How Employers Can Prioritize Employee Wellbeing For 2022

A few practical tips to consider

At this time last year, employers were immersed in discussions over the “new normal” set to take hold in 2021, as the world emerged from lockdowns and strenuous restrictions and learned to live alongside Covid-19. By the summer, the conversation had shifted to the “Great Resignation,” as it became increasingly clear that the pandemic had significantly reshaped employee expectations, prompting many workers to seek out new opportunities in search of flexibility, wellbeing, and growth potential that today’s workforce prizes.

Heading into 2022, businesses are now looking to adapt to the “next normal,” with the understanding that talent retention is more formidable a challenge than ever. This dynamic requires nothing less than a sea change in how businesses conceive the end-to-end employee journey, from recruitment to ongoing engagement. Here are a few practical tips to help employers manage this change.

In a recent report commissioned by YouGov and my company, YuLife, nearly half (45%) of UK employees indicated that their workplace or working lives directly influence their lifestyle decisions. This includes how frequently they exercise, the nature of their diet, the quality of their sleep, and much more – and that only makes sense, given how much time and mental energy people devote to their jobs.

Given how significantly they influence their employees’ day-to-day lives, workplaces are in a unique position to promote greater wellbeing among their workers. What’s more, by doing so, they’ll convey a powerful message: that employees’ mental, physical, and financial health is important to them. So, how can employers ensure that they’re doing more than just paying lip service to this noble idea?

Investing in employees’ wellbeing means investing time in them. Indeed, in our survey with YouGov, 66% of UK employees said that they would like their employers to dedicate a block of time in improving the health and wellbeing of employees at least once a week. Nearly half (47%) reported that they’d like this to happen more than once a week, with 15% preferring that some time be carved out every day.

Such “structured wellbeing time” is a must in the workplace of 2022, particularly given that without wellbeing activities laid out for them, many employees will struggle to find the time, motivation, or incentive to exercise or practice mental self-care. Structuring wellbeing activities also inculcates a culture of change. Almost one-third (31%) of UK workers said that they’d be likelier to make healthy lifestyle decisions if they saw their colleagues doing the same. And by providing such opportunities while demonstrating openness to employee feedback, employers can close the kinds of employer-employee gaps that have contributed to the Great Resignation.

Demonstrating that you care and are willing to invest time in your employees’ wellbeing is all well and good – but it will only meet with the desired results if employees are given the right incentives to make positive changes. (Indeed, 70% of the employees we surveyed said they’d exercise more if their employer incentivized them to do so.)

Among the most popular motivational tools would be rewards for exercising: 21% believe that if their employer offered them vouchers from leading brands for exercising, they would be more motivated to exercise more. Similarly, 34% believe partnerships with healthy eating providers, offering discounted lunches or vouchers for healthy foods, would be the most effective way to eat healthier.

These are but a few examples of the small but impactful steps employers can take to support employees along their wellbeing journeys – and thanks to a range of pioneering technologies, employers can put systems in place to generate anonymized insights based on metrics like step counts or meditation minutes. This enables HR departments and business leaders to identify key indicators of workplace morale or stress levels, further tailoring wellbeing policies to a department- or team-specific level.

By this time next year, the employers that most successfully navigated 2022 will have been those that applied the lessons of 2021 to more effectively support their employees in all aspects of wellbeing. This will make for happier, more engaged, and more productive employees – making it all the more imperative for businesses to put wellbeing front-and-center as they plan for the next normal.