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73% of workers report high levels of stress

According to findings from Alight and Business Group on Health’s research series, 2022 Alight International Workforce and Wellbeing Mindset Study, close to three-quarters (73%) of workers reported high levels of stress due to such factors as the ongoing pandemic, economic concerns and social unrest. Additionally, more than one-third (34%) of workers reported suffering symptoms of burnout, while only one in three employees said their employer cared about their wellbeing.

While employees across the United States and Europe continue to report high levels of stress, a surprising percentage do not take full advantage of their workplace’s well-being initiatives, despite employers’ continued prioritisation of these programmes, a new survey has found.

Ellen Kelsay, President and CEO of Business Group on Health commented: “These sentiments demonstrate a disconnect in employees’ views of their workplace wellbeing benefits, as large employers have continued to make significant investments in workforce wellbeing benefits and programmes.”

Just 15% of employees in the United States and the United Kingdom reported being aware of employer-sponsored stress-management programmes. And of those who were aware of the benefit, less than one-quarter (23%) said they used it, even though 32% of employees wanted their employer to offer more mental health resources.

The survey findings identified key areas of opportunity for companies in prioritising the total wellbeing of their workforce and increasing employee awareness and adoption of available wellbeing programmes. These include:

  • Building awareness of available mental health programmes. Creating engaging and personalised programmes through a combination of technology, navigation and communication can boost employee awareness of available and accessible resources.
  • Supporting long-term financial goals and understanding short-term demands. Long-term financial planning remains a challenge for many employees, who need assistance with reducing debt levels, sticking to a budget, saving for more immediate financial needs and having longer-term savings goals. Balanced financial wellbeing programmes that provide smart steps for employees to take today can help boost overall financial wellbeing and reduce one of life’s major stressors.
  • Providing balance and flexibility. The pandemic demonstrated that workers value flexibility and, for those who can, being able to work remotely at least some of the time. More than half of employees (54%) said a flexible work environment differentiated one employer from another, creating an opportunity for employers to set themselves apart from peers. Additionally, more than half (59%) of all workers said being able to work remotely had a positive impact on their

Kantar conducted the research, surveying more than 10,000 employees from February 2022 to March 2022 in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands. This marked the first time the study included countries outside the United States. Additional reports about the research will be issued later this year.

Stephan Scholl, CEO of Alight Solutions said: “Workers worldwide found that COVID-19 intensified challenges to wellbeing. As a result, they sometimes face difficulties in showing up to work as their best selves, which ultimately affects companies’ bottom line. At the same time, caring about employee wellbeing is critical to recruiting and retaining talent.”

Other survey findings:

  • Fewer than half of UK employees (44%) believe their company does an overall good job at communicating with them
  • Only 1 in 10 employees in the UK rated their employee experience as awesome whilst 42% deemed it as okay, pretty bad or awful.
  • Nearly a third (31%) of UK employees would not say great things about their employer given the chance.
  • US. employees tended to have a more positive view of their overall wellbeing than those in Europe. More than half (53%) of U.S. employees rated their overall wellbeing highly, compared to 40% in the U.K.

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Employers are prioritising plans to improve productivity

Since the start of the pandemic, rising financial stress due to an uncertain economy has created a downward spiral on employee wellbeing that has impacted employee performance. A study by borofree revealed that an average of 3.05 working days were taken off by workers in Great Britain last year due to the financial stress felt by employees.

The study examined the plans that companies across the UK now aim to implement in order to improve employee productivity, financial wellbeing and increase morale in the workplace as business recovery begins to take shape.

The research, which was conducted online by YouGov, highlights that HR decision makers are feeling optimistic about building stronger employee productivity as the economy settles into a ‘new normal’ with over half (57%) believing that employee productivity is set to  increase over the next 12 months.

Action taken from businesses to increase employee wellbeing over the next year will be critical for them to regain strong post-pandemic productivity growth and recover from a challenging 18 months. In fact, 83% of HR decision makers surveyed revealed that their business will be prioritising plans to improve employee productivity over the next year. Improving pay and working conditions for employees is high on the agenda for companies looking to regain lost morale due to the pandemic, with almost a third (31%) stating that this will be a business priority for them this year.

Across Britain the study highlights that employers are searching for new ways to increase productivity. The research shows that wellbeing is now a vital part of ensuring that teams remain productive, with over one in five (23%) companies looking to introduce new or improved health and wellness benefits for employees to improve morale and productivity over the next two years.

Despite financial worries among the UK workforce being a cause of emotional stress, the study shows that offering financial wellbeing initiatives as part of a businesses’ productivity recovery plan is still being overlooked. Whilst financial stress is a contributing factor to absenteeism in the workplace, only 12% of HR decision makers are looking to introduce personal finance coaching and training to employees to improve morale and productivity amongst teams within the next two years.

Minck Hermans, CEO and Co-founder at borofree, comments: “Whilst it’s great to see that businesses are prioritising incentives to build stronger employee productivity following a challenging 18 months, it’s critical that they do not overlook initiatives to promote better financial wellbeing amongst teams.

Our findings show that financial stress can lead to increased absenteeism in the workplace and the effect of this will hit a company’s bottom line. For employees that seek a certain degree of financial security from their employer such as being able to absorb an unforeseen financial shock, only one in ten (10%) businesses surveyed have stated that they are looking to introduce earnings on demand and paid weekly options for employers within the next two years and just over one in ten (14%) confirmed that they’ll be introducing salary advance facilities (e.g., a loan a company can give an employee from their future salary).”

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