The number of job vacancies in the United Kingdom reached a record high of 1.3 million in the three months to May 2022, around 535,000 more vacancies when compared with the same period of 2021, and many employers currently struggle to recruit and maintain staff.
There are various ways to look at the talent shortage issue. This blog highlights some key considerations found in the CIPD Health & Wellbeing at Work Survey as issued in Spring 2022, as well as other research which demonstrates the links between wellbeing, culture and the talent shortage.
CIPD Health & Wellbeing at Work Survey 2022
The CIPD received responses from 804 organisations for their Health and Wellbeing at Work survey in 2022. This covers the working reality of 4.3 million UK based employees. 70% of HR respondents agree employee wellbeing is on the agenda for senior leaders, but this is down from 75% last year. Furthermore, manager buy in to the importance of wellbeing is also down from 67% last year to 60% now. The results show a sliding back in to pre covid behaviours which appears at odds with the growing needs of the changing workplace.
The main skills gaps lay in leadership and a lack of cultural change.
Three key takeaways from the report
- One clear gap is between the responsibility on managers to support employee wellbeing and employer’s investment in the manager’s capability to meet these needs.
- More extensive early intervention is needed to manage workplace stress, with more proactive steps to prevent and mitigate ill health.
- More effective strategies are needed to support those with long term health conditions, particularly Long Covid, which has impacted 46% of responding companies. 20% of respondents say they are unaware of whether their staff have ongoing symptoms. The concern is that we may not be asking the right questions, or organisations may not be sufficiently interested in their overall health to regularly check in.
What has wellbeing got to do with the talent shortage?
The report shows that the gap has widened between the wellbeing needs expressed by employees and the supply of wellbeing support by employers. One in five still report poor work life balance, despite the new generation coming in to the workplace* valuing work life balance as a high priority.
According to a survey in to Generation Z workers carried out by ACCA and IFAC in 2021:
48% of Gen Z workers value work life balance and see this as a key attraction factor for employment.
51% cite personal wellbeing and mental health as a worry.
So there is a cultural disconnect between what the new employees value and the structures and training in place within many employers.
“Gen Zers are far more vocal with their likes and dislikes and far less willing to compromise on their needs. They are a generation which believes in being heard,” says Sonali Chatterjee, head of people performance and culture at Anviti Insurance Brokers, quoted in an Economic Times article.
The CIPD report also notes that working from home is a double edged sword, where low self -esteem can grow. 72% of HR respondents say they are providing better support for people working from home. Not only is this a positive sign for those seeking to balance all of life’s needs, but a great indication that at least this change brought about by the pandemic is likely to remain. Whilst this looks like a good indication, it does imply that nearly 1 in 3 organisations do not have this focus. With many younger workers working from their bedrooms in shared housing, support for working from home is key to attracting new talent.
The Statistics
67% of organisations state Covid as one of the top three causes of absence, with 26% reporting Long Covid among the top causes for long term absence. However only 26% provide training or guidance to managers on how to support staff with long term health conditions.
- 81% of organisations have increased their focus on employee mental health
- 72% are providing more support for those working from home
- Overall, 33% have increased their budget for wellbeing
Are your wellbeing plans really a strategy or just more firefighting?
According to the survey, 51% of organisations consider that they take a strategic approach to wellbeing, with mental health one of the most popular areas of focus and financial wellbeing one of the least popular. Interestingly, 1 in 4 people cite money worries as having an impact on doing their job. This is a similar statistic to common mental health issues and yet with much less focus in wellbeing programmes. This leads us to wonder how many organisations are truly listening to the needs of their people when creating wellbeing and engagement programmes. Poor mental health may lead to absence, but having money worries can lead to being unproductive, distracted and worsen any mental health conditions.
Only a small minority of organisations provide support for men’s health or menstrual health. However, in a survey by Vodaphone, 1 in 3 women feel the need to hide their menopause symptoms at work, indicating that there is a need which is not being met. It is hard to bring your whole self to work in these situations.
Interestingly, despite the apparent mental health focus, only 52% of those surveyed believe their organisation is good at dealing with workplace stress. The focus remains around employee assistance programmes, phased return to work, counselling services and reasonable adjustments. Effectively, dealing with the issues after they have occurred without concern for preventative measures, active wellbeing or culture change.
None of this will help to attract talent.
Management Training
A bedfellow of culture is management style and this remains amongst the most common causes of stress in the workplace. Acknowledging the issue and its impact on wellbeing is now commonplace, but so is expecting managers and teams to work out a solution themselves.
According to the CIPD report, it is widely accepted that line managers play a vital part in supporting a culture of wellbeing and productivity in an organisation, with 70% of organisations relying on managers to manage absence. 60% suggest that they provide managers with support for this task – which suggests that 40% don’t.
With 52% stepping up their wellbeing funding, it is interesting to see how this budget is being spent. There is a prevalence of occupational health assessments to offer tailored support and promoting flexible working, but no real move to create resilient workers.
The report shows that absence due to stress is highlighted as one of the top three causes of absence for 38% of organisations and 57% of organisations citing mental ill health as a top three cause. And yet, without a shift in culture it is unlikely that:
- The poor mental health cycle will be broken
- Good work life balance become a reality
- The next generation will be inclined to stay
- That talent will be retained
What happens next?
Despite a large proportion of causes of absence being due to stress and poor mental health, the focus remains on free eye tests and similar, with wellbeing days only featuring for 21% of employers across public and private organisations, with a third of them limiting access to senior leaders. This falls to 16% in the private sector.
Whilst the survey says that 51% of respondents are strategic rather than reactive, the statistics demonstrate what we see on a daily basis. The response to ill health is strategic, but there is little strategy in place to prevent issues from arising in the first place and to equip managers to perform the support role that is needed. We see this working to the detriment of employers and puts them at a competitive disadvantage.
In this time of high employee competition, maybe it’s time to step back and re write the contract for conditions, support and expectations between staff, managers and employers. Not just the legal contract, but the moral contract and the basis of the partnership between employee and employer. Those that focus on creating a culture of respect, trust and responsibility may well win this talent shortage war.
Interested to know more?
Take a look at our blog on “What is better than employee engagement”
Take a look at our Engage Programme and our Leadership courses
Book a call with Nicky to chat through your strategy and get some ideas: nicky@discoveryourbounce.com.
Sources
https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/health-well-being-work#gref
https://www.accaglobal.com/us/en/professional-insights/pro-accountants-the-future/gen-z.html
https://www.statista.com/statistics/283771/monthly-job-vacancies-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/employee-financial-well-being#gref
*in professional firms
Sharing is caring! 
