In recent years, employee wellbeing has become a top priority for most organizations following the pandemic. Recently, however, some wellbeing leaders are concerned that these initiatives could be first on the chopping block due to headlines around layoffs, even impacting influential figures like Google's head of mental health and wellness.
But is this just an isolated incident—or the start of a worrying trend? More broadly, is employee wellbeing still a priority in 2023?
According to “The Future of Employee Wellbeing 2023” report from HR.com, the answer is an emphatic yes. The survey—which compiles responses from over 300 employer and employee groups across a wide range of industries and business sizes—found that nearly 40% of organizations have wellbeing in their top 10 HR priorities, with around 36% reporting it to be in the top three.
However, a high priority doesn’t always translate to progress. To understand the current state (and future) of employee wellness, let’s take a closer look at the survey results, including insights from WellRight’s own unique data.
While the pandemic’s impacts were pervasive in last year’s "State of Employee Wellbeing 2022" report, this year, employees and employers appear to finally be settling into the new normal—but that doesn’t mean they’re becoming complacent.
On the contrary, many employers are leveraging employee wellbeing initiatives to elevate workplace culture and promote overall wellbeing.
Similar to 2022, mental health is still the primary focus among employer groups, with nearly 72% of organizations prioritizing specific initiatives to enhance this aspect of the workplace—followed by work environment (63.6%), physical health (63.3%), and finances (53.7%). Yet this is still only one small piece of the puzzle.
In addition to mental health, the HR.com survey uncovered several key trends in employee wellbeing:
After reviewing current trends in employee wellbeing, it’s clear that wellness is still a top priority for many companies—but it’s also becoming an integral part of corporate strategy. In the last two years, over half of all organizations reported moderate results in their wellbeing programs, with almost 20% reporting a very high degree of success. So what does the future hold?
According to the results, remote and hybrid work arrangements are the No. 1 wellbeing initiative organizations plan on utilizing in the next two years, followed closely by informational resources and financial wellness programs.
To read “The Current State and Future of Employee Wellbeing 2023” research report or to check out the infographic from HR.com Research Institute, download it here.