Fit For Duty

Todd Lazar, President of Aetna International Americas, discusses the differentiators that set Aetna International apart in the marketplace. Listen to hear how our one-carrier solution can deliver a better experience for your clients and their employees.

It's that time of year again when we ask Aetna's health care experts to provide a view on emerging or persisting health care trends for the year ahead.    Today, we're speaking to Seeta Hammer, Senior Director, Clinical Health Services at Aetna International. Find out what 2023 has in store as far as healthcare trends are concerned and how organizations can use this insight to support the well-being of their people and manage their corporate healthcare costs. We'll also be diving into the investments that Aetna International is making into solutions to improve the health and wellness experiences of the people it serves.

As the war for talent rumbles on, organisations are now facing quiet quitting, disengaged, younger workforces and the rise of quiet firing. And when you layer in the international component, be it globally mobile personnel, overseas offices, or work-from-anywhere teams, it seems that organisations must rethink the management of far-flung teams and the propagation of healthy, people-first values and cultures. In this episode, Lorien Norden is joined by Lorna Borenstein, Founder & CEO of corporate wellbeing platform Grokker to discuss on-demand health engagement solutions for individuals and corporates.

While in some areas of the world, mental health conditions such as stress, anxiety or depression are widely spoken about, in other areas they are still misunderstood and could be sidelined or ridiculed.In this episode, Lorien Norden is joined by Nicole van Valen, a Clinical Psychotherapist and Senior Business Leader with Aetna, a CVS Health company to discuss:- The ways in which businesses with international workers can help ensure their teams and their people get the support they need for their holistic well-being- How they can make sure they're taking an inclusive, proactive approach to mental health and not just paying the topic lip service.- How to find the right balance when it comes to diversity and inclusion whilst operating under the different cultural standards of a country of residence in which their individuals, their employees might be living, and what can be done to support staff based in countries where mental health is not widely supported or not easily available?

In this episode, Lorien Norden is joined by Dr Charushilla Thadani, Medical Director, Aetna International, who explains:What the future holds for health care trends, medical cost drivers and employee experience across the rest of 2022 and beyondHow organisations can apply this knowledge to support the holistic health and well-being of their people.Start discovering the trends at play. Find out which ones could impact your health and well-being benefits, your communications strategy and your cultural strategy.

Getting the right people into the right roles in the right location is much trickier than it used to be. The values, needs and expectations of talent are changing rapidly and there are new working models, policies and governance frameworks that organisations need to continue to develop to so they can make fast, agile decisions. Our guests discuss the shift required by leadership to support, develop and get the best out of team members. Lorien Norden is joined by Marc Burrows, Head of Global Mobility Services, KPMG and David Tyers, Senior Director, Brand & Marketing, Aetna International.

In this episode, Lorien Norden concludes a two-part discussion with Bradley Honnor, Founder & Managing Director, MatchFit and Adele McKenzie-Smith, Senior HR Leader, Aetna International about the way in which organisations are having to adapt their culture, policies and benefits to ensure they're retaining and attracting talent in a continued period of change.Click below to listen to the first part of this conversation:Fit For Duty #15: The ‘War for Talent' - Part One

There's no denying that today, organisations need to have a distinct competitive advantage when it comes to retaining and attracting talent. Not only do business owners, senior leaders and HR teams need to manage the nuances of the new hybrid work environment, but workers are also putting them under pressure. They expect their employers to live and breathe their purpose, develop collaborative, diverse, inclusive cultures, leverage new technologies and help their people manage their health, well-being and career development.This episode is the first of a two-part conversation with Bradley Honnor, Founder & Managing Director, MatchFit and Adele McKenzie-Smith, Senior HR Leader, Aetna International about the ways in which organisations are having to adapt their strategies to ensure they're on the winning side in today's war for talent.

In this special Memo episode, we're looking back over the first half of 2021 to bring you a round-up of some of the most insightful expert opinions from our recent podcast episodes. These excerpts shed light on some of the most notable trends and influences that will continue to shape employee health and well-being and corporate culture in the coming months and years. This includes shifts in attitudes towards health care tech, self-care, the influence of social connectedness on our health and changes to duty of care, corporate culture and business leadership. Guests on this episode include: Dr Hemal Desai, Global Medical Director, Aetna International Simon Miller, Senior Director of Customer Proposition, Aetna International Smriti Joshi, Lead Psychologist, Wysa Cara McNulty, Head of Behavioural Health, CVS Jesse Lahey, workplace health consultant, podcaster and author Nicolai Tillish, Executive Leadership Coach and author. 

In this episode, Lorien Norden is joined by workplace health consultant, adviser and author Jesse Lahey and Aetna International's Global Medical Director, vHealth, Dr Nairah Rasul-Syed to discuss comorbidity. The interplay between conditions is undeniable, but often not front-of-mind when trying to help individuals. Our guests explain how various conditions affect each other, how mental health can damage physical health and vice versa and why whole-person health is essential when tackling conditions.

Coach and author Nicolai Tillisch joins Lorien Norden to discuss the changing role of HR. The episode examines how HR teams need to (and can) adapt to ongoing changes to workplaces – accelerated by the pandemic: distributed and hybrid teams, financial uncertainty, mental health challenges and employee demand. Nicolai outlines his Return On Ambition model of career development, personal growth, work-life-well-being balance to help HR teams as they support their people.

