Beyond IQ and EQ: Why HQ is the missing link for sustainable business growth

This article is authored by Richa Arora, independent director.

In the early days of my corporate life, sometime in the early 90s, a batch mate and friend shared a story that was equal parts bizarre, hilarious and sad. At the global bank she worked, competition among peers was intense. But it was not about who delivered the best work or took on the most challenging assignments. It was who stayed latest in the office. So intense was this unwritten contest that some employees were known to hide under desks or in washrooms, to trick their co-workers into believing that they had finished for the day.

Mental Health (HT File)

Much has changed in the corporate world over the last three decades. Yet even today, many employees feel the need to be seen working, lest they be perceived as not working at all. Can we genuinely have a meaningful conversation about employee well-being, while simultaneously celebrating 80- or 100-hour work weeks as markers of ambition and commitment?

According to WHO estimates, around 14% of Indians live with a mental health condition, a figure projected to rise to 20% of the adult population by the early 2030s. Workplace mental health surveys suggest an even more troubling picture. Approximately 42% of Indian corporate employees experience symptoms of depression or anxiety. That is nearly one in two employees, and three times the national estimate. The reasons are well documented. Long working hours & toxic work cultures have made stress as an accepted part of professional life.

Alongside mental exhaustion is the growing prevalence of what are commonly called “lifestyle diseases,” a term that can make them sound like an inevitable price of material prosperity. Recent data from the sixth round of the National Family Health Survey shows the extent of the problem. The prevalence of diabetes and high blood sugar among men increased from 15.6% in 2019-21 to 20.9% in 2023-24, while the corresponding figure for women rose from 13.5% to 17.8% over the same period. Obesity rates show a similarly significant increase, rising by approximately 30% from the baseline.

The organisational cost extends well beyond absenteeism caused by physical or mental health conditions. Presenteeism, being at work while functioning with reduced focus or energy, can be equally damaging to productivity. By some estimates, poor mental health alone costs Indian companies a whopping $14 billion annually.

This is not merely a health issue. It threatens the very edifice of corporate India: its people, its financial performance, and its future growth. It is a challenge that corporate boards and their Nomination and Remuneration Committees need to recognise more explicitly and address more systematically.

For years, we have spoken about IQ and EQ - intelligence quotient and emotional quotient - as important attributes of leadership and organisational success. Clearly, another dimension deserves far greater attention: HQ, or Health Quotient.

HQ is not a medical score but a broader way of thinking about the physical health, mental well-being, and capacity for sustained performance of an organisation’s people. The health of an organisation is inseparable from the health of its employees.

These factors are not peripheral considerations. They influence whether leaders and teams can remain effective over time. People who operate constantly at the edge of exhaustion may deliver in the short term, but the sustainability of that performance is questionable.

The bottom line is that IQ and EQ matter, but without sufficient attention to HQ, everything comes to naught. Employee well-being is not about making work easier or lowering standards. It is about making work more sustainable, humane, and meaningful. For that to happen HQ needs to become part of the boardroom and leadership conversation.

That conversation must extend beyond individual behaviour. Organisations also need to examine the working conditions they create: management practises, staffing levels, psychological safety, flexibility, and the extent to which overwork is rewarded. Encouraging employees to meditate, exercise or undergo health assessments cannot compensate for structurally unhealthy workplaces.

Organisations that understand this will not merely have happier employees. They will build stronger, more resilient teams and create a virtuous cycle of healthier leadership, more sustainable performance, and stronger businesses. Boards have a vital role to play in catalysing this shift, not by turning health into another compliance exercise, but by ensuring that it is considered in decisions about strategy, culture, risk, and long-term enterprise sustainability.

Today, conversations around employee welfare and well-being often begin with internal HR policies and reforms. Mental health days, parental leave, period leave, sabbatical leave, flexible working hours, wellness programmes, counselling support, have all become part of a rich corporate vocabulary. But do these measures fundamentally improve the lived experience of the people they are meant to support?

Companies have to walk the talk with sincerity and honesty. If an employee is encouraged to attend a wellness workshop but is then expected to be constantly available, the message is contradictory. If organisations speak about mental health but reward burnout, the policy becomes performative rather than truly embodied.

This also requires us to examine some of our own cultural attitudes in India. First, we often equate long hours in the office with hard work and commitment. Second, we do not not look at health and fitness as an integral part of our work lives.

Some years ago, I was privileged to attend a global leadership programme, with an incredibly unique format. The kickoff session began, not with a welcome address, but with a blood draw from participants to assess whether we were “fit” to lead. Infact, alongside the pre workshop assessments such as personality profiling, leadership style evaluations, 360-degree feedback, there was also a health inventory that took stock of food and exercise habits.

Each day was structured so that, in addition to executive coaching sessions, there was always an underlying element of fitness. Treks, hike and yoga, were integrated into the programme, along with personal fitness consultations with the health counsellor who was present throughout.

Personally, for me, having only just begun my own “be healthy” journey at the time, it was an eye opener. Equally important, however was the broader realisation that in organisations, well-being cannot be a programme that runs parallel to the business. It has to be embedded in everyday thinking, decision making, and work life.

Perhaps it is time to move well beyond the team bonding activities that have become staples of corporate off sites, along with the occasional health camp or meditation session. Perhaps it is time to ask ourselves a few uncomfortable questions. Should health be considered a leadership competency? Should organisations stop viewing health purely as a personal choice and instead play a more structured and active role in shaping this agenda?

Given the scale of the problem and the projections for the future, the cost of inaction for organisations will be significant. India’s healthcare system is already under strain, both in terms of capacity and quality of care. As the burden of lifestyle related diseases continues to rise, that pressure will only intensify. Organisations will inevitably bear part of this burden. Rising employee medical insurance premiums are another visible indicator of this trend. Yet the solution lies not in treating illness alone, but in preventing it. It is a widely accepted principle that when it comes to health, prevention is not only better than cure, it is often the only sustainable path to better health outcomes.

There is another equally well-established principle: what cannot be measured cannot be influenced. That is why organisations have robust systems for financial audits, safety audits, quality audits, all of which receive periodic board oversight. Given the seriousness of the health challenge, the hidden costs of a poor HQ and its implications for enterprise sustainability, it may be time for some leading organisations to undertake HQ audits of their leaders and teams. The goal would not be to judge, but to understand and map the current state of health, identify areas of concern, and design interventions tailored to specific needs rather than relying on generic wellness programmes.

Organisations cannot do this alone. Meaningful progress will require an ecosystem capable of delivering targeted health and wellness interventions, along with the active participation of employees themselves. Sustainable change can happen only over time. Yet if even a few boards were to insist that organisations integrate health more deliberately into the leadership agenda, it would send a powerful signal and set the tone for others to follow.

The premise is simple. An organisation’s ability to grow sustainably is as much a function of the health of its leaders and teams, as it is of business acumen, technical expertise and soft skills. Enterprise sustainability is compromised when an increasing proportion of employees are unable to perform at their full potential, often during the most productive years of their lives. Creating a culture where health and well-being are genuinely valued, systematically addressed and meaningfully supported is an investment in building a resilient, thriving and future-ready organisation.

Of course, in such a culture, being the first to arrive and the last to leave - particularly when additional hours do not necessarily translate into greater productivity - will no longer be worn as a badge of honour. That is when workplace conversations will shift from hours worked to the value created, from presenteeism to performance, and from endurance to sustainable excellence.

This article is authored by Richa Arora, independent director.