HR TECHNOLOGY STEPHEN MOORE
Redefining wellness Many lessons have been learned over the past year, but perhaps none resonate as deeply as the need for employers to support employees’ holistic wellbeing. Stephen Moore, from Ceridian, looks at how a thriving, healthy workforce will be a priority for any organisation wanting to support business continuity and workplace productivity.
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ow is the time to highlight the wellbeing of employees and the critical role companies play when it comes to supporting their physical, mental and financial health. From being asked to stay in one place to learning overnight how to work remotely, workers have navigated unchartered territory personally and professionally over the past year.
term strategy rather than a short-term reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the right thing to do for workers and business itself, because it creates a thriving and engaged workforce with a strong foundation for future resiliency and success.
Sixty-nine per cent of New Zealanders are concerned about their money, with that figure rising to 74 per cent of women and 85 per cent of those aged 18 to 34. What’s the research saying?
In helping to support employees during this turbulent time, many companies have prioritised employee wellness through an expanded range of offerings, such as extending benefits to include mental wellbeing, and providing engagement programmes tailored to virtual environments.
Given current realities, it’s no surprise that findings from the Black Dog Institute suggest up to one third (25 per cent to 33 per cent) of individuals have experienced higher levels of stress and anxiety since the pandemic. The mental and physical effects of stress show a clear need to prioritise employee mental health in the workplace. Research from the New Zealand’s Institute of Directors suggests 81 per cent of New Zealand company boards are discussing workplace mental health issues, compared with only 62 per cent in 2019.
It’s important these types of changes are considered as part of a long-
These discussions are critical, and employers should offer holistic
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wellness programmes that include mental health benefits. This will help ensure employees have access to the type of care needed to prevent, treat or manage psychological distress. It all starts with understanding employee needs to create wellness programmes with impact. This, in turn, leads to lower turnover, lower absenteeism, higher productivity and higher revenue. Understanding employees begins with data.
Taking advantage of data-driven decision making
Innovative cloud-based solutions like Dayforce provide critical datadriven insights to identify trends and patterns and uncover opportunities. Integrated sophisticated predictive technologies can take data from sources, such as tracked absenteeism, unscheduled overtime, and anonymous employee surveys, to create actionable insights. Data can be shared in the form of interactive dashboards so HR decision-makers can make informed choices about the actions they should take and programmes to implement.
Productivity versus burnout
While many reports suggest the rate of productivity has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for those working from home, workplaces must reflect on these insights and uncover the real rate of
