HR and Benefit Leaders worldwide have revealed exactly why they’re putting more time, effort, and money into workplace wellbeing. In our recent webinar with Ragan Wellness, Dr Jeff Jacques, chief medical officer at Virgin Pulse and Jim Gallic, vice president of sales at Virgin Pulse, discussed the findings from our 2023 Global Workplace Wellbeing Survey report.
In May 2023, we surveyed 600 HR and Benefit Leaders working across the globe. They told us their motivations, challenges, and plans for expanding their wellbeing strategy. And now, you can use these insights to make better strategic decisions for your employees.
Wellbeing strategies in the workplace are paying off
Workplace wellbeing strategies have become paramount in the post-pandemic period. HR and benefits teams are now prioritizing mental health, positive employee behaviors, and ROI (Return on Investment) in their employee programs more than ever before.
Jim Gallic pointed out that “71% of the survey respondents can clearly see an ROI for their wellbeing efforts,” indicating that employees increasingly engage with these programs. Dr. Jeff Jacques added that “mental health support is part and parcel of their wellness programs,” highlighting the essential role of holistic wellbeing in the workplace.
Gallic further emphasized the importance of a multifaceted communication approach to raise awareness of wellbeing programs. As he noted, “there’s a need for a number of ways to communicate to all of the employees, no matter where they are on the globe.”
Personalized wellbeing programs drive engagement
Personalizing wellbeing programs to individual needs is crucial for employee engagement and satisfaction. Now, we’re not talking about buying everyone a personal trainer, a therapist, and a chef (but how cool would that be?). We’re talking about tailoring wellbeing programs to fit employees’ unique needs. Especially if you want to boost engagement within your culture.
Jacques stressed the need for a whole-person health approach to wellbeing, stating, “Employees really want to be supported from a whole-person health perspective.” Meanwhile, Gallic emphasized the need for a structure that “allows for communication at a high level, but in a very personalized way.”
Gallic highlighted the rising trend of using social media to communicate wellbeing programs. This is clear from the report, which showed that the use of social media for HR and Benefit Leaders comms has grown 200% since 2018.
The growing role of mental health in employee wellbeing
There’s no doubt about it – poor mental health is one of the biggest challenges for employers and employees right now. And this is confirmed in the Global Workplace Wellbeing Survey.
Jacques noted that “Behavorial health has always been an issue,” and the pandemic has emphasized the importance of addressing it in a “concrete, comprehensive, and integrated manner.” Gallic also emphasized the need for interventions and support for ongoing mental health issues, stating, “You can’t really divorce behavioral health, behavioral wellbeing, and mental health from overall whole-person wellbeing.”
Gallic added that mental health issues have become the top concern in preparing for 2024, indicating that employee mental health will continue to be a priority in the foreseeable future.
Health and wellbeing are the top priority for HR leaders, followed by employee engagement and satisfaction, diversity, and inclusion, flexibility, and overall workplace culture.
From 23% pre-pandemic to 71% post-pandemic – there has been a huge increase in the number of organizations able to measure the impact of their wellbeing efforts.
We know what you are thinking – “What does this mean for me?” Well, let us just say when you measure something, you can improve it. By understanding the impact of wellbeing programs, organizations can tailor their efforts to create a happier and healthier workforce. Plus, when you show employees the tangible benefits of these programs, they are more likely to feel invested and engaged in them too.
Employers these days are really getting serious about health and wellbeing programs. They’re investing more money in these programs and trying to figure out how to make them more efficient and effective.
And guess what? Employers are seen as a reliable source when it comes to giving out health and wellbeing info to their employees.
Want to explore how HR and Benefit Leaders are planning to attract and retain employees with wellbeing initiatives? Get the Global Workplace Wellbeing Survey report or watch a replay of the webinar.