66 employee wellness stats revealing wellbeing realities

Contents

• Health and wellbeing statistics
  - Employee wellbeing statistics
  - HR wellbeing strategy
• Financial wellbeing
  - Employee financial wellbeing statistics
  - Employer financial wellbeing strategy
  - Pay and compensation
  
  
• Health and wellbeing challenges are becoming more prevalent in the workplace
• Employers with strong financial wellbeing policies support employees more effectively
• Communication is key
• How to support employee wellness with employee benefits

Health and wellbeing

The employee wellbeing statistics we’ve gathered come from a range of different studies and research.

These include:

• MetLife’s ‘Employee Benefits Trends Study 2022’
• Unum’s ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on the UK’s small business community’ 2021 report
• Harvard Business Review’s ’11 Trends that Will Shape Work in 2022 and Beyond’
• Oracle’s ‘2020 AI@Work Study’
• CIPD’s 2021 ‘Reward Management Survey’

For health and wellbeing, we’ve included statistics that show the state of employee wellbeing in the workplace followed by how HR strategy is supporting employee wellbeing.

Take a look at the statistics below.

Employee wellbeing statistics

• 86% of employers say they have a responsibility for the health and wellbeing of employees (MetLife, 2022)
• According to research by MetLife, healthy employees are:
  - 74% more likely to be satisfied with the job they have now
  - 74% more likely to be resilient
  - 59% more likely to feel engaged
  - 53% more likely to be productive
  - 51% more likely to say they intend to be at their organisation in 12 months’ time.

• 37% of employees feel overwhelmed at work over half the time (MetLife, 2022)
• 26% of employees feel depressed at work over half the time (MetLife, 2022)
• 37% of employees feel burnout at work over half the time (MetLife, 2022)
• 39% feel stressed at work over half the time (MetLife, 2022)
• Working remotely has impacted employees in various ways. 40% report becoming more sedentary and gaining weight while 35% reported increasing physical activity and losing weight (Harvard Business Review, 2021)
• More than one third of SME owners said their stress levels had deteriorated during the pandemic (Unum, 2021)
• 53% of C-level executives and 52% of HR leaders said they struggle with ongoing mental health issues in the workplace (Oracle, 2020)
• 62% of the workforce reported they would prefer to speak to a robot than their manager about mental health (Oracle, 2020)
• 79% of employees want technology to support mental health in the workplace (Oracle, 2020)
• 55% of people professionals in the UK say supporting employees’ mental health and wellbeing has become more difficult due to employees working from home (CIPD, 2021)
• 77% of employees who have supportive managers are more likely to say they are mentally healthy, compared to 47% who say they don’t have supportive managers (MetLife, 2022)
• 76% of employees with supportive managers are more likely to say that they have the flexibility to manage both work and life, compared to 31% of those that don’t receive managerial support (MetLife, 2022)
• 77% of employees who have supportive managers say that they are socially healthy, compared to 44% who say that they don’t receive managerial support (MetLife, 2022)
• 80% of people who agree that their company culture is open, supportive and inclusive are socially healthy, compared to 41% who don’t agree (MetLife, 2022)
• 34% of employees are more likely to say that their mental health has improved over the last year if their employer offers an EAP (MetLife, 2022)
• 85% of companies increased support for mental health in 2020 (Harvard Business Review, 2021)
• 23% of people that utilise support given to them by their employer report higher levels of mental health. 17% report improved physical health and 23% are more likely to say they sleep well at night (Harvard Business Review, 2021)

HR wellbeing strategy

• 84% of employers say that improving the overall health of employees in the workplace is a top benefits objective (MetLife, 2022)
• 50% of companies increased support for physical wellbeing in 2020 (Harvard Business Review, 2021)
• 85% of businesses increased support for mental health benefits in 2020 (Harvard Business Review, 2021)

Financial wellbeing

The following insights were produced by CIPD in their ‘Reward Management Survey: Focus on employee benefits’ 2022 report.

We’ve split these insights down into 3 main areas, including:

• The current state of employee financial wellbeing
• What employers are looking to do to support employee financial wellbeing
• Pay and compensation insights.

