Workplace wellness programs are gaining popularity as businesses deal with an aging workforce, high rates of obesity, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets. Worldwide, there is a prevalence of increasing risks of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Employers value healthy employees who are fully engaged, satisfied, energetic and committed to their roles.
While employers shouldn’t dictate what office workers eat or how much they exercise, they can offer guidance, training, skills development and support programs. Employees who want to adopt healthier eating habits and increase physical activity can do so. This approach is not about interfering in the lives of employees. But rather to foster a supportive environment for their efforts towards a healthier life.
These initiatives are undoubtedly beneficial, but simply having them in the workplace is not enough. While it’s true that more workers now have access to wellness initiatives, meditation apps, nutrition workshops, and online mental health services, it remains uncertain how many are actually using these resources.
This article will explore the different scales for measuring employee well-being.
Importance of measuring employee well-being
Many employers rely on traditional wellness programs without a clear strategy for measuring the impact on employee well-being. Tracking physical health, such as checking things like your weight or the number of steps you take in a day, is quite simple and real. On the other hand, understanding how people feel about programs designed to keep them healthy (such as exercise or good nutrition) requires more effort. It involves knowing what they think and how they see these programs, which can be different for each person.
Assessing how employees perceive satisfaction and well-being from their work lives requires recognizing the deeply personal and subjective nature of these feelings. Despite the challenges in quantifying these feelings, organizations can use methodologies to gain insights into how employees generally view and feel about well-being initiatives.
How to measure employee well-being?
Measuring employee well-being is vital for both individuals and organizations. It helps track progress over time. It also allows employers to assess and determine whether employee health, both physical and mental, is improving or declining. There are many ways to do this, and here are some of them:
A Wellbeing Survey
An employee well-being survey, also known as a well-being survey, examines various aspects of how employees function.
Some are:
- How often do people miss work?
- How many quit their jobs?
- How engaged are employees?
- What can cause health problems?
Survey feedback can show if people are working too much, feeling stressed from work, or just not happy overall.
Points to remember
Keep your employee well-being survey short and to the point. If it takes too long, people may not finish or give meaningful answers. When surveying employees, focusing on what matters is a good approach. One can save other questions for later investigations.
When asking employees about their overall health and wellness, one might include questions such as:
1. How are you feeling right now?
2. Does your workplace support your overall well-being?
3. Do you have good office equipment and what do you need to work, both in the office and at home?
4. Do your workplace benefits help your well-being?
5. How can your workplace make you healthier?
6. Can you have a balanced lunch during working hours?
7. Are healthy snacks available at work?
8. Do you take breaks from your computer during work?
9. Does your workplace offer good wellness resources?
10. What wellness initiatives would you like to have at work?
Absences and Work Cycle
How happy and healthy employees feel at work is closely related to the number of sick days they take. To measure how well employees are doing, you can track absenteeism and turnover. For absences, count the days employees are not at work, whether they intend to be absent or not. It gives you a good look at how often people are missing.
To track turnover, you need accurate hiring and firing records. Pay attention to both voluntary (when someone chooses to leave) and involuntary (when someone is asked to leave) turnover. It helps to understand why employees might leave. Finally, look at your overall retention rate, or the percentage of employees who stay with the company.
In a survey, ask the group how they feel physically, emotionally and mentally. Compare their answers with the number of days they have taken off. If they report feeling sick but have very few sick days, it may indicate that employees are working when they shouldn’t be, known as presenteeism. It’s a scenario where people still work when they’re not at their best, something we need to look at in the workplace.
Increase employee engagement and well-being with a comprehensive Corporate Wellness Program that goes beyond the ordinary
Productivity
How well a business does is linked to how its teams do. To understand how employees feel, see how productive they are. To measure productivity, check how much work is done in an hour. The best way to collect this data is to use time tracking software. It helps to see how much time employees are spending on tasks and how much work they are doing. This information helps calculate productivity rates.
Another way to measure productivity is by looking at sales numbers. It is important to consider the nature of the work to accurately assess how productive someone is in their role. However, sales are also a variable of other parameters such as product life cycle, demand, economic condition, seasonality, etc. Therefore, one must take these factors into account when calculating how productive someone is.
Physical health measurements
Monitoring the physical health of employees with wellness programs is an effective way to measure well-being. These programs include things like health check-ups, fitness challenges and workshops. All help to improve the health and mood of employees. Wellness programs are more than just medical benefits and insurance. They take a holistic approach to address various parts of physical health and overall wellness.
A critical part of these programs are health checks. These regular checkups help employees monitor and take care of their physical health. They often include screenings for things like blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index (BMI). By giving employees information about their health, organizations help them make wise choices and take steps to stay healthy.
Open workplace conversations
Measuring well-being can involve sharing personal information, but employees may be reluctant if the organizational culture does not encourage it. To create a supportive environment, it is important to normalize conversations about well-being. Encourage managers to schedule regular one-on-one meetings, emphasizing that these sessions aren’t all about work, but also include personal check-ins to understand how team members are feeling. These conversations can take place digitally through platforms like Teams, Slack or WhatsApp, providing an efficient way to stay connected.
The Final Word
Once you’ve gathered insights from your employee well-being survey, it’s time to take meaningful action. Poor employee health can negatively impact engagement and productivity, so it is vital to address identified issues through tailored wellness initiatives. Choose an employee wellness platform like HealthifyMe to empower subscribers to actively manage their health and wellness. From personal training to metabolic health trackers and nutrition advice, HealthifyMe offers a wide range of options.
Research Sources
Employee well-being and employee happiness: a study of an Indian university
