The tidal wave of the pandemic has had a serious impact on both employee engagement and employee well-being. They are inextricably linked. They are also at all-time lows.
Let’s turn the tide! How can leadership buoy up their employees? And, have them engaged in their work, in the company – and more importantly, want to stay in this era of the Great Resignation?
It starts with offering the benefits, the experiences, and the resources that matter to today’s workforce. It shows leadership’s care for their employees and an unwavering belief in being a people-centric organization.
Check out these 3 modern ways to simultaneously rethink and reinvigorate employee engagement + employee well-being.
1. Target The Employee Experience. Employee engagement is often a reflection of the employee experience, which begins with the first touchpoint and continues each and every day.
Good news! The employee experience is becoming a priority. WTW, a human capital and risk management firm, found 92% of organizations are prioritizing employee experience over the next three years, up from 52% pre-pandemic.
A better employee experience is strongly linked to leaders who embrace a culture of caring and a culture of well-being. Employees who say their benefits meet their needs are more likely to enjoy higher levels of well-being, which plays a key role in their employee experience.
2. Provide New Tools for Success. Let’s meet employees where they are with all the tools for their success! Technology is front and center in our work lives to be more efficient, effective, and engaged in our jobs. It also serves other aspects of our lives, including our physical health and emotional well-being, which in turn supports our work lives.
The new era of telehealth is here and it’s an area, per a June 2022 Employee Benefits News article, where “employers should be considering comprehensive virtual care that is scalable, cost-effective, and offers unlimited reach.” (Yes, it does exist! The LifeGuides model, for instance, is virtual, scalable, cost-effective, and unlimited.) Such ease-of-use increases benefit usage rates. More usage means more thriving, engaged employees.
3. Protect Against Burn-out. We tend to think of burn-out (and employee well-being) as a personal problem, when in fact, as McKinsey’s research found, it can stem from “systemic organizational imbalances across job demands and job resources.” Further, a burned-out employee is a (far) less engaged employee. Better communication, checking expectations, and allowing for flexibility would reduce some of these imbalances and improve burn-out. Benefits also matter.
More than ever, employees want to see a renewed emphasis placed on their mental health and well-being with resources and benefit programs in place, at their fingertips, when needed, as needed.
Organizations that prioritize employee sentiment and workplace well-being create happy, thriving, more productive, and more engaged workers.
Let LifeGuides support these aspects and more with our modern benefit solution that gives today’s employees a human outlet for growth and overall well-being. After all, as Gallup’s 2021 report stated, companies with a highly engaged workforce enjoy 21% higher profitability and 17% higher productivity.