These insights give an overview of what the current challenges are and what employers can do to improve overall employee wellbeing by supporting financial wellbeing.

Employee financial wellbeing statistics

• 59% of staff believe it’s important that their current employer has a policy in place to support and improve their financial wellbeing (CIPD, 2022)
• In organisations where there is a financial wellbeing policy in place:
  - 76% report feeling in control of their finances
  - 61% say their pay is enough to help them save for retirement (CIPD, 2022)

• By contrast, this proportion falls to 64% and 41% (respectively) in organisations where employees say there is no such policy (CIPD, 2022)
• 80% feel that being fairly rewarded for their efforts through pay rises, bonuses and promotions, is an important aspect of their financial wellbeing (CIPD, 2022)
• When asked what other steps their employer could take to improve their financial wellbeing:
  - 35% said making sure that pay decisions are fair and consistent
  - 35% said offering more annual leave (CIPD, 2022)

• 18% of staff say they would feel comfortable asking for help from their main employer if they were to face financial problems, and just 10% saying their employer has asked them if they would like support with their financial wellbeing (CIPD, 2022)
• 19% of employees agree their employer has a financial wellbeing strategy that considers the needs of different employee groups (CIPD, 2022)
• 71% of those working for an employer with a wellbeing policy say that their main employer has a positive effect on their financial wellbeing; just 45% of those working for an organisation without a policy say the same (CIPD, 2022)
• 60% of those employed by an organisation with a wellbeing policy say their employer is doing enough to support their financial wellbeing, while just 28% of those working for an employer without a policy say the same thing (CIPD, 2022)
• Those whose employers provide financial wellbeing policies are more likely to be satisfied with their employee benefits package (70% vs 28% of those without), find them quick and easy to access (67% vs 30%), and agree that the package supports them at different stages of their life (60% vs 19%) (CIPD, 2022)
• Those whose employers provide a financial wellbeing policy feel in control of their finances (76% vs 64% of those whose employers don’t) (CIPD, 2022)
• Those whose employer provides a financial wellbeing policy say that their pay is enough to help them save for retirement (61% vs 41% against those who don’t) (CIPD, 2022)
• 28% of people said money worries had impacted their work performance. The most common mental and physical symptoms caused by money worries were lost sleep, health problems, and finding it hard to concentrate or make decisions at work (CIPD, 2022)
• The main reasons cited for why people feel worse off are:
  - An increase in cost of living (74%)
  - Becoming more anxious about their financial situation (29%)
  - Earning less at work (22%) (CIPD, 2022)

• 28% of employees say that financial worries had affected their ability to do their job (CIPD, 2022)
• 36% of employees that cited money troubles had affected their work performance said this happened as recently as the past month (CIPD, 2022)
• According to research, since January 2020:
  - 26% of employees have cut back on the amount of money spent on non-essentials
  - 14% of employees have reduced the amount of money spent on essentials (such as food, energy etc.)
  - 12% of workers have lost sleep due to worrying about money
  - 9% have used a ‘buy now, pay later’ scheme to make an online purchase
  - 7% had to borrow money from family and friends (CIPD, 2022)
  
  
• Only 40% think that their employer offers a generous pension scheme (CIPD, 2022)

Employer financial wellbeing strategy

• Few employers encourage staff to talk about their money worries (22%), ask about their financial wellbeing at least once a year (20%), or actively test their employees’ understanding about the pay and benefits on offer (18%). (CIPD, 2022)
• 17% of organisations support and develop line managers so they can talk to staff about financial wellbeing (CIPD, 2022)
• 49% of employers think their employees’ financial wellbeing has worsened since the start of 2020 (CIPD, 2022)
• Just 18% of businesses have a financial wellbeing policy. 14% as a wider health and wellbeing policy, and 4% as a standalone (CIPD, 2022)
• 20% of employers plan to implement a financial wellbeing policy in 2022 (CIPD, 2022)
• The most common reasons employers give for having a financial wellbeing policy are to:
  - Improve the overall mental and physical wellbeing of employees (77%)
  - Improve employee financial wellbeing (73%)
  - Reduce employee stress levels (72%) (CIPD, 2022)

