Leaders and "Matched employees" who work in their preferred Work environment report higher Wellbeing across the board !

??Wellness is non-negotiable for today’s workers. 93% of workers say their wellbeing at work is as important as their salary.

Company leaders are experiencing better wellbeing compared to others, creating a “blind spot” that can cause a disconnect between them and teams at large.

Also working in your preferred environment significantly boosts personal wellness and productivity. Employees in their preferred work environment report higher wellbeing across the board. “Mismatched” employees, as those who work remote but prefer in-office, or work in-office but prefer remote, and these individuals reported significant negative effects on their overall wellbeing, compared to “matched” employees, according to a new interesting research published by Gympass using data from more than 5,000 employees across nine global markets.

?The 8 core dimensions of wellbeing

Researchers found that there is an undeniable correlation between wellness, productivity, and employee satisfaction, revealing a prolific driver of sustained business success.

Researchers found the 8 core dimensions of wellbeing:

1?? Occupational wellness

2?? Physical

3?? Emotional

4?? Social

5?? Financial

6?? Intellectual

7?? Spiritual

8??Environmental

?? Each dimension of wellness is a critical contributor to how we are doing, both at work and at home. A deficit anywhere degrades our overall wellbeing.

There is no separation between professional and personal wellness, that their workplace productivity is impacted by every one of the eight dimensions of wellbeing.

Researchers discovered that a third of workers globally pick emotional wellness when they asked which dimension of wellbeing is most important to them overall.

?Wellbeing is equally as important as salary

Researchers found that nine out of 10 workers (93%) considered their wellbeing at work to be equally as important as their salary, up 83% from 2022.

?Wellbeing critical for employee retention

Researchers found that employees would consider leaving a company that doesn’t focus on employee wellbeing - a 13% increase over last year and also they will only consider companies that place a clear emphasis on employee wellbeing when looking for their next job.

?Personal Wellness drives professional productivity

Researchers noticed that when a wellness deficit grows large enough, it can drive absenteeism, a clear and complete lack of productivity.

But the even more widespread and costly result is presenteeism, where employees who are physically at work are unproductive due to illness, anxiety, or other distraction.

?? The estimated presenteeism costs companies in the US alone $1.5 trillion a year, making it 10 times more expensive than absenteeism. It’s estimated that partially and completely disengaged employees cost the world $8.8 trillion in lost productivity.

Engagement levels can also impact an organization’s rates of absenteeism, safety incidents, turnover rates, shrinkage, customer loyalty, product quality, sales, and profitability

?? Restoring wellness can ease absenteeism and presenteeism, delivering cost savings above and beyond the cost of the program.

?Wellbeing Improves With Seniority

Researchers found that the higher up somebody works within an organization, the higher their self-reported wellness: Leaders report better wellbeing than managers, and managers have higher wellbeing than non-managers.

Some interesting results are listed below:

• 91% of company leaders (directors and above) say they can take time for their wellbeing, compared to 76% of managers and 66% of non-managers.?
• The vast majority of global employees say that emotional wellness (95%) and physical wellness (94%) boosts their productivity and satisfaction at work.?
• 77% of employees engage with their company’s wellbeing program, up nine points year-over-year.

??This data doesn't indicate whether seniority boosts wellness or if employees with better wellbeing are more likely to reach senior positions. From a productivity perspective, the impact is the same. Large swaths of an organization’s workers are experiencing wellbeing deficits that artificially cap their output.

?The best work environment is the one you prefer.

Researchers found that there is no best place to work. Employees report similar rates of wellbeing across office, home, and hybrid work environments.

But when they compare those working in their preferred environment with those in their non-preferred environment, there is a clear difference:

?? Employees in their preferred work environment report higher wellbeing across the board.

Some of the other wellbeing benefits of being in your preferred work environment include:

?? Better health of workplace relationships

?? Lower stress levels

?? Better emotional wellbeing

?? Less sleep lost from work stress

?? Higher satisfaction with workplace DEI programs.

Researchers defined “Mismatched” employees, as those who work remote but prefer in-office, or work in-office but prefer remote, and these individuals reported significant negative effects on their overall wellbeing, compared to “matched” employees:

? When asked to rate their wellbeing, mismatched employees were twice as likely to report that they were “struggling” or “really struggling” compared to matched employees.?

? Mismatched employees were more likely to have higher stress levels, lower emotional wellbeing and more sleep loss from work stress.?

? Mismatched employees were twice as likely to report being unhappy working at their current company.

?? Finally researchers conclude that there is no productivity without wellbeing.

Sick people can't bring their A-game, stressed people are distracted, and exhausted people cannot focus. Being well is the foundation of working well so employee wellbeing is non-negotiable for today’s global workforce, with its importance growing significantly year-over-year.

Also wellbeing is unique to each individual.

This wonderful research highlights that flexibility is a crucial consideration as companies navigate the return-to-office landscape. Also Leaders must ensure that employees, especially non-managers and those early in their careers, have the same time, resources and flexibility to take care of themselves. Wellness is not a seniority perk; it's the most important thing to keep your employees healthy, productive and engaged at work.

Thank you ?? Gympass researchers team for these insightful findings:

Maxine Cenac Carrington Cesar Carvalho (he/his) Lívia de Bastos Martini

Dave Ulrich George Kemish LLM MCMI MIC MIoL

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