New Delhi: Health and wellness has become a top priority for a majority of workers in India, planning to change jobs, according to a report on Wednesday.

The report by Aon, a global professional services firm, showed that 82 per cent of employees in India are seeking new employment in the next 12 months.

The top five valued benefits for the Indian workforce are work-life balance programmes; medical coverage; career development; paid time off; and retirement savings.

Medical coverage was one of the highest-valued benefits across all generations among those surveyed in India, with Gen X and Gen Y rating it higher than Gen Z. Gen Z rated work-life balance as the top-valued benefit.

In addition, 76 per cent of those surveyed said they would be willing to sacrifice existing benefits for a better choice of benefits. This highlights the necessity for businesses in India to align their total rewards and benefits strategies with the changing expectations of their workforce.

“Until recently, very few companies considered how benefits, wellness and healthcare programmes could shape their employer brand and employee value proposition. Post-Covid, we are seeing changes as employees increasingly value these programmes, and companies are more actively branding and communicating their availability to current and future employees,” said Nitin Sethi, head of Talent Solutions for India, at Aon.

“A multigenerational workforce is accelerating this change, while advanced technology is making it easier to implement these programmes.In the next decade, companies that excel in benefits, health and wellness will have a significant opportunity to position themselves as best-in-class employers,” he added.

The report is based on a global study of more than 9,000 employees across 23 geographies, including the US, UK, China, India and Australia.

It found that better than average pay (46 per cent); environmentally and socially responsible (24 per cent); support for wellbeing (22 per cent); fun place to work (21 per cent); and strong values (21 per cent) were the top five most influential characteristics to attract employees in the country.

“Employees are increasingly aware of the advantages of medical and life benefits,” said Ashley Dsilva, head of Health and Wealth Solutions and director and principal officer for India at Aon.

“The importance of retirement and financial planning among the young workforce is surprising,” Dsilva added.

IANS