The Health Of An Organization Depends On The Well-Being Of Its People

How to educate and engage employees about preventative maintenance of their well-being

There are more than 3.4 billion workers in the world and the vast majority are struggling with one or more well-being challenges at any given time. According to statistics from the Global Wellness Institute, around 76% of working adults face challenges with their wellness across a broad spectrum of mental, physical, social and financial elements. Roughly one billion suffer from anxiety and one in four experience mental disorders. Around 52% are overweight. The global workforce is ageing rapidly and becoming intensely multigenerational, leading to loneliness and social isolation within different demographics. On top of this, 74% live with serious economic insecurity.   
 

It’s a sobering picture, and still not one that is fully understood. In countries where public and national health services are available, such as the UK and Canada, they are typically under severe strain and not properly equipped to support the entire spectrum of health, especially mental welfare. Whereas in countries that rely on health insurance, such as the US, an unhealthy workforce can drive overheads up significantly for both the employer and the employee. 

Regardless of its severity and impact on the individual, sickness always has an impact on the employer. In the short-term, this can mean reduced productivity, but over time this can potentially lead to long-term absence or even drive an employee to move elsewhere. Replacing someone is never cheap and in the case of a skilled employee, can result in costs of up to 213% of their annual salary.  

For those employees that become sick in the US, the high cost of specialty drugs continues to be a major cost risk for health plans. Because the higher the cost, the more people are reaching limits, such as lifetime maximums.

An important factor to note is that a person’s total well-being consists of four pillars: physical, mental, social and financial, all of which rely heavily on each other for support. Historically, society has focused on fixing physical ailments. But any change in the state of one has an effect on the others. The most common mental health issues among employees are general anxiety or depression and the average spell of clinical depression, if left entirely untreated, can last around eight months. In that time, what started as a mental health issue can have repercussions on a person’s social, physical and financial well-being. For example, a divorce currently takes around 7 - 12 months to complete and can wipe out up to 70% of a partner’s net wealth, having a knock-on effect on other aspects of their well-being. 

The same is true of any situation that exerts stress on an aspect of wellness and, which left unchecked, can transform into a well-being affliction that lasts for an extended period. The Global Wellness Institute notes that worldwide, the cost of unwell workers represents 10-15% of global economic output on an annual basis. In the US alone this amounts to $2.2 trillion per year.  

It’s true that the majority of the global workforce is based in the developing world, but the numbers are significant whether you look to the far east or the far west. According to the Global Wellness Institute, around 306 million - mostly people working in the developed world - are lucky enough to have an employer that offers some sort of employee assistance initiative. This at least suggests there is a movement to support the well-being of workers. 

A growing wealth of research shows that the benefits of investing in employee well-being are clear. According to the Human Capital Management Institute, companies that invested just $1 per person in well-being initiatives outperformed their peers and experienced a 11.7% productivity gain. 

But what is now becoming clear is how that $1 is spent. Traditionally, employee well-being support has been reactive, typically offered through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) only. While effective, this solution will only reach 5-10% of your people at any one time and will likely only serve employees who are at crisis point, not those struggling with an issue that is affecting them but in not such a severe way. 

The growing trend is that education, awareness and a preventative approach to well-being are becoming even more pertinent. By supporting 100% of your people 100% of the time, not just 10% when they are at crisis, you can build a more resilient workforce that’s not just proactive about maintaining their mental, physical, financial and social well-being but is also more engaged, more loyal and more productive. 

Recent research revealed that employees who are distressed or struggling with some aspect of their health or well-being spend more than one-third of their working time being unproductive. These employees are also off sick for one workday per month, on average. The challenge is that employees struggling with well-being issues anywhere on the spectrum are unable to concentrate on their job. But they are not yet ready to talk to a counselor. 

This is where technology has a role to play. Instead of that employee calling a counselor when they reach a crisis point, they can use mobile and web-based applications to educate and engage them about preventative maintenance of their well-being. 

In fact, in a 2018 survey of 750 employees across the US, Canada and UK, LifeWorks found that over 75% of all respondents wished to access well-being services from any place at any time. The majority (64%) identified a mobile-friendly website or a native mobile application as the preferred method for accessing such services, with 77% suggesting that this would give them more control over their well-being options.  

So again, well-being initiatives have a proven return on investment, but it matters where that investment is spent. For all the organizations that claim it’s their people that make the difference, the truth is, they really do. The health of an organization is highly dependent on the well-being of its people.  

Author Bio

Jamie True is Chief Digital Officer of Morneau Shepell. In this role, True leads the strategy and development of the enterprise cloud-based platform. In addition, he leads the commercial activities for LifeWorks line of business.  Visit www.morneaushepell.com  Connect Jamie True  Follow @LifeWorks