Employers Will Invest in Well-being to Drive Productivity
A new report released December 3 by Virgin Pulse reveals that employers are implementing well-being programs to achieve business objectives and address Human Resources (HR) priorities. More than half of the HR professionals surveyed in the report say they are looking to improve employee engagement (60 percent), productivity (53 percent), and organizational culture (52.8 percent) through well-being, which is no longer being seen as strictly an HR initiative, but rather a business imperative.
According to the report, senior-level executives are looking at well-being programs not so much as a cost reduction measure, but to help improve employee engagement and productivity, which were cited as key HR priorities for next year. Nearly 89 percent of respondents at the director level and above cite improving employee productivity as the top HR priority in 2016, with engagement (87.5 percent), and corporate culture (85.8 percent) following closely behind. More than 97 percent agree that employee well-being programs can positively impact the achievement of each of these broader business priorities and goals.
As well-being programs evolve and become a core part of business strategy for engaging, retaining, and recruiting top talent, budgets for these initiatives are growing. More than a third (39.1 percent) of large companies and more than a quarter (28.1 percent) of small companies report well-being budget increases over last year. These increases come as organizations increasingly view employee well-being as a driver of business success.
About the survey. For the second year in a row, Virgin Pulse partnered with Human Capital Media, the research arm of Workforce magazine, to survey more than 1,000 HR professionals across levels and industries.
Source: Virgin Pulse.
