The pandemic has had an impact in how we live our lives and the things we value. It has also produced dramatic technological growth in businesses and shaped the attitudes of workers, investors and business leaders. Here are some of the emerging trends for workplaces particularly in relation to wellbeing.
CIPD Annual Health & Wellbeing at Work Survey
In April 2021, the annual survey of Health & Wellbeing at Work was released by the CIPD.
Did you know?
- 68% of private sector businesses say that employee wellbeing is on senior leaders agenda. This compares to 83% in the public sector and 82% of non-profits.
- 47% of businesses in the private sector have a wellbeing strategy, this compares to 37% in 2020. It also compares to 64% of public sector organisations.
- Health insurance and protection initiatives are more common in the private sector. However, employee support schemes and monitoring absence are more common in the public sector.
The world of work is certainly changing with partial working from home looking to become the norm for many office workers in 2021/22. What other trends are emerging as we go through 2021?
Four predictions for the next 12 months.
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Increase in mental health issues
Whether this is a real increase or whether existing conditions and pandemic related conditions become apparent. We believe that mental health is on the agenda for 2021/22. In fact, 3 in 5 companies have reported an increase in mental health concerns in the past year. Our concern is that genuine mental health needs are not spotted and supported due to lack of knowledge or experience in this area.
Facts behind the prediction:
According to the CIPD survey, 83% of businesses in the private sector state that they are increasing focus on mental health and 73% are looking to take steps to address stress in the workplace.
88% of public sector organisations are looking to increase focus on mental health in 2021 and 89% are taking steps to address stress, which is 16% more than in the private sector.
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Focus on cultural change, engagement and leadership
‘How we lead’ and having a growth culture may become more in to focus with balancing remote working, collaboration and the need to push businesses forward. Managing teams – once an add on to a job – will increasingly need a skills upgrade. Emotional Intelligence may well be a focus for personal development as organisations seek to create more empathetic leaders who can function well in a remote environment.
Facts behind the prediction:
Organisations who fail to create a personal connection between them and their staff will start to lag. According to research by Garton & Mankins, an engaged employee is 45% more productive than a merely satisfied worker. What is more interesting is that an inspired employee (one who has a profound personal connection to their work and/or their company) is 55% more productive than an engaged employee. This is more than twice as productive as a satisfied worker. The better an organisation is at engaging and inspiring its employees, the better its performance.
The productivity gap between the best and the rest has widened during the pandemic. Garton & Mankins estimate that the best companies — those that were already effective in managing the time, talent, and energy of their teams — have grown 5% to 8% more productive over the last 12 months. Additional work time, access to new star talent and continued engagement have bolstered productivity at these companies. Most organisations, however, have experienced a net reduction in productivity of 3% to 6% (or more) due to inefficient collaboration, wasteful ways of working, and an overall decline in employee engagement.
How we work, where we work and how we relate to each other will all be in the spotlight over the next 12 months.
3. Re-thinking of intergenerational needs and development
The growth of flexible working looks set to continue but also will need to be balanced with intergenerational needs. According to Manon DeFelice writing in Forbes ‘Gen Z is the first generation to come into the world with a digital footprint that they didn’t create themselves. But their identity as a tech generation also leaves them pining for what they don’t have. There’s a social aspect about going to work that they don’t want taken away.’ This sentiment has been reflected in conversations we have had with senior leaders across the UK.
However, older or more established workers are voicing that they would like more homeworking but without a balance to this, emerging generations will have no-one experienced in the workplace from which to informally learn. So as the social needs differ as do the educational development needs. Meeting those needs at all levels will need more focus.
Facts behind the prediction:
A 2019 blog by David Rook highlights the needs of different groups in the workplace and a survey by CHG Healthcare found that only 9% of the workforce wanted to return to the office a full five days a week. It would seem that 54% are more interested in a hybrid work week, as many as one in three workers would happily spend the rest of their working lives working remotely. Whilst this is an US survey it appears to be reflected in the UK as well.
4. The rise of financial wellbeing
Back in 2017 the CIPD reported that 1 in 4 people had money worries that affect their ability to do their job. According to REBA this is now 3 in 5. Money Advice Service estimated that over 16 million people in the UK had less than £100 in savings when the pandemic struck.
Company pension schemes, workplace private medical insurance etc has been around for decades but there is a rising need for financial planning and debt counselling in the workplace. The cost of providing this type of service has always been an issue but more apps are coming in to the market place and providing a greater choice in how financial wellbeing and financial education is delivered.
Facts behind the prediction:
A recent report by REBA shows that 56% of employees say they are very or somewhat stressed about their financial situation. The top three stress factors are:
Saving for the future 67%
Paying monthly bills 57%
Credit Card Debt 42%
The Bank of America workplace benefits report 2020 shows that 62% of employers feel extreme responsibility for their employees’ financial wellbeing, up from 13% in 2013.
The reality is that money worries can lead to risky behaviour both inside and outside of the business. When you consider that 88% of cyber attacks occur with the help of an insider in the business, whether intentional or by accident, financial wellbeing is certainly a sensible way to help both the business and its staff. It helps to keep temptation to assist an attack at bay but also it keeps people sharp and able to stop unwittingly helping an attack due to being distracted.
And finally…
We have all endured one of the most challenging periods in modern times. Whilst the restrictions may ease, the fallout has only just begun. We have noticed that where it may have been considered ‘nice to have’ a corporate wellness plan in 2018, it is clear that top talent expects a level of care in the workplace, in 2021 and beyond. Many of our clients use their wellbeing plan as a way to attract new team members.
2018 and 2019 had a trend towards mental health first aiders as the main workplace wellbeing project. But in 2021 and beyond many businesses are aiming towards prevention of mental health issues and team cohesion. On the horizon is also Environmental Social Governance or ESG as it is known. Whilst the environment is currently in the spotlight, the ‘social’ aspect of business is not far behind. Shareholders and future employees are demanding to know more about how staff are treated to ensure it aligns with their values. Workplace culture topics from wellbeing initiatives to gender pay gap and inclusion programmes are increasingly on the agenda. Forward thinking organisations recognise that getting it wrong can spread all over social media in an instant and have a wider business impact.
We are here to help!
We are here to help with creating and delivering wellbeing plans which embed good behaviours and give insight in to the needs of your teams.
Take a look at
Mental health awareness workshops
Free monthly wellbeing events that give you a taster session of the workshops we offer.
“DYB are professional yet welcoming. It is great how they can come into our organisation and really understand where they can make the most benefit. We have had 2 workshops facilitated by DYB; Resilience and an Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation. Both workshops had a good balance of theory and audience participation. The feedback was really positive and staff felt that they had gained some new knowledge from attending the workshop. Thank you to Nicky and Sharon for coming to the NCC and sharing knowledge about wellbeing.”
Laura Graham HR Advisor, National Composites Centre
Sources:
https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/health-wellbeing-work-report-2021_tcm18-93541.pdf
https://hbr.org/2020/12/the-pandemic-is-widening-a-corporate-productivity-gap
https://reba.global/reports/financial-wellness-the-topic-you-can-t-afford-to-ignore
https://www.influencive.com/human-error-is-still-the-number-one-cause-of-most-data-breaches-in-2021/
https://www.griffinbenefits.com/blog/changing-definition-work-life-balance
https://chgcareers.com/blog/return-to-work-survey/
Sharing is caring!
You’ve used some really fascinating insights in this article. It’s great to see that employers are taking their duty of care so seriously and are putting resources into the wellbeing of employees above and beyond what they previously have. It will undoubtedly make a difference to people’s overall well-being.