Embedding wellbeing in the employee experience: practical steps for a healthier workforce

Employee wellbeing should be at the heart of the employee experience, positively impacting talent, careers and life stages.

 

Before delving into employee wellbeing, let’s determine what’s involved in the employee experience.

Putting wellbeing at the heart of experience

Our wellbeing is the very essence of who we are as people. It determines our happiness, health, energy levels, motivation, financial resilience, and much more. Our wellbeing impacts our personal and professional lives – our performance. Businesses that put employee wellbeing at the heart of their employee experience strategy are in the best position to help their talent and business thrive.

Your employee experience is a strategy – something you need to nurture – it doesn’t happen without thought. The same is true of your employee wellbeing strategy.

Pluxee UK’s Seven Steps to Building a Culture of Employee Wellbeing lists five benefits of creating a culture of wellbeing:

1. Reduce employee absenteeism
2. Create a happy workplace
3. Boost productivity and motivation
4. Attract and retain talent
5. Improved employee engagement

Any investment in employee wellbeing will yield a return.

Exploring the wellbeing pillars

Wellbeing is holistic, and each pillar impacts the others. Money worries create stress; stress leads to poor mental and potentially physical health. Whichever pillar you start with – financial, mental, or physical – the pattern is the same.

It’s clear that wellbeing in the workplace matters, especially if you want to retain and attract the best talent. It’s alarming to learn that the younger generation is turning down jobs because of associated costs like travel and clothing. 

Starting on the career ladder is a life stage that opens the door to a host of other life stages, so employers need to consider how to support the financial wellbeing of young employees as part of their recruitment process. Potential support could include an initial clothing allowance or travel pass, processed through salary deductions.

Helping to alleviate money worries

What about employees who are well-established in their careers? Clothing and travel costs may not be an issue, but buying a house can be one of the most stressful events your employees can face.  Home-buyer anxiety can negatively impact mental wellbeing, and, of course, can create money worries and financial stress. 

Pluxee UK’s Money Mastery research found that 79% of HR professionals believe their employees worry about money at least monthly or more often. Personal stress feeds into workplace performance, but employers can alleviate the impact on their talent by providing mental wellbeing support via employee assistance programme (EAP) and enhancing financial resilience. 

Not all life stages or life events are positive. As an employer or HR professional, there may come a time when you’ll support an employee through divorce. 

Just under half, about 44%, of people going through a divorce agree that the process negatively impacted their work.

Alongside benefits that provide emotional, mental, and financial support and guidance, workplace culture plays a crucial role in your employees’ wellbeing. Employees going through a divorce will have additional demands on their time, especially if the process isn’t amicable. Empathetic management and a flexible working process will ease their stress levels, ensuring they can attend meetings during work hours without fearing repercussions.

When the employee-working experience comes to an end

We’ve established that the employee experience lifecycle includes when employment ends. Retirement is a life stage that takes years of planning, and employers play a vital role in helping employees retire with financial security. On-going financial wellbeing programmes that include education, planning, saving, and making essentials more affordable stand retiring employees in good stead, ensuring life after work is as joyful as possible.

Businesses that don’t prioritise employee wellbeing will lose their talent. It’s no empty threat but a promise from the next generation of workers with high expectations of their employee experience.

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.

Contact us today