Overview
In today's dynamic talent environment, understanding and addressing employee well-being is more crucial than ever. Our latest report ‘Resourcing for a Restless Workforce’ delves into the complexities of workforce restlessness and provides actionable insights for Benefit and HR leaders.
Measuring well-being at work
Our research offers a measure for employee well-being using employee perspectives on job satisfaction, sentiment about the current state of their work, and likelihood to leave their current organisation. This enables us to provide a view on those who are “well at work” and those who are “restless”.
By this measure, we found that 70% of the global workforce is restless, and that increases to 76% in the UK.
These workers have lower job satisfaction, describe their current employment as “poor” or “neither good nor poor” and say that they are likely to leave within the next six months.
Understanding the impact of stress
There are several factors that contribute to restlessness at work, but one specific area our research identified is stress. While stress can be a feature of any job, there is a strong relationship between the number of stressors an employee experiences and their job satisfaction.
From a list of 24 potential stressors in the following five categories, those who are restless tend to report more stress than those who are well at work.
- Macro stressors - including economic conditions, political events, late retirement due to legislative policies, and climate change.
- Work stressors - focuses on career advancements, job security, work-life balance, and the workplace itself.
- Immediate financial needs - examines costs for children, healthcare, residence, and other expenses.
- Long-term financial needs - considerations for debt, savings, retirement, child tuition, etc.
- Personal and social wellness - looks at employees’ social life, health, caregiving, and relationship obligations.
When it comes to types of stress, macro stressors are the most reported stressors overall. And then there are large differences with those who are restless saying they experience more work-related stress than those who are well at work.
Tackling restlessness at work
There are many possible stressors that individual employees may face, some of which are out of the control of employers.
But understanding the impact of work-related stress can help employers with the task of providing targeted support and benefits to address this stress in the workplace. Employers could consider developing benefits strategies using the key differentiating stressors we’ve identified in the report to support the well-being of their workforce and enhance their employee value proposition. Here are some things to consider:
- Thinking more broadly about the types of flexibility provided to employees could help mitigate stress regarding work/life balance.
- Articulating tangible benefits as part of a total rewards strategy may illustrate the value of compensation and core benefits beyond just base compensation for employees seeking security.
- Supporting employees’ financial wellness broadly, including financial wellness tools, could help to reduce stress regarding saving for retirement, saving for long-term financial goals, and meeting savings targets.
- Investing in development and providing clear progression pathways to provide visibility for development and promotion, as well as upskilling managers, may help foster strong inter-team connections and address role-specific stress.