have been shortlisted to sell in our cafeteria.  As a special case, the company will be reimbursing your meals for the next three years. Details are in your letter.

To ensure that your safety in this city is not compromised, you can use our third-party agency to select an apartment that is most conducive to your stay. And every time you work beyond regular hours, a cab will be available at your disposal.  All this comes at no extra cost. If you choose to opt for a shared accommodation, our Gang-Of-Girls team at HR will be more than willing to assist you.

Ms. Matkar, I have only covered benefits that are exclusive to your requirements. We have much more going on in your offer letter. I will allow you for the time that you deem sufficient to get back with your answer for us. Have a great day!

Monday 18:00 HRS, Coffee Day

Sunita’s friend Priyanka is exasperated. “Are you serious?” “You turned down an offer with Revensys for a startup. What were you thinking?”

“You know me very well, Priyanka”, Sunita smiles confidently. If I had not dared to be different, I wouldn’t have been where I am.

 

What do employees really want?

Different things actually, based on their age, marital status, gender, and ethnicity. But the one thing that every employee desires is to feel wanted and to be special. To that end, employee benefits, while factoring in performance, should also evaluate employee requirements.

 

Because it is near impossible to tailor the reward system for each employee, the Total Rewards System accounts for most of what is important to employees. Total Rewards plays important role in attracting, retaining, and engaging the talent in IT Companies in India.   The Hewitt1 system of Total Rewards is illustrated below.

 

 

 
 

A right balance of all the four aspects of Total Rewards can help organizations attract the right talent and also engage and motivate existing talent in the organization. It has been proven by Aon Hewitt in its Engagement Methodology (Say, Stay & Strive) that highly engaged behavior in a striving culture has a positive impact on business results.

 

According to SHRM², the right total rewards system which is a blend of monetary and non-monetary rewards, once offered to employees can generate valuable business results. 

The Preferential Rewards System?

The Total Rewards system works very well in organizations with mature and automated processes.

For companies that do not have automated systems, it makes sense to go with a preferential-based approach. This approach uses buckets based off of a specific demographic segment or group of demographic segments. It aims to minimize the administrative and manual load of the HR organization while at the same time providing the benefits of a total rewards system.

Preferential Rewards System: My Observations and summary

In order to understand the need for having a preferential based Total Rewards in IT Industry, I reached out to over 200 IT professionals from close to 70 IT firms across India.  Emphasis was given to reach out to all levels of the organization starting from Junior Professionals to Top Management.  75 respondents finally participated in the study.

To understand the quadrant in Total Rewards that is most preferred by all respondents, I used the following table to classify the data at hand.

Total Rewards Categories	Most Likely (5)	Likely (4)	Neither less nor likely (3)	Less Likely (2)	Least Likely (1)
Cash (Base Pay, Incentive)	37%	20%	16%	0%	0%
Benefits (Insurance, Paid leaves, stocks, Transport etc.)	7%	30%	34%	88%	100%
Working Environment	36%	18%	21%	12%	0%
Learning & Development / Career Opportunities	20%	32%	29%	0%	0%

Taking Most Likely and Likely into account, Cash incentives (57%) top the list followed closely by Working Environment (53%) and Learning/Career opportunities (52%).  While it comes as no surprise that cash incentives top the list, it is interesting to note the importance given to working environment and learning opportunities over other benefits such as Insurance and paid time off.

Participants were also asked to rank their preferences across 10 sub categories of Total Rewards in a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the most preferred option and 10 being the least preferred. Here, base salary/fixed salary continues to remain the most preferred option followed by work-life balance.  Variable Compensation and Transport Allowance are the least preferred options.  

Rewards : Sub Categories	Most Preferred  (Rank 1)	Least Preferred (Rank 10)
Base Salary / Fixed Pay	37	4
Work Life Balance	26	3
Career Opportunities	18	0
Learning & Development Opportunities	11	0
Health and Wellness Benefits	9	1
Retirement Benefits	6	5
Stocks/Long Term Incentive	5	4
Transport Allowance	5	11
Variable Compensation	5	19
Paid Time Off	2	2

Gender Based Preferential Results>

Under most preferred rewards, there has been a consistency observed across genders but in the case of female respondents, Health and Wellness Benefits trumped Learning and Development.  For men, learning and development was among the top 4 priorities.

Key observations:

 

·         Female respondents preferred work-life balance to base compensation. For men, work-life balance comes a very distant second to base compensation.

·         Male respondents preferred learning and development opportunities over wellness benefits while for female respondents; it was the other way round.

·         Surprisingly female respondents have rated Variable Compensation on par with Learning and Development. On the other hand, for the menfolk, variable compensation is at the ninth position from the ten available options.

 

It was also observed that 65% of the Male participants and 62% of the female participants supported the concept of preferential-based total rewards. 

Age Group Based Preferential Results

Based on the respondent’s demographic details, there were five age groups under which analysis was done. Key observations from this segmented population is captured below –

 

 

The analysis gives some interesting observations and the same can be understood as per below-

·         Respondents less than 25 years of age: Base compensation tops the list at 60%. Career Opportunities and Learning and Development follow in order at 20% each. 

·         The 25.1 to 30 Years of age group: Base salary, Career opportunities, learning and development are in the top three like the previous group.  No major changes here except that Health and Wellness benefits are viewed more favorably (11% as compared to 0% in the previous group).

·         The 30.1 to 35 Years age group: Work Life Balance not only trumps Base Salary, it outperforms Career opportunities and Learning. This could probably be attributed to employees entering into the post-marriage phase of their lives.

·         The 35.1 to 40 years of age group: While the preferred options remain the same as in the previous category, the key difference here is that the difference between Base salary and Work Life Balance is just 5%. It indicates the relative importance of work life balance priorities for this age group. The age group looks forward to enhanced career and learning opportunities as well.

·         The 40+ age group: Like their youngest peers, participants with over 40 years of age are very clear on their priorities. 60% of the participants prefer base salary whereas the remaining 40% prefer work-life balance. None of the other benefits compete well with these two priorities.

While research was carried out to draw comparisons among various other demographic variables as well, it was found that Total Rewards can best be offered as “Preferential Benefit” if mapped with Age Group as primary classification.   

Based off this analysis, it was concluded that Total Rewards can be offered based on a segmented population.  While cherry picking just one analyzed option is not desirable, linking all categories of total rewards can get very complicated.

Segmented based Total Rewards are a strategic decision for any IT organization.  While this concept is being discussed, implementation of all four quadrants defined by Aon Hewitt for Total Rewards has not been achieved in reality. With the changing nature of the IT demographics in India, HR companies will have to seriously consider their approach towards total rewards if they are to effectively hire and retain the best employees at their disposal.

 

References:

 

1.       “Total Rewards” Definition from Hewitt’s Annual Seminar presentation held in November, 2013 in Bangalore, India

2.       Implementing Total Rewards Strategies (SHRM Foundation) by Robert L. Heneman, Ph.D. with assistance from Erin E. Coyne (website: http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/documents/07rewardsstratreport.pdf)