CREJ - Building Dialogue - March 2015
What’s keeping the nation’s C-Suite awake at night? A recent survey revealed their upmost concern: the paramount deficiency in supply of knowledge workers in 2020. This puts retention of talent at the center of focus for the next five years. Companies are looking for forward-thinking ways to engage and retain their people, resulting in their piqued interest in an ever-familiar buzzword, “wellness.” Wellness indisputably has captured the spotlight lately – and deservedly so. There is no mystique surrounding the positive impacts of supporting employees’ wellness in the workplace. For many, the underlying benefit is to simply reduce health care costs, as research shows that happy, healthy and engaged employees produce more and cost less. Other audiences have taken interest of the recent data, which uncovers the hidden costs of presenteeism and absenteeism, making wellness not only an attraction and retention strategy, but also one that can affect the overall profitability of ones business. While it is clear that the importance of employee wellness is understood, there is an inherent need to elevate wellness considerations to the next level and implement a holistic approach to impact an individual’s well-being. Wellness to Well-Being ?Employee Wellness is focused primarily on physical health, with emphasis on health programs, ergonomics or other physical characteristics of the work environment. - Employee well-being includes employee wellness, but also addresses the psychological well-being of the individual worker, addressing considerations such as worker engagement, choice and control, work-life balance, financial well-being, etc. -The indirect costs of poor health and well-being trump the direct costs by a wide margin. - There is a direct relationship between well-being and health care costs, productivity and more. - The top global drivers of well-being initiatives are increasing productivity, improving engagement, reducing absenteeism and reducing costs (U.S. only). - Workplace strategies that address employee’s physical, emotional and social well-being can increase employee engagement. While most organizations invest in wellness, few address well-being. Only 11 percent of U.S. organizations offer what is considered to be a comprehensive wellness program. It is a privilege to reside in Colorado – one of the nation’s healthiest cities in the U.S. As heightened awareness and interest surrounds well-being, let’s take a look at five ways that workplace strategy can support and contribute positively to Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a useful framework for thinking about workplaces, work processes and work practices that can impact employee well-being. The foundation of Maslow’s Needs focus on employee’s basic physiological and safety necessities, like physical aspects of work and wellness. For instance, baseline expectations include adequate lighting, thermal comfort, reasonable noise levels, sufficient privacy, etc. The physiological level is expected to be provided in any workplace, and just because the basics are met it does not result in satisfaction, nor can one expect engagement. At the transition from wellness to well-being near the center of the pyramid, holistic considerations for well-being are introduced. Interpersonal relationships have always inherently contributed toward one’s sense of belonging, and when a company can build a team-based culture there are natural camaraderie and connections made. Putting Well-Being to Work The physical environment can contribute toward each tier of needs. As each tier of needs are met, employee satisfaction is indeed the result. - SELF-ACTUALIZATION - BUILD ESTEEM - BELONGING - SAFETY - PHYSIOLOGICAL Ultimately, what is good for people is good for the organization. To win in the years ahead, organizations will need to concentrate efforts on ensuring the sustainability of their most important asset, their people. For the full white paper, “What’s Good for People? Moving From Wellness to Well-Being,” visit www.knoll.com/design-plan/resources/research About the author: Kate Lister is president of Global Workplace Analytics (GWA), a consulting and research firm that specializes in helping organizations and communities create and communicate the people-planet-profit business case for agile workplace initiatives such as mobile work, telework, flexible work, activity-based work, wellness and well-being programs and more. Kate is the author of three business books all published by John Wiley & Sons. Her organization’s research has been cited by hundreds of media outlets including the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. She is a frequent speaker at live and virtual events.