Wellbeing creates 40% improvement in engagement

Workers who feel they can maintain their wellbeing at work are a whooping 40% more likely to feel engaged than other workers.  Our recent workplace wellbeing research found that 66% of people who felt they could maintain their wellbeing were engaged with their employer. This compares to just 27% of workers who feel engaged but are struggling to maintain their wellbeing.

There are clear implications here for the effort and investment that organisations make around maintaining the wellbeing of their workers.   We found the engaged workers are more likely to feel productive, recommend the organisation and are more resilient to change.  We also found that culturally, people were more likely to feel they can trust each other in an organisation where wellbeing can be maintained.  So, far from being a ‘nice to have’, wellbeing is a fundamental element to an employer’s effective HR practices.

So, what were common wellbeing practices that employers pursue to support wellbeing that actually seem to have an impact? We looked at the physical environment of those able to maintain wellbeing and how this differs to other workers. We found they are more likely to have

  • technology that meets worker needs (21% more)
  • onsite facilities such as showers, cycle racks etc (20% more) and offsite facilities (15%)
  • access to flexible working (18% more)
  • have art work (18%), ergonomic furniture (15%), have plants (13% more) and fruit baskets (12% more)

For more on our recent research around workplace wellbeing, see here.