Employee Well-Being: A Critical Imperative For HR

Leveraging technology for enhanced employee experience and wellness

Widespread business disruption. Supply chain issues. Inflation. Economic uncertainty. A once-in-a-century global pandemic. Racial injustice. Mass shootings. Geopolitical conflict. Technological innovation seems to be coming at an ever-increasingly dizzying pace. It’s no wonder the workforce is incredibly stressed out. 

Left unchecked, soaring stress levels can be incredibly detrimental to employee well-being, affecting sleep, nutrition, concentration, frequency of illness/injury, and consumption of alcohol and tobacco products. Further, high-stress levels may lead to a lack of motivation, reduction in productivity, poor performance, increased absenteeism, and even “presenteeism,” where staff physically come to work but are not fully functioning. 

Three-quarters (75%) of employees categorize their stress levels as moderate to high, and nearly half (46%) experience symptoms of burnout, according to the 2023 International Workforce and Wellbeing Mindset Study. Considering this alarming finding, it’s not surprising that just half of employees (51%) feel like they have the resources to improve their health and happiness.

With concern mounting about workforce well-being, organizations are recognizing the need to provide well-being tools, programs, and resources to complement the work already taking place in company culture and work environments. Human resources (HR) teams are at the forefront of implementing and driving these well-being programs.

There are several factors they must consider in designing effective programs and ensuring their success. These include understanding the solutions available in the market, leveraging the right technology strategy to best fit their employees’ needs, proving the return on investment (ROI) of the organization’s well-being programs, and more. First, however, they must seek to acquire a thorough understanding of the employee experience and the critical role it plays in driving employee well-being.

Understanding Employees’ Experience

Defining employee well-being involves recognizing the interplay between life at work and life at home and how it influences the employee experience. Organizations must acknowledge that employees' personal lives significantly influence their work lives and vice versa, especially given today’s remote and hybrid work arrangements. This shift emphasizes the importance of expanding well-being program access and capabilities to benefit both employees and their families.

Maximizing the effectiveness of well-being programs requires that organizations consider critical moments that matter in employees' lives. These include moments of acute need, such as difficult diagnoses or unexpected financial hardships, moments of opportunity, like retirement or starting a family, and everyday opportunities for maintaining mental and physical health.

By addressing these critical moments through integrated well-being programs, organizations can make a significant positive impact on employee well-being and overall satisfaction with their employee experience. 

HR professionals must also consider the attraction and retention of talent, particularly in a tight labor market. Employees want to know their employers will support their physical, emotional, and financial health, especially during challenging times. By prioritizing employee well-being, organizations create a positive work environment, optimize productivity, improve health outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and boost employee retention and satisfaction scores.

Understanding Technology Investments

Initially aimed solely at automating routine processes and reducing the administrative burden on HR professionals, HR technology has expanded to enhancing the employee experience, improving well-being outcomes, and solving for employees’ physical, mental, and financial health. 

As organizations realize the benefits of investing in technology that directly impacts employee well-being, HR leaders are challenged by the increasing fragmentation of the HR tech ecosystem. The proliferation of point solutions has made it difficult for employees to navigate and effectively use available resources, which has led to employee fatigue and reduced utilization. To address these issues, HR leaders should prioritize investments in HR technology that improve integration and connectedness across solutions, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), personalized guidance, and relevant content. 

What employees look for are HR technology systems and solutions that provide one-stop-shops across both web and mobile. And most importantly, the technology must save time and offer timely and trusted insights, meet employees’ expectations, and drive organizational efficiency. Mobile sites and access, personalized messaging, and information based on individual employee data and technology that summarizes all an employee’s benefits information are necessary requirements today. This will empower employees and their families to achieve a healthier mind, body, wallet, and life, leading to improved productivity, engagement, and health.

Modern employee experience preferences emphasize convenience and relevance, with employees expecting technology to deliver what they need when they need it. To meet these expectations, HR professionals must create a unified and intuitive platform for well-being programs akin to the convenience of a streaming service like Netflix. 

Proving ROI Across the Organization

The increasing focus on employee well-being extends beyond HR departments. Chief Well-Being Officers and other C-suite executives are recognizing the significance of well-being and its impact on the company's success. This growing emphasis has led to the implementation of innovative solutions across well-being pillars, including physical, mental, and financial health. It has also exposed the need for HR to provide insights on employee utilization of these programs and its correlation to the bottom line. HR professionals must ensure a measurable strategy is in place across all well-being resources to provide meaningful data on program effectiveness so the organization can continue improving and evolving its well-being offerings based on its employee needs.

Employee Well-Being: A Critical Imperative for HR

HR professionals play a vital role in driving employee well-being programs. By leveraging technology solutions, implementing measurable strategies, and prioritizing the employee experience in the moments that matter most, they can create an environment that fosters employee well-being. The integration of technology, personalization, and measurement is key to the success of these programs, leading to improved employee health, engagement, and overall organizational performance. 

Alison Borland is the Chief Well-Being Officer at Alight Solutions.