Vaachna ‘21 - Employee Well-being - An Imperative For Organisational Excellence

As the lockdown, social separation, and hunt for a cure for COVID-19 continues, the fear of the unpredictable still prevails. The pandemic turned out to be an inordinate event that has created an atmosphere of uncertainty, resulting in unstable work conditions that can exacerbate employees' personal and professional stress levels. While the virtual workplace ensures business continuity in such volatile and crisis situations, it has sparked widespread concerns about dwindling personal connections, diminishing trust, and declining employee well-being. Employers must now, more than ever, play a crucial role in promoting and supporting their employees' wellness.

In the corporate sector, the focus on wellness has long been among the topmost priorities. It is no longer restricted to being a mere HR policy; it has transformed and got imbibed as a significant part of company strategy. According to multiple studies, employees who are happy at work are more likely to fulfil their full potential, act ethically and creatively, manage stress effectively, and contribute actual and meaningful results to the company's success.

It is against this backdrop, that the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur, hosts the second edition of Vaachna, an online HR conclave that aims to bring together some of the most exceptional HR leaders and corporate stalwarts to unravel solutions to the pressing challenges of this new business environment. The theme for the event that is all set to go live on 30th October 2021 is "Employee Well-being - An Imperative for Organizational Excellence."

The purpose of this corporate-academia engagement is to create a learning experience that combines real-world complexities and thoughtful insights of the panellists with their academic and technical proficiency. The ongoing pandemic offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for aspiring executives to observe how industry experts deal with such unpredictable business situations in a hands-on environment.

The theme of the event seeks to integrate traditional managerial learning with practical corporate insights on a topic that is becoming increasingly relevant in the contemporary business landscape. The revelations that emerge from these discussions will illustrate the complex nature of the conversations surrounding yet another critical Human Resource function.