What is employee well-being and why is it important?
Employee well-being has gone from being a nice-to-have to mission-critical. Why does it matter so much? And how can you put well-being at the heart of work culture?
Looking after the health and well-being of your employees is one of the most important things that you can do to look after the health of your business. But there's more to well-being than free breakfasts, mindfulness apps and discounted gym memberships: A modern, healthy organisation has well-being at the heart of its entire culture.
The pandemic may have made organisations wake up to the importance of well-being, but many still don't know how to nurture it in their workplaces. In the UK, an increasing number of organisations say they're being proactive about well-being, but only around half have a formal employee well-being strategy in place.
Meanwhile, well-being is suffering. 85% of respondents in a global study by Harvard Business Review say their well-being has declined since the start of the pandemic.
So, what can you do to improve employee well-being in your organisation? We talked to Sharon Aneja, founder of the Humanity Works Consultancy, a positive psychology and well-being consultancy, to find out.
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What is employee well-being?
Well-being isn't just physical health, although that's hugely important. Employee well-being is about how day-to-day responsibilities, expectations, relationships, stress levels and working environments affect employees' overall health and happiness.
"Ultimately, it's about how people feel at work," says Sharon. "How do they feel about themselves and how do they feel about the organisation? This can encompass many different things: You've got to look at physical, mental, emotional, social and psychological well-being. People ignore spiritual well-being, but that's very important too."
You can view well-being in terms of a hierarchy of needs, she suggests. Starting from the bottom, it looks like this:
Basic level: Psychological well-being – getting paid and having a clean environment to work in
Level 4: Physical safety and psychological safety – feeling safe to be ourselves
Level 3: Social well-being – a sense of belonging to an organisation
Level 2: Esteem – a sense of being appreciated
Level 1: Self-actualisation – being able to relate to the purpose of work and the organisation
A bit overwhelming? Maybe. But there are no shortcuts to well-being. "If we're going to meet human needs in the workplace, our approach to workplace well-being needs to be holistic," Sharon says.
"The most successful well-being programmes are the ones where well-being is put at the heart of the organisation. It can't just be HR's responsibility. It's everyone's responsibility because workplace well-being isn't just good for the employee and the organisation. It's good for communities. It's good for society. It's good for the economy. It has so many benefits beyond just that interaction between the employee and the employer."
Where are we now with workplace well-being?
The pandemic has had a seismic effect on the way we work. But amid the continuing backdrop of uncertainty, employers face ongoing challenges in prioritising employee well-being. Here are five of the most pressing issues you should be thinking about.
Burnout, anxiety and depression
During the pandemic, increased workloads and staff shortages have seen people put in longer hours and take fewer breaks. The Harvard survey cites increased work demands as the most significant factor contributing to the decline in workplace well-being since the pandemic began.
A lack of downtime can cause higher stress levels, which risks burnout and higher staff turnover if left unresolved. The challenge for leaders is to tackle the conditions that lead to burnout before it's too late.
Challenges of working from home
Home and hybrid working offer a lot of positives – flexibility, reduced commute and more time for family, friends and hobbies. For organisations, it's opened the door to diverse talent and cut office costs. But the downside is boundary blur: It's much harder to switch off when the office is the kitchen table. It's also more challenging to connect with coworkers and get on-the-spot support.
Isolation and loneliness
Lockdowns and remote working have increased feelings of isolation, particularly for people who live alone. And these feelings can intensify during times of uncertainty. We're social animals, and being separated from other people and the workplace environment can lead to disengagement and low morale, affecting emotional well-being.
Financial instability
The economic uncertainty of the past 18 months has caused a dramatic shift in many people's finances. While some have managed to save money, others have faced furlough, redundancy and worries about job security.
Financial well-being gets the least attention from organisations, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.1 Yet money worries can be a significant source of stress for employees, ultimately harming their performance at work.
