From step challenges to preventative care, Medcan's Kiran Palikuca reflects on the changing role of workplace wellness
Workplace wellness has come a long way from company step challenges and coached stretch breaks. For Kiran Palikuca, Director of Growth at Medcan, that evolution reflects a broader conversation about how employers can support employee wellbeing and the health of their organizations.
Palikuca has spent nearly 20 years working in health and wellness, starting in pension and benefits. Today, she sees proactive and preventative care as an important part of the conversation, with an emphasis on reaching employees across the organization.
She'll bring that perspective to HRFest Canada 2026, where Medcan is sponsoring the VIP Lounge. The event brings more than 750 HR professionals, executives and innovation leaders to Rebel in Toronto on Nov. 10 and 11, giving Medcan an opportunity to connect with the people shaping workplace culture and employee health.
Why Medcan is joining HRFest Canada
For Medcan, the sponsorship is an opportunity to spend time with the HR leaders influencing how organizations approach their workforces.
The company has participated in other Key Media events, including the Canadian HR Awards, and sees value in connecting with decision makers and understanding the challenges they're working through.
"Really trying to be with those changemakers in the room and seeing what's top of mind for them and the conversations that are taking place," Palikuca said.
She'll be attending HRFest for the first time this year, although some of her colleagues have attended in the past.
"They've always said great things and that it's one of our top events in terms of prioritizing," she said.
Palikuca is particularly interested in the range of speakers and perspectives on the agenda, from training and development to chief people officers, workplace investigations and employment law.
"There's quite a few different elements that kind of fall under the purview of HR conversations," she said. "I'm really looking forward to picking up on some of the takeaways from the speakers and the diversity in the conversations that will take place."
How workplace health has changed
Palikuca has watched employee wellness change a lot over the years. Early in her career, workplace initiatives often focused on relatively simple activities, such as encouraging employees to take breaks, stretch during the day or participate in step challenges.
Those efforts still reflected an important recognition that employee wellbeing mattered, she said. But the conversation has since broadened, with Medcan focused on proactive and preventative health care across the workforce.
"The evolution of health and wellness in the workplace and now Medcan's contributions to really looking at proactive and preventative healthcare, not just for C-suite, but really the entire organization is, I think, really a key part of Medcan's representation at these types of events," she said.
For employers, the stakes extend beyond individual wellbeing. Manulife's Wellness Report, released in May 2026, found that health-related absences and reduced productivity combined to account for the equivalent of 46 working days per employee annually, based on responses from nearly 4,700 employees across 159 organizations in Canada.
The findings underscore the potential business impact of employee health challenges. HRD Canada's coverage of the Manulife report looks at the cost of burnout for Canadian employers.
Palikuca describes workplace wellness as a broad area that connects employee health with organizational outcomes.
"It's really about being able to support the total wellbeing of an employee as well as the health of the business and organizations as well," she said.
That broader view also means recognizing that wellness initiatives need to work for employees with different needs. The Government of Canada's guidance on mental health in the workplace outlines how workplace mental health can affect productivity, employee satisfaction and retention, while identifying practical steps employers can take to support their teams. HRD Canada has also explored why flexibility is at the heart of workplace wellness.
A place to step away and swap ideas
Medcan's sponsorship of the VIP Lounge gives the company a dedicated space to continue those conversations at HRFest. The lounge will be open to hand-selected guests, with premium food and refreshments, and is intended to offer HR leaders somewhere to recharge between sessions while connecting with their peers.
"It's intended to be a thought starter or an area for people to really gather," Palikuca said.
Conferences can pack a lot of information into a short time, she added, making it valuable to have somewhere to step away from the program and reflect on what they've heard.
The space will also give Medcan an opportunity to highlight its services and expansion plans. While the company is often associated with its downtown Toronto clinics and its Oakville location, Palikuca said it's extending its physical footprint across Ontario, including further into York Region.
Beyond the lounge itself, Palikuca believes HR leaders will benefit from having opportunities to compare notes with peers facing similar challenges. With organizations navigating changes such as return-to-office policies and the introduction of AI, sharing experiences can help leaders find approaches they might not have considered on their own.
"Some concerns or struggles that you may see in your workforce or in your organization don't necessarily need to be in silos," she said. "Best practices that maybe a different organization is doing that you can learn from."
AI is one area where that exchange could prove particularly useful, as employers work out how to incorporate new tools without leaving employees concerned about their future roles.
"I think some of those shared learnings are really where sparks start to showcase themselves and where the value comes in by having that community to be able to really learn from each other," Palikuca said.
HRFest Canada 2026 takes place Nov. 10 and 11 at Rebel in Toronto. Registration is now open.
