The report found that employees who completed three annual health checkups had a hospitalisation rate of 2.41%, compared with 7.27% for those who did not undergo any check-up.
It also found that 25% of employees skipped every annual health check-up. However, this group accounted for 46% of all hospitalisation claims and 43% of total insurance payouts, highlighting the cost of delayed diagnosis and treatment.
The report is based on independent research and MediBuddy’s analysis of health data from 10,551 employees.
More than half of employees do not act after their health check-ups. Around 52% received no personalised guidance, follow-up or reminders after the screening, the report said.
Cardiovascular disease remains one of the biggest health concerns among corporate employees. Cardiac medicines accounted for 20.34% of all pharmacy dispensations. The HbA1c test for diabetes has also become MediBuddy’s fourth most-requested diagnostic test.
The report said health risks vary across age groups. Gen Z employees report high levels of anxiety but have low participation in annual health checkups. Millennials face rising stress, burnout and lifestyle diseases. Gen X employees shoulder caregiving responsibilities, while Baby Boomers have the highest medical claims because of multiple chronic illnesses.Poor mental health costs Indian employers around Rs 1.1 lakh crore every year, the report said. Presenteeism, where employees are at work but are less productive, accounts for Rs 51,000 crore of the loss. Absenteeism adds another Rs 14,000 crore.
The report also found that disengaged and burned-out teams are 17% less productive than engaged teams.
It introduced India’s first Workplace Health Maturity Curve to assess how organisations manage employee health. An analysis of 459 corporate benefits across seven industries found that 73% of organisations remain at the two lowest levels of workplace health management. Fewer than 2% have reached the highest level, where health is integrated into business strategy using preventive and AI-enabled care.
The IT and IT-enabled services sector showed the highest level of workplace health maturity. Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies had the largest share of organisations at the lowest maturity level.
Satish Kannan, cofounder and CEO of MediBuddy, said companies need to move beyond measuring participation in wellness programmes and focus on improving health outcomes through continuous and personalised care.
The report said AI and digital health tools can help employers identify health risks early, improve employee engagement and reduce healthcare costs.