In a recent article published by Deloitte Insights, financial services giant Deloitte shared that its second Well-Being at Work Survey uncovered that many employees are still struggling with unacceptably low levels of well-being. What’s more, most reported that their health worsened or stayed the same last year.

Statistics

Employees’ self-reported well-being remains suboptimal and has slightly declined across all dimensions since last year.

Less than two-thirds of workers say their physical and mental well-being are “excellent” or “good” (63% and 58%, respectively), and an even lower percentage rate their social (45%) and financial (35%) well-being positively.

In fact, most employees say their well-being either worsened or stayed the same last year, and only around one-third say their health improved.

Many workers say they frequently feel negative emotions and fatigue. For example, around half “always” or “often” feel exhausted (52%) or stressed (49%), and others report feeling overwhelmed (43%), irritable (34%), lonely (33%), depressed (32%), and even angry (27%).

These issues aren’t limited to workers, however. Managers and executives are struggling too, and they are about as likely as employees (or in some cases, more likely) to report these sentiments.

Significant barrier to wellbeing

The research shows that work, itself, remains a significant barrier to wellbeing.

Eighty-four percent of respondents say that improving their well-being is a top priority this year, and 74% say it’s more important than advancing their career. However, 80% are facing obstacles—and most of these obstacles center around work. In fact, a heavy workload, stressful job, and long work hours topped the list of obstacles people say are getting in the way of improving their well-being.

As a result, many employees are finding it difficult to prioritize their health and engage in positive well-being behaviors—especially those tied to their job.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) say they struggle to take time off or disconnect from work, with only around half (or less) reporting that they “always” or “often” use all of their vacation time each year (52%), move/exercise each day (48%), take micro breaks during the workday (47%), get at least seven hours of sleep (45%), and have enough time for friends and family (42%).

The path to progress

The article shares three ways to unlock and improve workforce wellbeing. These include empowering managers to support workforce wellbeing; holding executives and the organisation accountable; and embracing the broader movement towards human sustainability.

The article reports that ‘The future of workforce well-being depends on a significant mindset shift and a long-term approach—one that extends beyond the walls of the organization’.

At Shoorah, we believe that organisations need to consider a wider eco-system for wellbeing, something that works for the employee and gives the business the insights it needs to make progress, to deliver improvements and to achieve its desired results of a healthier, happier workforce.

Shoorah is building a solution that can deliver all of this and more…….watch this space!