Smriti Joshi, Lead Psychologist at Wysa and Cara McNulty, Head of Behavioural Health at CVS join Lorien Norden to discuss supporting the spectrum of mental health needs in the workplace. It’s just over a year on from the onset of the pandemic, and the world over has seen a rise of short- and long-term mental health conditions. How are organisations continuing to adapt their culture and strategies to help those with signs of low lying mental ill health, such as stress and sleep disturbances, as well as those in crisis with anxiety and depression? What promise does the future hold for providing effective, evidence-based psychosocial and mental health and well-being support? And how can organisations help their people achieve whole-person health and the balance and productivity that comes with it?

Macroeconomics expert, Professor Graeme Leach discusses how the pandemic could continue to impact global economies and productivity, change consumer habits and accelerate innovation. As CEO of Macronomics - a macroeconomic, geopolitical and future megatrends research consultancy and author of the report Coronanomics – he addresses the positive and negative shocks of the pandemic. Graeme also covers the forces shaping the health care industry, inflation rates, manufacturing, global mobility, expat communities and international talent pools.

Lorien Norden discusses workplace health and wellness trends with Dr Hemal Desai and Simon Miller. How can employers pivot to create a culture of well-being in today’s fluid world to ensure the health, happiness and productivity of their people wherever they’re working from? Our experts offer their opinions, insights and advice.

With lockdown restrictions being re-imposed across many countries, new insights from four major global markets have revealed the significant impact they’re having on office worker performance and productivity. Lorien Norden discusses COVID-19 and productivity with Head of Health Services Kate Karwelies.

For this episode of our award-nominated podcast, Dr Sneh Khemka returns, this time to mark World Spine Day. Sneh and our host, Lorien Norden, discuss musculoskeletal conditions (MSK), the second largest contributor to disability - with low-back pain being is the biggest cause. This insightful conversation includes the role of primary care in helping to tackle MSK, treatments such as laser spine surgery and what people can do to avoid musculoskeletal conditions.

For World Mental Health Day, Dr Sneh Khemka discusses how the pandemic is affecting people’s mental health as the fight to erode mental health stigma around the world continues. We also cover how mental health affects the body, the self-help revolution and the influence of community and social connectedness on our overall mental health. Sneh also explains what forward thinking companies are doing in the mental health space.

Heart disease – or cardiovascular disease (CVD) – is the world’s biggest killer, responsible for approximately 30% of global deaths. To mark World Heart Day (29th September 2020), we speak to Dr Sneh Khemka to discuss how COVID-19 and lifestyle choices impact CVD, why mortality and patient figures are hard to pin down, global trends, and the critical steps governments and employers can take to help individuals build good heart health.

Aetna International’s Caroline Pain (Senior Vice President, Customer Proposition) and Dr Hemal Desai (Global Medical Director) discuss the findings of our new survey which asks: is workplace digital tech making employees ill or enabling better health? And will the Covid-19 pandemic increase adoption of digital tech to support health and well-being at work? They also discuss practical ways companies can use digital tech to support employee well-being.

Lorien Norden and Dr Sneh Khemka discuss the many issues surrounding tobacco use around the world. The episode covers changing trends in tobacco use around the world, the impact on individuals and health care systems, and what we know about ‘vaping’ and its effects.Sneh talks about smoking in the context of the global pandemic, how it is a great opportunity to stop smoking and offers advice for those looking to quit.

Simon Miller and Lorien Norden discuss the emerging trends in corporate health and well-being, from new tech and changes in investment to shifting attitudes to wellness in the workplace. In this 45-minute episode, Simon also explains how businesses can use new and changing ideas to help their employees on the path to better health — including the importance of purpose, social connectedness, financial well-being and access to the right mental health tools. Finally, Simon provides valuable guidance for organisations to help improve the well-being of their employees, no matter where the entity sits on the spectrum of well-being maturity. Useful links:SleepioMIND Workplace Wellbeing IndexDeloitte: Mental health and employers – Refreshing the case for investmentAviaPodcast Transcript Link

In this 30-minute episode, Simon Miller (Senior Director, Customer Proposition, Aetna International) explains what organisations gain by implementing corporate wellness programs, and discusses how they can support their employees to overcome ‘health inertia’ to be happier, healthier and more productive. Simon answers questions about the roles of workforce data analysis, communication and measurement in corporate wellness, and examines how international organisations can cater to different cultural and regional employee needs to help raise awareness of everyday healthy behaviours. Finally, Simon outlines the three vital elements of any successful corporate wellness strategy. Below, you’ll find links to some of the resources, studies and source materials for points covered in the podcast.Useful links:Inside-Out Mental Health CharterMental Health at Work Stevenson Farmer ReviewWHO Healthy Workplace Framework and ModelBusiness of health 2020: how organisations can overcome employee health inertia5 corporate wellness strategies to help encourage employees to take control of their own healthPodcast Transcript Link

Dr Anushka Patchava discusses her predictions for 2020 and beyond and reflects on a number of emerging health care trends, from technology such as virtual health to shifting attitudes to mental health.Podcast Transcript LinkUseful links:Expat social determinants report 2019: How living abroad impacts employee health and well-beingInternational health care trends 20195 ways Aetna International is embracing the health care revolutionHow personalisation is transforming health care