Leadership challenges
From managing remote teams to introducing extra safety measures in the workplace, the pandemic has placed enormous demands on leaders. As a leader, your job is to project calm and "business as usual" to your teams, even though you may be feeling just as overwhelmed and unsure as everyone else. An honest, open and visible leadership style plays a crucial role in staff well-being, especially during times of upheaval when your people are looking to you for extra guidance and support.
The benefits of well-being in the workplace
When you improve the health and well-being of your people, you're helping to create a more motivated, engaged and high-performing workforce – which can only be good for business. The benefits of investing in employee well-being include:
Attracting and retaining top talent
The pandemic has shifted people's priorities, redefining measures of success. "People are putting well-being, sustainability and purpose above money, status and power," says Sharon. "Everyone's talking about the Great Resignation and people wanting to quit their jobs. Employees are quite clearly now in the driving seat and they're going to pick employers who care about and value their people."
Employees who feel cared for and supported by their organisation tend to be more loyal and want to stay longer. And as the average UK employer spends about £3,000 and 27.5 days on hiring a new worker, retaining top talent can clearly save companies a lot of money and time.2
Improved diversity and inclusivity
A focus on greater inclusivity can help you attract a diverse workforce of talented people from all backgrounds and with different mindsets. Along with preventing health problems from developing, a supportive and inclusive workplace can give staff members who already have health issues the help and resources they need to stay in work – and thrive.
Increased productivity
Healthy, happy and motivated employees come to work feeling energised, engaged and fully focused on the job. That's in sharp contrast to unhappy, overworked and overtired employees, who lack energy, have poor concentration and are more likely to clash with coworkers – all of which lowers performance. To paraphrase – support your employees to help them work smarter and achieve more.
“Don't leave the well-being strategy to HR. Do it with the people. They are your resource, but they're also your insights, and they're the solution. ”
Better team bonding
An environment that encourages collaboration, teambuilding and friendship at work is vital for employees to feel like they belong. Those who work in a team with friends also tend to put in more effort as they feel accountable to their coworkers. Healthy relationships can have a hugely positive effect on people's mental well-being and happiness at work.
Higher morale and job satisfaction
Employees whose well-being needs are met feel more valued and appreciated and generally have higher self-esteem than those who are unsupported. Feeling that their work is meaningful is crucial to employee well-being, and helps make people more committed to achieving your company goals.
Improved customer relationships
When well-being is good, problems get solved quickly, new sales ideas flow and there's an eagerness to drive up customer service standards. If staff who deal with customers and clients feel anxious or depressed and don't buy into what they're doing, the quality of your product or service will suffer. And that can mean problems escalate because of poor communication.
How to promote employee well-being?
So how do you build an employee well-being strategy that puts people first? Get started with these four expert tips.
Get buy-in from the board
Leaders and managers often face challenges in securing budget for well-being, according to Sharon. So the first step is to create a business case for the board that focuses on the many benefits of well-being, including ROI. For example, Deloitte estimates an average return of £5 for every £1 spent on mental health.3
Nail the basics
"What the workforce wants and what employers want to give are not necessarily aligned," Sharon observes. Employers may see well-being as reactive strategies – dealing with problems such as anxiety and burnout when they arise.
But employees want prevention strategies. This means looking at the basics, such as workload and working conditions, before moving on to things further up the hierarchy of needs.
Put emphasis on purpose
Attitudes to work have shifted during the pandemic. "People want to feel like they're contributing to something bigger," says Sharon. That's why organisations need to make what they do (and why they do it) relevant to every employee and their work.
A set of values that sits on an intranet won't cut it – leaders need to integrate values into the day-to-day. How? By talking to people on a one-to-one, team or company level about how their work is essential and part of the bigger picture.
Use agile measurement
A company-wide well-being survey might be a good way of getting an initial idea of how people are feeling and what they want from workplace well-being. But you also need to measure well-being on an ongoing basis. That way, you can keep track of how things are changing and how any well-being initiatives are performing.
More importantly, you can make changes if you need to. "The key is to understand what well-being means to your people," says Sharon. "Don't leave the well-being strategy to HR. Do it with the people. They are your resource, but they're also your insights, and they're the solution."
