The word startup, commonly heard now, was rather uncommon about a decade ago. Startup refers to a company in the initial stages of operation.
A startup is founded by one or more entrepreneurs who believe that there is demand for the product or service they want to develop.
To name a few, startups in India have been OYO, Ola, Flipkart, Lenskart, Sanpdeal, Paytm, BharatPe, boAt, Swiggy, Zomato, Delhivery, Grofers, Cure.fit, Policybazar, Netmeds, Pharmeasy, Byju’s, Cars24, 1mg, Urban Company, UpGrad, Bigbasket, Practo, GeoIQ etc.
Even the globally well-known Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, eBay, Facebook began as startups and ended up as stock trading companies.
Startups are about idea, conviction, and action.
Typically, startups start with limited revenue but have high costs of operation, which is why they look for capital from the rich who believe in them or from venture capitalists (VCs).
A venture capitalist (VC) is a private equity investor that provides capital (money) to companies with high growth potential in exchange for an equity stake.
Advantages of being a part of a startup are responsibility and opportunities to learn. This is because startups have fewer employees than established companies. Startups tend to be more relaxed, making the workplace more of an informal experience, with flexible hours, increased employee interaction, and flexibility. Innovation is encouraged. Remunerations can be high in a startup. Startups usually also have better workplace benefits, such as nurseries for children, free food, and shorter workweek.
However, there are some disadvantages too of being a part of a startup. The dark side of a startup is risk of failure, having to raise capital and a competitive business environment – all of which leads to stress.
The risk of failure in a startup is high. And that is why there are no job guarantees. However, the rich experience you get in a startup fetches you a job elsewhere, either in another startup or in an established company.
Startups usually have younger people – hence frequent eating out including junk food, alcohol, working in offices that may lack ergonomic setup, frequent travel etc. could lead to health problems.
These are occupational hazards and can be mitigated by seeking inputs from Occupational Health (OH) physician who begins by identifying risks to health peculiar to a startup, if any, and advising to take appropriate steps.
Even if Occupational Health is in bits and pieces, the idea to instill it in the culture of the startup company will do a lot good to the health of the employees than just not having a mindset about it or ignoring it completely.
Startups should keep in mind that they are in an occupation like anyone else and are slightly unorganized in their initial stage of operation; and that every occupation (job, work) has an effect on health.
Startups, having the best of minds at work have no reason to be unorganized. They should lead by example as many startups bring a lot of unorganized sectors with them to work effectively offering better incomes.
While they organize themselves there is a need to bring some changes in their approach towards their own employees. Startups need to change their mindset and think about health and wellbeing of their employees.
In a startup, employees are usually young but also are their biggest assets. Startups shouldn’t think that their younger population is immune to work-related illnesses.
And when a startup becomes successful, it becomes bigger in size, employing a lot more employees, functions like finance and HR are strengthened; that should also be the time to instill OH agenda in their functioning to take care of health issues, both work-related and otherwise of the employees.
Even if OH is in bits and pieces, the idea to instill it in the culture of the company will do a lot good to the health of the employees than just not having a mindset about it or ignoring it completely.
The point is, when you think of health, think occupational health, because we all are engaged in occupations, so some of our health issues (estimated to be around 20%) could be work-related which could be mitigated before it causes a severe irreversible illness. And this is applicable to startups too! The presence of an OH physician helps!
For more info, or any assistance in setting up OH services, contact
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Dr Ajay Sati is an Occupational Health physician who prefers to describe himself as an Occupationist, to denote, ‘an expert in diseases and other concerns of occupations’. Dr Sati has managed health and wellness programs in industries he worked, like the atomic energy, and energy (oil & gas) in India and overseas. He was involved in many greenfield and brownfield projects providing inputs from health point of view. Known for SOPs and protocols, he is currently involved with an energy MNC in designing protocols to support employees during the covid pandemic, and protocols to safely reopen offices and plants.
