How employee expectations are changing health and wellbeing strategies
What are employee expectations regarding health and wellbeing in the workplace?
There’s no one-fits-all approach, but culture, a holistic approach, work-life balance, flexibility and supporting their families are increasingly in demand.
Let’s explore how these expectations are shaping wellbeing strategies and employee benefits.
Culture before perks
We could interchange ‘culture before perks’ with ‘wellbeing washing’ as they come down to the same thing.
Throwing money at or adding extra benefits to a wellbeing strategy is ineffective if the workplace culture doesn’t align.
In its article, The Evolution and Growing Importance of Employee Wellbeing, a Pluxee UK employee shares an experience with a previous employer of how they met his unmanageable stress with a pay increase.
The boost this offer elicited was short-lived because the employee quickly realised that nothing else would change and his wellbeing would continue to decline, so he left that business.
Holistic approach
Embedding employee wellbeing into an organisation’s culture is an essential first step, but employees expect a holistic approach. While the industry may split wellbeing into three – financial, mental, and physical.
Pluxee UK’s Money Mastery eBook offers an in-depth review of employee money worries and how they negatively impact their mental health.
Seven out of ten (73%) of their respondents claimed concerns over their financial wellbeing caused more stress, 57% said their mental wellbeing was suffering, and 37% said poor financial wellbeing made them less confident in their personal lives.
Employers must build financial, mental and physical employee benefits into their health and wellbeing strategies to provide the most effective support.
Work-life balance
Employees, especially Gen Z, demand a work-life balance, and the right to switch off and disconnect outside of working hours is becoming a formal policy.
Flexible working policies are essential to your health and wellbeing strategies, allowing employees input regarding where and when they work.
Your business may need a ‘cultural refresh’ moving away from an era where you reward those who stay late or skip lunch.
Instead, business leaders must recognise how balance boosts employee wellbeing and productivity, encouraging employees to take breaks and use their annual leave entitlement to avoid burnout.
Seven in ten (71%) employees say a flexible working policy is important when looking for a new role.
From an employee benefits perspective, annual leave purchase schemes can enhance a healthy work-life balance, giving employees the gift of time to spend on the things that fill their wellbeing cup.
Family matters
How many parents or carers do you employ?
Flexible working is a lifeline for working parents needing to juggle childcare demands with work. What about those dealing with additional family needs?
In the last three years, the chances of a child having a mental health issue have increased by 50%.
In a recent webinar hosted by Bupa, panellists revealed that one-third of working parents are cutting their working hours to help care for children suffering from mental ill-health.
This nationwide increase puts additional pressure on working parents, partly due to the length of time it takes to get on the right support path through the NHS.
Recent news reports suggest that one million people in the UK are waiting to access mental health services.
Working parents are turning to their employers for help, which includes requesting additional flexibility, working from home, or a reduction in hours to accessing PMI and an employee assistance programme (EAP) that provides support for their household.
An EAP can support working parents in several ways, giving them access to the tools and confidence they need to have the conversations that matter at home.
Perhaps more importantly, it can help the parents in your workplace manage the impact the situation has on their mental wellbeing, giving them a confidential space and accredited mental health support.
Authentic approach to wellbeing
A culture-first approach is essential for your health and wellbeing strategies to support your people and deliver a return on investment.
Without the culture, the buy-in from leadership, and an authentic approach to employee wellbeing, the benefits you make available may be ineffective and underutilized.
Build wellbeing into your core values, listen to your employees, and evolve with their needs to put your organisation in the best position to thrive.
In partnership with Pluxee UK
Pluxee UK, is a leading employee benefits and engagement partner that opens up a world of opportunities to help people enjoy more of what really matters in their lives.