• According to research, just 26% of employers that have a workplace financial wellbeing policy back it with a budget, although 42% plan to do so in 2022 (CIPD, 2022)

Pay and compensation

• 44% of businesses don’t vary pay by location (CIPD, 2021)
• 70% of businesses use variable rewards and recognition. Of those, 44% said that they had made changes to their existing arrangements or had plans to do so (CIPD, 2021)
• 38% of employees say their employer explains to them why they get paid the amount they do and just 20% say their organisation communicates what they need to do to be able to earn more money (CIPD, 2022)
• 81% of employers regularly review their pay structures, levels, and increases to ensure fairness (CIPD, 2022)
• 69% of employers currently offer a minimum wage that is equivalent to, or higher than, the real Living Wage (CIPD, 2022)

So, what do these employee wellness statistics tell us? We’ve picked out some of the key themes and highlighted what HR can do in response.

Naturally, we’ve also sprinkled in some advice around how employee benefits can help too.

Health and wellbeing challenges are becoming more prevalent in the workplace

The statistics show that health and wellbeing challenges, whether they’re physical or mental or even financial, are becoming more prevalent in the workplace.

It’s up to HR and businesses to turn the tide against rising employee wellbeing challenges and support employees effectively.

These employee wellness statistics also show that employees are expecting employers to take on more responsibility when it comes to wellbeing, while employers typically agree.

The statistics also show that those employers that do take on this responsibility and respond to it effectively are more successful in improving employee wellbeing.

Where employee wellbeing is improved, the statistics show that markers relating to performance are also improved.

While all this represents a big challenge for HR and employers, the good news is there’s plenty of ways employers can support overall employee wellbeing.

Employee benefits like the EAP, health cash plan and even schemes like Bike to Work can help employees improve their overall mental and physical wellbeing and in some cases even their financial wellbeing.

Employers with strong financial wellbeing policies support employees more effectively

The employee wellness statistics show that many employees are facing a number of financial challenges, but that businesses can have a real impact through their financial wellbeing policies.

The employers with strong financial wellbeing policies typically support employees better with their finances, the statistics show.

However, that’s not without absence of a strong pay and compensation package, which the majority of employees still see as hugely important.

While many habits, needs and wants may have changed in the last few years, pay still remains the foundation of strong support for employees with their overall wellbeing.

One other insight stands out from these statistics relating to communication, too.

The statistics show employees typically don’t feel comfortable discussing their finances with employees and that employers aren’t doing enough to support employees with this.

This may also be a key area for businesses moving forward in helping employees tackle financial challenges.

Financial wellbeing benefits like Workplace ISA’s, the Savings Club scheme and Financial Education Libraries can be used by employers to provide extra invaluable support for employees in managing their finances.

Communication is key

The employee wellness statistics show that many employees aren’t aware of the benefits on offer and aren’t communicated with effectively about finances.

This is a standout finding from the statistics that there needs to be better dialogue between employers and employees around pay, compensation and benefits to better support overall employee wellbeing.

Better communication can help reduce any anxiety and uncertainty from employees about their employer’s approach to pay, compensation and benefits.

It can also help ensure employees are making the most of employee benefits to support their overall wellbeing.

It doesn’t matter how strong an employer’s benefits package is if employees don’t know about it.

Employee benefits communications such as emails, posters and handouts can help keep employees informed about their benefits.

Financial wellbeing and health and wellbeing benefits can also go a long way to helping employees with a range of health and financial challenges at work and outside of work.

How to support employee wellness with employee benefits

We’ve touched on employee benefits a couple of times in response to these employee wellness statistics and we’ve even written about employee benefits statistics previously.

The good news is there’s a huge range of employee benefits out there.

Every employer and employee face different challenges when it comes to overall employee wellbeing and so finding the right benefits is crucial to provide the right support.

At Access Engage, we provide this huge range of benefits to over 2,000 businesses globally.

For more information on the employee benefits we can provide your business and employees, take a look at our range of employee benefit schemes.

For more information on how these can be set up for your business, get in touch and we’ll run you through your options.