According to the new Empowering Employee Wellbeing in the New World of Work report from Achievers Workforce Institute - the research and insights arm of Achievers, global leader in employee voice and recognition solutions that builds sustainable performance in organisations - half of employees feel stressed and few are getting the support they need, despite HR beliefs about wellbeing at work.
The research surveyed more than 2,000 employed respondents and 950 HR leaders from Australia, Canada, UK and USA, finding that only 20 per cent of employees say they feel physically and mentally healthy; only 17 per cent feel their physical wellbeing is supported by their employer and only 18 per cent feel their employer supports their mental wellbeing.
Only one in five employees feel a sense of physical and mental wellbeing, with their engagement; belonging; productivity and absenteeism being impacted. Of the HR leaders polled, 47 per cent say that their company supports employee wellbeing, but just 24 per cent of employees agree.
Almost half - 48 per cent of employees - feel stressed and of that group, 63 per cent say their stress is related to the pandemic.
Employees who feel that their wellbeing is not supported by their employer are twice as likely to say they regularly think about looking for a job elsewhere. However, organisations that are focused on employee wellbeing and can bridge the gap between HR and employees are likely to improve retention.
Dr. Natalie Baumgartner - Achievers Chief Workforce Scientist - said:
“As we look ahead at the weeks and months to come, it’s easy to think that the worst is behind us with vaccinations on the rise and many businesses starting a phased return to the office. However, the wellbeing research from Achievers Workforce Institute shows that stress remains high, with COVID-19 as a key driver. Almost one third of employees surveyed have taken leave due to stress, and this is even higher for marginalised groups. HR leaders need to understand how and why marginalised groups are experiencing heightened stress, otherwise inequities will deepen and result in cultural erosion over time.”
Twice as many HR leaders - 47 per cent against 24 per cent employees - say their organisation supports employee wellbeing, including mental wellbeing and, in addition, 40 per cent of HR leaders feel their company offers employees resources to support their mental wellbeing, but only 18 per cent of the employees feel supported in managing their mental wellbeing. This suggests that either the support is not being communicated, leaving employees unaware of available support - or it is not having the desired impact.
Dr. Baumgartner added:
“Closing the gap between HR action and employee perception should be mission critical for HR and business leaders. While HR may believe they are taking the right steps to support employees in this area, if individuals don’t experience that support as effective, then the effort is not meeting the goal. The key step is to ask employees for their input on both existing initiatives, and with regards to which programmes would be beneficial to their physical and mental wellbeing. This employee insight is crucial to implementing support that is experienced as effective and impactful.”
