Everybody needs a purpose in life—in fact, it’s a crucial part of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, driving self-actualization through the fulfillment of one’s potential. Whether it’s personal or professional, this sense of meaning has an enormous impact on one’s actions, behavior, feelings, and overall wellbeing. 

In the context of work, a fulfilling career can have a positive impact on key metrics like productivity, satisfaction, and retention. That’s why nearly 80% of business leaders agree that purpose is essential to organizational success—however, only 34% of these same leaders have actually embedded their organization’s purpose and values into its decision-making architecture. 

Editor's Note: We recently updated this post with new insights.

June is National Employee Wellness Month—a time to focus on what your organization offers to help employees thrive. But summer isn't only the perfect time to prioritize well-being; it's also a season of renewal.

The amount—and the quality—of sleep a person gets each night is inextricably linked to their overall well-being.

Proper sleep health is essential for the body to rest and repair itself, helping to regulate hormones and brain chemicals that are important for alertness and concentration. People who sleep fewer hours than their body needs may experience fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty making decisions—all of which can affect their work performance.

That’s why employers need to ensure their workforces are educated about and able to receive a sufficient amount of sleep. Beyond fostering employee health and well-being, promoting sleep and encouraging adequate rest can boost business outcomes by:

• Enhancing productivity
• Optimizing revenue
• Building employee, team, and organizational morale

But how can employers support healthy sleep habits, and what does healthy sleep even look like for most working adults?

In 2016, the average tenure of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was eight years. That average fell to 6.9 years in 2020, according to a study from organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry.

Similar to the employees they lead, 70% of executives are opting for roles that better support well-being and offer more advancement opportunities. And while many still tend to stay at their companies for several years, more than ever, executives are exploring new opportunities to expand their roles in an increasingly complex job ecosystem. 

The term “gig economy” has been thrown around a lot lately, especially with so many employers growing concerned about how it might affect retention, engagement, competition, and overall employee well-being. 

But what if the “gig economy” could actually improve those things and effectively enhance employee well-being?

As employee burnout continues to intensify throughout the country, nowhere else is it more severely experienced than in the health care industry.

From overworked nursing staff to overly strained cafeteria employees, health care workers are tasked with juggling multiple roles to accommodate systemic deficiencies that leave them feeling stressed, under-appreciated, and depleted. A certain amount of turnover is to be expected in this work environment, but across the country, hospitals have been seeing health care staff reshuffling or leaving in droves.

Between 2019 and 2021, turnover grew by 34% among health care workers, and as we transition out of the pandemic, they're either leaving unmanageable work environments or renouncing their professions altogether.

As such, describing this phenomenon as “burnout” doesn’t do justice to the structural shortcomings at play within hospitals and organizations. Feeling stressed or burned out is, unfortunately, the new normal among employees across industries, particularly health care, and it no longer makes sense to call it a passing fad stemming from pandemic-related stressors.

Burnout has officially evolved into a systemic crisis that wellness benefits like health insurance or a gym stipend can’t solely reverse.

If the past two years have taught us anything, it's that companies need to make employee well-being a top priority. That goes double when talking about chronic illness, which impacts 60% of adults in the United States.

Employees with chronic illness face the demands of two jobs: their paying job … and the job of managing their illness.

Fortunately, employers who help fill the support gap can make a big difference. And it’s a win-win, for the employees and your company.

It seems the days of herding every new employee to the same location for onboarding is a relic of the past. Remote onboarding has become the new Welcome Wagon.

That isn’t because remote onboarding is easier—in fact, it’s just the opposite.

Keeping your new hires engaged throughout the process and beyond is no cakewalk. And it’s not a job that should be tasked solely to HR.

Your onboarding process can set employees up for success right out of the gate, or leave them stumbling—and unsure if your company is the right fit for them.

But even if you already have a well-established onboarding process, it probably wasn’t designed with remote work in mind.

When your new employees are on the other side of a video chat, how can you give them a great onboarding experience?

Employee resource groups (ERGs) create a safe space for underrepresented employees to network and brainstorm ways to make their organizations more inclusive.

This can go a long way toward creating a corporate culture of belonging and inclusiveness. Not only will this help your people bring their complete, best selves to work, but it can support your business goals.