Employee wellbeing: still more talked about than effectively managed

Written by William R on 2nd December 2020. Posted in Events

Employee wellbeing: still more talked about than effectively managed

The wellbeing of 43% of staff members is ‘less than good’, suggests new feedback from employees in August 2020.

The figures are part of the Embracing the Age of Ambiguity report produced by insurance group Aviva. 34% of staff said they had carried on working even when they didn’t feel well. At the same time, only 26% agreed with the idea that their organisation was genuinely concerned about their wellbeing.

Fine words

The report points to the importance of relationships in the pandemic age. Just over half believed their employer had managed to create a sense of ‘company togetherness’ through communications.

But only 15% of staff agreed that their employer understood them as individuals and what properly motivates them.

Report co-author, Professor Cary Cooper of Alliance Manchester Business School, said: “A new partnership is required. One that recognises the immense challenges to employee wellbeing, as well as the need for more a personalised approach. We all have different personalities, different ways of dealing with pressure and different needs – knowledge is growing in this area.”

Personal attention

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “The employer/employee relationships is being tested by the pandemic conditions – the remote working, the uncertainty, the need for reassurance and support.

“The Aviva report highlights how the internal comms and initiatives to demonstrate togetherness and understanding need to be backed up with a sense of individual support – much more than just offering a corporate line on the importance of wellbeing.

“EAPs are crucial to this picture. Access to professionals means a chance to discuss personal situations and challenges, to be listened to, a way to plan and take action. It means that line managers aren’t expected to become involved with tangles of personal issues, but can focus on making the new work roles and routines effective for both sides of the relationship.”