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January means we’re supposed to slip a pair of trainers on and hit the gym – it’s time to shed the Christmas excesses and stick to those healthier clean living habits. Back in the early noughties, employer wellbeing initiatives were all about having an ergonomic office set up, with posture and chair being centre place. Move onto 2025 and there’s a whole suite of programmes that employers are offering, and also that employees are expecting. The remit is far wider than our physical health too - it encompasses our mental wellness as well.
How well are we?
The passage onwards from ergonomics finds us at the feet of a self-diagnosis about how well we are. The Wellhub’s 2024 global Trends Report, throws some light on it - this states that work stress is the most common cause of decreased mental wellness, surpassing inflation, anxiety due to AI and information overload. It’s a big concern and what’s more impactful is that most employees (83%) say they would consider leaving their current employer due to a lack of focus on wellbeing, signalling that wellbeing remains non-negotiable and may be an employment deal breaker. That’s consistent with 2023s results of 87% and up from 68% in 2022.
Lesley Cooper, founder of WorkingWell sheds some light on the cause of some of that work stress, “Multiple economic, political, and environmental uncertainties, alongside relentless pressure for growth, have now combined in such a way that all companies – and therefore the people who work in them – need to find ways to keep doing more, with less. But many organisations are blind to the direct correlation between employee wellbeing and sustainable performance. The way that employees tend to respond to increased demand, by extending the working day for example, actively undermines personal performance sustainability.”
Interestingly, there is some stark differences in how the generations manage their approach to wellness. According to the Wellhub report, GenZ which is now the largest generation in the world is most actively engaged in caring for their mental wellness. They are most likely to meditate with apps (26%), in classes (20%) or through self-guided sessions (20%). It’s that direct approach to taking responsibility for health and wellbeing that is making a difference to many in how they can combat stress when it inevitably arrives.
Employer wellbeing initiatives centre upon choice
From a restaurant menu to the selection of paint colours, the choice of wellbeing initiatives isn't any different and is now a case of ‘many and a lot’.
