Employers are focusing their wellbeing programmes on supporting staff digital wellbeing, particularly around mental health issues.
Organisations are also using wellbeing to drive culture within their workforces, according to research from Mercer Marsh benefits.
Its survey found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, 79% of employers ramped up their focus on wellbeing in the past two years, with almost half planning to do so in the next two years.
However, 48% said they would be using wellbeing programmes to drive their organisation’s culture, and 45% added they would also be focusing on employees’ digital wellbeing.
Repercussions of remote working
The consultant’s findings were based on responses from 158 employers representing an estimated 1.25 million employees in August and September, conducted by the Reward and Employee Benefits Association (REBA).
It noted that while popular with staff, increased remote working was not without repercussions and the mass transition to it provided insight into the more worrying effects on employee wellbeing and emotional health.
“Research has indicated that poor mental health and loneliness can rise among homeworkers, so too can feelings of being inadequately supported by their employers,” the report said.
“Zoom fatigue induced by excessive online meetings, digital overload caused by our always on culture, and the pressure of dealing with increased volumes of online work are placing employees at risk of burnout.
“Aggravating that strain is the blurring of home and work boundaries, so staff get little opportunity to switch off.”
The report added that employers drawing up hybrid flexible working strategies will have to reconcile the pros and cons of remote working and explore ways to prevent unhealthy work habits such us encouraging disconnecting after the work day is over.
Lisa Lyons, partner and head of workforce transformation UK at Mercer, said creating a culture of caring was important to alleviate concerns around employee wellbeing.
“This entails adding benefits to support mental and emotional health and providing access to digital healthcare, such as a virtual GP or therapist,” she said.
“But it extends much further than this. We need to demonstrate empathic leadership where senior managers show greater understanding of others’ needs and connect with their people on an integrated work-life-health level.”
