Exclusive Interview with David Osborne, CEO, Virgin Pulse

Insights On Fostering Employee Well-Being During (And After) The Pandemic

 

In an exclusive interaction with HR.com, David talks about importance of well-being cultures, and why employee well-being must be the top priority for every business organization in 2021. 

Excerpts from the interview:

In the past, well-being programs focused on addressing only the “sick” employees. Fortunately, organizations are increasingly recognizing that a holistic approach that addresses an employee’s total well-being – mental, nutritional, physical, financial, social - is core to employee health, satisfaction, productivity and engagement. 

David: First and foremost, it’s important to recognize that employee well-being is foundational to culture, it’s not a nice-to-have that you can just bolt on to another program.  And, well-being cultures must be inclusive of everyone in an organization. In the past, well-being programs focused on addressing only the “sick” employees. Fortunately, organizations are increasingly recognizing that a holistic approach that addresses an employee’s total well-being – mental, nutritional, physical, financial, social - is core to employee health, satisfaction, productivity and engagement. 

Secondly, we encourage business leaders and HR professionals to build their employee well-being programs in a way that reinforces their internal culture.  

At Virgin Pulse, we are promoting a culture of well-being using our platform to communicate with and engage our employees in a wide range of health and well-being topics and activities. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a critical component of health and well-being. All employees have access to lifestyle and behavior coaching services. We’ve also made our live yoga, cardio and strength training classes available online so that all employees – no matter where they are – can participate.  Employees also have access to a broad range of partner apps including Aaptiv for workouts and Whil for mindfulness. To support employees in their personal and professional development, we have expanded our Learning and Development investments and made LinkedIn learning available to all employees.

For employers weighing their return-to-office strategy in 2021, now’s the time for HR professionals to explore integrated digital tools that can streamline the process and promote healthy habits. Thanks to the consumer experience delivered by the Amazons and Ubers of the world, employees have come to expect that kind of immediate access, personalization, speed and transparency in their workplace wellness experience. 

David: Last year, employers and employees shifted to work-from-home with little notice or planning. Not only was this disruptive to employees’ work routines, related challenges of home-schooling, social isolation and lockdowns, caregiving responsibilities, food scarcity and financial concerns, led to skyrocketing stress and anxiety and took a toll on mental health. Mental health must be a top well-being priority as it impacts all employees, across multiple vectors.

In addition to supporting employees with resources to manage their well-being, pay special attention to your underserved employee populations. Recognize the role social determinants of health play across your employees – where one lives, how one travels – that can negatively affect an employee’s health and tailor support for those populations. Consider, for example, providing/funding transportation for medical appointments or hosting onsite screenings and clinics to provide care to employees directly at their worksites.

An organization should also focus on supporting employees with underlying health conditions. Due to the pandemic, employees with chronic health issues may be out of compliance with their medication or care regimens. With delays in routine and preventative care, chronic conditions may have gone undiagnosed. Our clients are leveraging their well-being platform to encourage regular checkups, proactively promote specific programs, including digital therapeutics, offer home health kits and telehealth services, and remind employees of their EAPs. 

Employers need to make it easy for employees to access and engage in the programs that are most relevant to them and that’s where a flexible, integrated digital health platform like Virgin Pulse comes in. Providing one place where employees (and employers) can manage health and well-being will significantly increase utilization in the well-being programs employers already investing in.

David: Adding to the challenges of home-schooling, caregiving and blurring of work-life balance, is the lack of social connections that used to provide informal oversight – the hallway chats, the in-person meetings, lunchtime walks with colleagues. Today, employees may be suffering silently and struggling with health issues at home, out of sight and earshot of their co-workers and managers. Left unchecked, these issues can have significant and long-term health consequences.  

To encourage social connection and facilitate engagement across colleagues and teams, we – and many of our clients – are utilizing Physical Activity Challenges or Healthy Habit Challenges and interest-based social groups (ranging from a Book Lovers to March Madness to Peloton to Board Gamers to Vegan groups).  These groups have proven popular with our members and any employee can create or join these groups –many of our own employees participate in more than one.

David: Invest in live and digital programs that help your employees build resilience, so that no matter what challenges your employees face – medical, financial, mental, physical, nutritional, all of which are interconnected – you’ll equip them to thrive.  The fact is:  doubt, anxiety and stress can be just as contagious and detrimental as Covid-19 itself.  To ease anxiety and stress for employees, make sure employees are aware of the well-being programs and support available to them. Remind them often of your organization’s employee assistance programs (EAPs) and make those resources easy for employees to access.  

To address the growing need for mental health support, many of our clients have added virtual mindfulness programs and resilience apps as well as live coaching to support employees across a variety of well-being topics.  Equipping employees with both digital and live resources to manage their mental health provides engagement options that meet their specific needs and preferences.

The good news is that employees want managers to lead them in responding to their real-time mental health needs -- at home and in the workplace. Human resource professionals have an opportunity (and a responsibility) to shape this experience in a positive way for their employees. 

It must be noted that HR leaders are shouldering disproportionate amount of stress as they work to minimize stress and anxiety for employees while also charting the new normal for their organization.  The magnitude of what they are managing is significant and many are at the risk of burnout. If there is a team in your company to focus on right now, it’s your HR team.

David: According to recent research, loneliness has been estimated to shorten a person's life by 15 years. These health consequences are similar to being obese or smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Even before the pandemic, the loneliness epidemic was a top concern for public health experts. Covid has only exacerbated this issue. 

I can’t stress how important it is to go out of your way to check in with your colleagues and employees - not just from a work standpoint, but from a human standpoint. Get creative about socializing - host virtual lunches, happy hours or team walking sessions. Schedule social activities and game days via Zoom. Celebrate milestones virtually - one of our teams recently held a baby shower for a colleague over zoom. Many Virgin Pulse teams hold daily stand-ups the check the pulse of their colleagues. We also hold online group yoga, mindfulness and fitness classes to promote healthy social interaction. 

Be aware that many employees have delayed self-care for months, which may lead to health consequences down the road. Be patient and supportive as they reacclimate, yet again, to new ways of working.

Above all, show empathy for your employees and colleagues.  People are dealing with unique challenges – recognize that everyone is doing the best they can, given their personal circumstances.   If there ever was a time to be a human first and an HR executive second, it’s now. 

David: Aside from encouraging everyone to get the Covid-19 vaccine when it’s available to them, I’d suggest doubling down on your well-being initiatives. If you haven’t already invested in a well-being platform, stop reading this article and focus on that immediately. If you do have a well-being platform, make sure it is future-proofed to support your organization’s post-pandemic needs.

What does this mean? Make sure your well-being programs are centralized and easily accessible and that employees are using them. We know that employee engagement in well-being programs significantly increases when those experiences are personalized. By unifying and personalizing the experience, you make it easy for employees to set healthy habits and goals, engage in healthy activities, access and schedule preventive healthcare such as check-ups and flu shots, enroll in condition-specific programs, schedule and conduct telehealth visits and coaching sessions; procure home test kits – all in one place. We call this one-stop-shop experience Homebase for Health^TM. Our goal is the be the Homebase for Health^TM that simplifies and personalizes the healthcare journey for our clients and members. 

We know that the impact of what employees are experiencing today will reverberate for years to come. How employers support employees today will be a determining factor in an organization’s long-term viability. There is no question that employee well-being, engagement and productivity are inextricably linked. I can’t say it enough: employee health and well-being must be the #1 priority for every business organization in 2021.