The COVID-19 pandemic has completely transformed the way the masses perceived wellness and the relation of mental health with wellbeing, with 86% of people equally engaging in activities to improve both physical as well as mental health, according to ICICI Lombard General Insurance. 

Almost 1 in every 3 people's personal life is affected due to work stress, results showed from cities like Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Prominently (89%) people expect employers to implement health and wellness programs and only (75%) are satisfied with what is being currently offered by their employers.  Highlighting the fact that a sustainable place of work is essential for productive results, various aspects already provided by the employers have now become hygiene such as health insurance, gym and flexible working place. Additionally, employees also require certain facilities as part of the new normal such as regular health check-up, work-life balance, and healthy food at the cafeteria and workplace ergonomics as a need of the hour. 

To understand the overall shift in consumer behavior towards health and wellness, ICICI Lombard General Insurance has undertaken a PAN India survey with over 1532 respondents, across different metro cities with different working statuses such as partial WFH and complete WFH.

The survey further revealed that the prime motivator for every 2 in 3 respondents was being aware of the benefits of healthy lifestyles, to take a step in the right direction.

Mr. Sanjay Datta, Chief - Underwriting, Reinsurance & Claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, said, "With the transformed perception of the masses, our consumer base today looks at a health insurer not only for financial immunity during times of ill-health but we are now looked up as a partner in their holistic wellness journey. Additionally, through this survey, we observed a mindset change taking place with 47% of people and 42% of the younger age group (25-35 years) wanting to adopt a healthy lifestyle to not just get a better appearance but also feel better about themselves. Therefore keeping overall wellness as a focus, ICICI Lombard intends to act as a conduit towards a health-conscious India."

While healthy habits are here to stay & grow, 100% of the respondents who're involved in some or the other healthy habits are likely to adopt them on a long term basis, and those who were not into these habits, as an impact of the pandemic, are likely to adopt them.

Interestingly, the study found that women were able to better maintain health as compared to men. While mental health seemed to be a challenge for both during the pandemic, 38% of women respondents were satisfied with their mental health status, as compared to only 35% of men. Similarly, for physical fitness, women again maintain physical health better than men with 49% of women being satisfied as compared to 42% of men.