Fit for Duty Podcast

It’s that time of year again when we ask Aetna’s healthcare experts to provide a view on emerging or persisting healthcare 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 wellbeing 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. Listen here

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? Listen here.

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 beyond
• How 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.  Listen here

Lorien Norden is joined by Marc Burrows, Head of Global Mobility Services, KPMG and David Tyers, Senior Director, Brand & Marketing, Aetna International.

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 as they travel for business or relocate internationally. Listen here

In this episode, Lorien Norden concludes a two-part discussion with Bradley Honnor, Founder & Managing Director, MatchFit and Adele Mackenzie-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. Listen here

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 Mackenzie-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. Listen here

In this special Memo episode, we’re bringing you a round-up of some of the most insightful, future-facing expert opinions from our recent podcast episodes.

Discover the trends and influences that will continue to shape employee health and well-being and corporate culture in the coming months and years. Listen here

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. Listen here

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. Listen here

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? Listen here

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. Listen here

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. Listen here

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. Listen here

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. Listen here

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. Listen here

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. Listen here

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? And will the Covid-19 pandemic increase adoption of digital tech to support health and well-being at work? Listen here

In this 30-minute episode, Lorien Norden and Dr Sneh Khemka, Vice President, Population Health Solutions & vHealth discuss the many issues surrounding tobacco use around the world. Listen here

Simon Miller (Senior Director, Customer Proposition, Aetna International) 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. Listen here

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. Listen here

Our own Dr Anushka Patchava, Proposition and Strategy Lead, vHealth, talks through what the consumer health care trends will be for the rest of 2020, and beyond, particularly in relation to the changes to behaviours and attitudes that COVID-19 will bring. Listen here