i4cp Study: Leading Organizations Look Beyond Physical Health to Ensure Holistic Well-Being of Employees
High-performance organization embrace a holistic, “whole person” approach to employee well-being, widening focus beyond physical and mental health to a bigger, more inclusive picture.
New research from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and Rob Cross, professor at Babson College, shows that these leading organizations look holistically at a combined six key elements that combine to define well-being:
- Physical Health
- Emotional/Mental Health
- Financial
- Community
- Career
- Social/Relational
Employee well-being has taken center stage since the coronavirus pandemic has strained every facet of life and work. As trying as this time is and will continue to be, i4cp’s research shows tremendous opportunity for employers to improve upon existing programs—despite the massive investment in employee well-being, most organizations don’t perceive their programs to be very effective. Fewer than half of those surveyed gave high ratings to the effectiveness of their programs across all six well-being elements. While 45% of high-performance organizations report that their workers enjoy high/very high levels of well-being, just 13% of low-performing organizations said the same.
The research, Next Practices in Holistic Well-Being: The Performance Advantage, available to download here, shows that embracing such an approach has a demonstrable impact on performance, innovation, and creativity.
Companies that have done so also report having:
- Healthier workforces
- Lower benefits costs
- Better attraction and retention of talent
- Improved productivity
- Less absenteeism
- Overall better financial performance
These top performers are also 7x more likely to report increased levels of innovation and creativity.
Many organizations have already made sweeping changes to their well-being programs due to the crushing strain of the pandemic, and more changes are likely to come in future months. Next Practices in Holistic Well-Being, which includes insights from Facebook, Genentech, Nationwide, Humana, and others, examines the six elements of holistic well-being and outlines four key areas organizations can make more powerful differences in the year ahead.
