The High Cost of Low Engagement: Keeping Employees Happy and Healthy in the Post-Covid Era
BrightPlan Team
Did you miss this live webinar? Watch the recording now.
The past year-plus with the COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for employers, HR teams and the employees they serve. What has been the impact of this on employee well-being and engagement? How has the employee/employer relationship, trust and the perception of HR changed? HR.com hosted a webinar on June 30th to answer these questions and more.
The webinar titled, The High Cost of Low Engagement: Keeping Employees Happy and Healthy in the Post-Covid Era, featured National Wellness Institute Chief Executive Officer Chuck Gillespie and BrightPlan Chief Marketing Officer & Head of People Neha Mirchandani.
Here are some key takeaways from the session:
Employers should consider a “one-size-fits-well” approach to wellness
Wellness continues to be top of mind for HR leaders nationwide. The National Wellness Institute defines wellness as “functioning optimally within the environment.” It encompasses physical, mental and financial wellness and includes a healthy environment and a sense of purpose―such as having meaningful work or strong ties to the local community.
For HR leaders looking to support employees in their journey to well-being, they need to consider the diversity of their experiences and multi-dimensional aspects of wellness. For example, in a financial wellness program, it’s not enough to just teach the fundamentals on saving and budgeting since money can be an emotional subject. An employee might intellectually understand that they can’t afford to purchase something, but they experience an emotional pull to do so that’s difficult to resist. Therefore, when sharing educational content about budgeting, it’s also important to acknowledge such emotional factors and teach ways to overcome them.
“Get out of the mindset that people think and act the same. Instead, consider a one-size-fits-well approach―instead of one-size-fits-all―that includes multidimensional and multicultural aspects of wellness,” shares Chuck Gillespie, CEO of the National Wellness Institute. HR teams can do this by building a support network of wellness experts to learn from, keep wellness strategies aligned with their overall people strategy, and find the right partners to help deliver a solution that meets the needs of employees.
Financial stress cost employers $4.7 billion per week*
Supporting employees’ overall well-being is the right thing to do―it also has an enormous impact on employers. BrightPlan recently published its 2021 Wellness Barometer Survey findings which explore the impact of the pandemic on both employees and employers. It also hones in on the pandemic’s impact on finances, the top cause of stress for employees. The survey sampled 1,500 U.S.-based knowledge workers at organizations with 1,000+ employees.
The data shows that U.S. employers lost an estimated $4.7 billion per week* due to worsening employee financial health, leading to lower productivity and engagement.
Financial stress affects physical, mental and financial health. Employees who are struggling financially suffer consequences such as high blood pressure and poor mental health. Supporting employees’ financial well-being can help improve their physical and mental well-being as well.
Employees trust their employers and want their support on wellness
The BrightPlan survey found that American employees are satisfied with how their HR teams adapted to the challenges created by COVID-19. “HR is the secret success story of the pandemic. An overwhelming 91% say their company and HR handled pandemic-related issues well. This is an impressive accomplishment in an era when many institutions came under fire for their pandemic response,” shares Neha Mirchandani, CMO & Head of People at BrightPlan.
84% of employees approve of how their companies pivoted benefits during the pandemic, such as switching to remote work and increasing mental health benefits. In addition, 71% agree that HR’s job has been more challenging during the pandemic and 46% trust HR more coming out of the pandemic.
When it comes to employer support on wellness, 93% of employees say access to enhanced employer-provided benefits would have a positive impact, such as motivating them to work harder and being more productive and engaged. When it comes to financial wellness, employers are more trusted as sources of information than friends, YouTube and influencers. Over 80% of employees would like support and guidance from employers, especially financial education, tools for investing and access to a financial professional.
The COVID-19 pandemic put the spotlight on employee wellness and the role employers need to play in supporting the well-being of their employees. When employees are happy and healthy in all areas of well-being, it’s a win-win for everyone. As companies and HR leaders continue to evolve their post-pandemic strategies, offering resources and tools to improve employee wellness can help create a workplace where employees thrive―ultimately contributing to great business results.
Watch the on-demand recording today.
