Well-being tops the list of Deloitte’s annual global report on business priorities for 2020. Here we discuss the key finding that the best results are achieved when well-being is also integrated into the design of work itself.
Deloitte Insights has just released their annual global report on Human Capital Trends for 2020 and well-being is the top business priority. This year marks the first time that the findings take a broader focus on the concept, expanding it from well-being for individuals to merging it into the design of the work itself. This is a welcome step forward in thinking about how our businesses operate and a boon to those that re-align their strategies accordingly. Restructuring work in ways that help employees to both feel and perform at their best are complimentary efforts that drive the success of any business.
The Goods: Well-being ROI
Investments in well-being deliver high rewards. The report cites that 95 percent of HR leaders agree that burnout impacts retention. Studies show that employees with high levels of well-being are more likely to feel engaged at work, enjoy their work and recommend their organization to others. Ninety-four percent of HR leaders agree that well-being drives business performance with the majority pointing to well-being as being of high importance to their business success over the next 12-18 months.
Double Impact: Personal Well-being & Re-designing Work
Over recent years the impact of our modern workplace on workplace stress has begged the question of whether employers could be doing more. Here are some selected stats that Deloitte points to from a recent study carried out in the US and UK:
- 94% of people feel stressed at work, with a third of these citing their stress levels as high or unsustainably high
- 54% of people cite that their home life is negatively impacted by their work
- 50% of people report sleep loss due to work stress
Clearly, the case for individual well-being rises to the top when looking at stats like this. But, what about the design of the work itself? This is the piece that is often overlooked. While the importance of implementing programs to boost you and your team members levels of well-being cannot be overemphasized, parallel efforts to re-design work with well-being in mind, represents a huge opportunity. The simple fact of the matter is that people are often pushed to the limits with overbearing work demands. Unless these too change, organizations will not reap the full potential of happier, more engaged and productive people.
Redesigning work with well-being in mind can take many forms. From reducing work weeks from 5 days to 4, implementing work at home options, reducing email load to limiting meetings to 30 minutes, can all have immediate and lasting impact. Empowering team members to rethink their own work, can also generate fruitful ideas to mitigate common sources of stress such as better systems for scheduling, clearer communication, increased decision making power and changes to avoid overloading individuals and teams.
Given our current circumstance and the resultant uncertainty of the COVID pandemic, there’s an immense need for organizations to promote employee well-being. It’s no longer a ‘nice’ to have. It’s a very different world out there and stress in and out of the workplace is taking a toll. Well-being at work is an essential if you want to attract, develop and retain the very best people and keep up with the competition.
