Workforce Well-being efforts are unfocused and wasted

We’ve long known that something needs to be different with work. That’s why we build what we build. This article puts some numbers behind the general feeling of what needs to change.

From Deloitte Insights:

Where, how, and when people work may have changed and could continue to evolve in the future, potentially removing traditional boundaries between work and other life activities. It could be time to change the way we think about well-being to reflect these changes in the workplace: Work can impact many aspects of an individual’s well-being, including their physical, mental, social, and financial health, as well as their sense of purpose and ability to grow.

As the work environment continues to change, and change drastically from 20 years ago, how we monitor and implement well-being programs must also change. The effects of well-being deem it a core initiative.

In the wake of the pandemic, some organizations have publicly committed to addressing workforce well-being issues and have allocated significant resources to drive improvements in health, well-being, and productivity—an average of US$11 million a year for companies with more than 20,000 employees—but their investments, while signaling support, may not be working when you look at the outcomes. What we found is that leaders cannot rely on perks and programs alone, which often come at a high cost. In fact, more than two-thirds (68%) of workers surveyed said they did not use the full value of the well-being resources their organizations offered because accessing programs was either too time-consuming, confusing, or cumbersome.

The actual result of most well-being programs: they are wasted efforts.

Although the intent may be good, little progress can be made if the root causes of poor workforce well-being are not addressed.

How do you do that? Focus your efforts on a small number of specific areas that provide the most meaningful impact on employee’s day-to-day lives:

1. Leadership: How are leaders performing? Do they care? Do they provide recognition?
2. Design of Work: What are the actual tasks being performed? Are they rewarding or is it meaningless? Are there too many meetings? Are people not taking vacation?
3. Ways of Working: How are the tasks being performed? Are people always on? Are people using too many tools? Is there no allowance for how something gets done?

In order to measure the performance of these topics, you could come up with any number of complex process and surveys.

Or you could just use Work Climate