Good Work: Deliver on Health & Well-Being 

As companies take stock of lessons learned throughout the pandemic, there is an opportunity to rebuild a new vision for the future of work, one that is ready for the new economy and society. In collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF), our new whitepaper The Good Work Framework: A new business agenda for the future of work provides a consistent and goal-oriented approach to the development of comprehensive people strategies and guides measurable actions to promote good work.

In this excerpt from the white paper we share more about Pillar 3: Deliver on health & well-being.

Deliver on Health & Well-being

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that around two million people die from work related causes each year, and 90 million disability-adjusted life years are added due to occupational risk factors. Not only has the pandemic drawn renewed attention to how work can take both a mental and physical toll on workers’ lives, the stresses of lockdowns and the rapid pivot to new ways of working have also taken a toll. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a stronger focus among companies on employee “total well-being”, that is well-being across four areas: physical, mental, financial and social.

Delivering on health and well-being benefits companies by increasing employee retention and trust. Moreover, a healthy workforce can bring productivity gains, for companies and economies more broadly. Apart from health and well-being, good work should also provide dignity and purpose. A survey in September 2020 showed that 69% of workers in the United States lacked a strong sense of purpose in their work. At the same time, 34% screened positive for depression and 57% were not fully engaged in their work. The study found that full-time employees with a stronger sense of purpose in their work were 27% less likely to be depressed and six times more likely to be engaged in their work. Further, when purpose and dignity are both high, employees are 15 times more likely to be engaged and much less likely to show signs of depression.

Core goal: Safeguard total well-being at work

Physical well-being is “the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get the most out of our daily activities without undue fatigue or physical stress.” Mental well-being is the “state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. Financial well-being is the “state of being wherein a person can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, can feel secure in their financial future and is able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life” and social well-being is “the sharing, developing, and sustaining of meaningful relationships with others”. These areas are interlinked—for instance, some studies show a two-way relationship between financial health and mental health.

Companies can adopt evidence-based benefits and programmes to support workers’ mental and physical well-being, such as self-reporting and sensing technologies, and create roles such as Health or Wellbeing Officers to ensure that a culture of well-being is nurtured throughout the workplace. Failure to foster positive connections between employees – exacerbated during the pandemic – can lower morale and increase stress. One study found that 31% of employees lost sleep due to anxiety over interactions with colleagues. To increase social well-being, employers can look to build trust, inclusivity and strong channels of communication.

Beyond paying at least a living wage, employers can improve financial well-being by increasing financial literacy among their workforce and providing a clear picture of rewards and benefits. This may include running internal finance workshops, providing one-to-one support and publishing guidance on topics such as mechanisms for saving, preparing for retirement, reducing debt and understanding tax.

Expanded goals

Protect physical and psychological safety in the workplace

Employers should not put workers in positions which compromise their physical or psychological safety. As increased rates of COVID-19 vaccination globally make it easier for employees to return to work, employers need to make employees feel safe enough to come back by revisiting their approaches to occupational health and safety. New technologies such as virtual reality (VR) can help improve worker awareness of risks and create behaviour change towards safe workplace routines.

Provide for predictability of hours and boundaries on working time

Working time has long been a focus of labour legislation. The ILO Hours of Work (Industry) Convention of 1919 brought in maximum working time of 48 hours per week and eight hours per day as the international norm—with working time allowed to exceed these limits in exceptional cases and within certain boundaries. However, major challenges persist: limiting excessive hours of work and ensuring periods of rest and recuperation, including paid leave. Providing for boundaries on working time is important for worker well-being. Working long hours is the leading course of occupational ill-health, accounting for one-third of estimated total occupational health impacts. Employers have a responsibility to respect legislated working time limits. Increasing attention is also being paid to the benefits of stability and predictability of work schedules. Research has shown that more predictable scheduling, such as adequate advance notice of shift patterns, improves worker health and well-being.

Ensure that workers feel valued and find purpose in their work

Purpose provides an organizing life goal and has been shown in research to strengthen resilience and engagement at work. Dignity is linked to purpose, but also includes respect, pride and self-worth. Providing purpose and dignity in the workplace are critical for fostering engagement, motivation and well-being and thus driving sustainable business performance. Companies can foster purpose not just by emphasizing the organization’s purpose but also by linking it to individual purpose—how individual roles contribute to organizational success as well as personal development. Dignity can be reinforced through various aspects of good work (e.g. fair pay), as well as by treating employees with respect.

Read the full report: The Good Work Framework: A new business agenda for the future of work.