Nearly all (97%) of respondents believe in a link between employee wellbeing and organisational performance, according to research by Edenred.
However, its annual 2015 Wellbeing barometer, which surveyed 422 HR decision makers, also found that just a quarter (26%) of employers see employee wellbeing as a priority for their organisation.
The research also found:
- 20% of respondents described employee wellbeing as nice to have or important but not a priority, despite the fact that 55% believe it is vital to understand where employees need support before doing anything.
- 81% invest in some sort of wellbeing initiative for staff.
- Just under two-thirds (60%) of respondents either do not know or have not taken steps to understand which specific health and wellbeing issues are problematic for their organisation.
- 54% of respondents believe it is important to have a targeted wellbeing strategy, which deals with the most relevant issues.
- Two-thirds (64%) of respondents said that HR policy is critical in improving employee wellbeing but only 21% currently have the right policy in place.
Andy Philpott, sales and marketing director at Edenred, said: “It is clear that many organisations are currently playing lip-service to the idea of employee health and wellbeing by failing to take steps to understand the issues facing their employees and organisation.
“There is also a substantial gap between the support that HR practitioners believe will make a difference to health and wellbeing and what their organisations currently offer.
”Without a strategic approach to wellbeing, backed by investment in the right areas, the majority of organisations will fail to make any real difference to employee health through their current approach.”
