Employee Wellbeing – Are Organizations Addressing it the Correct Way?

Abstract

Work is a fundamental aspect of life. Employees spend much of their waking hours at work with an average of around 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week. With the amount of time the workforce spends working, it is not surprising that work relates significantly to overall well-being and life satisfaction. One key aspect of wellbeing that work affects is stress and it has several significant health-related consequences. With the high turnover in most organizations and with many organizations giving excellent employee benefits, it has become imperative to provide employees with reasons to stay.

Many researchers have linked performance with wellness. Studies have indicated that there are many high levels of organizational productivity loss which are directly linked to workplace stress and a lack of employee wellness.  Employees who aren’t well physically or mentally won’t be able to work to their full potential. Wellbeing affects an employee’s ability to creatively solve problems. It also influences their attitude to work, and their relationship with co-workers and it affects their health as well. It is a key issue that organizations are trying to address. Large numbers of employers have adopted workplace wellbeing strategies and are relating them to HR objectives. The focus on employee wellbeing has never been more crucial than it is today.

The question is - What is the goal of wellbeing programs in organizations? How do employees perceive such programs? Is it able to address both the male and female workforce? Are the programs effective? Is it backed by data? In our study, we try to answer these questions. Our empirical study seeks to identify the stress factors for employees and assess the wellbeing programs of organizations to find out whether they are able to address the stress-inducing factors. We also try to find the scope of HR analytics in making the wellbeing programs effective, thus enhancing employee wellbeing.