Employee Well-being a Priority

Too often, leaders fall into a well-being “perks and policies” trap, wondering why their people are burned out and stressed despite access to the latest benefits like company provided standing desks or virtual exercise programs.

Many organisations lose sight of the biggest issues surrounding employee well-being, namely the day-to-day employee experience.

Organisations can transform employee well-being by building a culture of care, promoting work life integration, and ensuring inclusivity is built into the DNA of the organisation.

Here are four ways leaders can better make the connection between well-being benefits, employee recruitment, and retention.

Build a culture of care.

Well-being benefits are a key criterion in an employee considering whether to join a company or not.

It is clear the total rewards package starts with compensation and health benefits, but also needs to include a holistic package of employee well-being benefits, including financial and mental health benefits.

This needs to be clearly communicated to prospective and current employees, with how to easily access these enhanced well-being benefits.

Financial wellness.

The 2021 PwC Financial Wellness survey revealed that 72% of employees report being stressed about their finances and would leave for another company that demonstrates how they care about their employees’ financial well-being.

Mental wellbeing.

More workers are reporting symptoms of prolonged and acute stress. One in five workers says their mental health is worse than it was in the past.

Employers can start to support the mental health of their workers by embedding mental health awareness into the culture – from leader communications through to manager conversations with team members.

When employees feel stressed, they need to know where to turn for assistance.

Take a regular pulse.

While some companies have already moved away from one-size-fits-all benefit solutions, many more must create a personalised approach to benefits.

Companies can start this process by conducting regular surveys and segmenting the data by groups such as generation, work environment, or gender to identify where there might be benefit gaps and opportunities.

The goal needs to be creating an inclusive well-being benefits package that meets the needs of all segments of workers.

Employers have always known that job candidates evaluate all aspects of a new job, beyond the actual work, but now, candidates report they expect a total rewards package to include well-being benefits.

Building a culture of care and communicating this by providing a full range of employee well-being benefits is becoming table stakes to attract and retain workers.