The majority (97%) of decision makers agree that employee happiness leads to higher productivity, according to research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of independent actuarial, administration and consultancy service Barnett Waddingham.
Barnett Waddingham's Wellbeing Agenda report, published on 11 July 2018, questioned 200 HR decision makers from UK organisations, and also found that 67% of respondents think that employee wellbeing is very important to their organisation.
Its research also found that:
- Of the companies with a wellbeing strategy, 89% include mental health as an aspect.
- Mental health is a priority for 79% of organisations, but only 47% of organisations feel they deal with it effectively.
- 30% of respondents believe that their wellbeing strategy is performing well, but not to its full potential.
- Employee wellbeing levels have seen an improvement over the past year, with 61% of employers reporting it as high or very high, compared to 40% in 2017.
- Nearly three quarters (73%) of employers believe that both the employee and employer are responsible for wellbeing within the workplace.
- 53% include gender-specific health topics within their wellbeing strategy.
- Line manager training (47%) and counselling (33%) are the most popular resources employers have in place to help address mental health in the workplace.
Laura Matthews, workplace wellbeing consultant at Barnett Waddingham, said: “The mental health landscape has changed so much it is almost unrecognisable. However, despite the positive themes running through these findings, 22% of organisations still don’t see mental health as a priority. For it to be taken more seriously, employers need to understand the impact it can have on a business as well as the individual.
“Employers need to understand their employees and this need to be driven by insights and data. Alongside equipping line managers with the right training and knowledge, a resource such as the HSE Stress Risk Assessment gives a clear framework to address stress or mental health.”