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.

Now 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.

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.

It’s important these types of changes are considered as part of a longterm 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? 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.

These discussions are critical, and employers should offer holistic 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 their employees' productivity versus their rate of burnout. The correlation between these two factors in the workplace has a direct impact on an employee’s wellbeing. According to a recent McKinsey survey, almost half (47 per cent) of employees are at least somewhat burned out. This figure, as reported by McKinsey, is likely to be underrepresented because employees who are experiencing burnout are less likely to respond to survey requests. It’s important for workplaces to use human capital management (HCM) platforms that create a single source of truth for every employee, to track and address these trends.

Importance of financial wellness

With widespread economic uncertainty, it is becoming vital for employers to take financial wellness into account in employee

programmes. Recent research from New Zealand’s Commission for Financial Capability found that a majority (69 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. Concerns around finances are known to be a source of stress, and distraction, for workers. It’s essential decision-makers consider financial wellbeing as part of a comprehensive wellness offering. A simple path forward for employers is to ensure they pay their workers and administer benefits accurately and on time, every time.

Although every workplace is different, a broad view is needed of wellbeing to ensure workplace wellness conversations are happening now. Today’s business leaders and HR professionals need to be finely tuned to how they can support their workforce now and in the future. It is not only the smart thing to do, it is the right thing to do.

According to the research, 81 per cent of New Zealand company boards are discussing workplace mental health issues, compared with only 62 per cent in 2019.

Stephen Moore is responsible for overall leadership of the Asia Pacific and Japan region at Ceridian. His focus is to deliver world-class innovations and experiences to customers, helping them optimise performance using Ceridian’s intelligent HCM and deep business insights.