Alison Grenier
Head of Culture and Research, Great Place to Work Canada
When employees are supported and empowered in the workplace, they’re much more likely to flourish — both at work and outside it.
Great Place to Work, the world leader in workplace assessment, recently partnered with Johns Hopkins University to conduct a large study of 14,000 people in 37 countries on workplace well-being.
Key findings from the research include:
- Employee well-being is a key predictor of employee retention and referrals. Those who experience high levels of well-being in the workplace are three times more likely to stay and three times more likely to recommend their employer to others.
- Employee well-being is complex and made up of five factors: mental/emotional support, personal support, purpose, financial health, and meaningful connections. When people have a consistently positive experience across these five factors, they can flourish inside and outside of work.
Employee well-being is a key predictor of employee retention and referrals. Those who experience high levels of well-being in the workplace are three times more likely to stay and three times more likely to recommend their employer to others.
Employee well-being is complex and made up of five factors: mental/emotional support, personal support, purpose, financial health, and meaningful connections. When people have a consistently positive experience across these five factors, they can flourish inside and outside of work.
“It’s widely accepted that our biological health can be influenced by psychological and social factors and vice versa,” says Alison Grenier, Head of Culture and Research at Great Place to Work Canada. “Your job has the potential to have a profound positive or negative impact on your health, so choosing a job can be one of the most important health decisions you’ll make in your life.”
Helping employees to flourish
At the intersection of healthy people and healthy organizations, we see people flourishing at work. Our research shows only about one out of six people in average workplaces are flourishing at work, compared to four out of six people at high-trust workplaces. Why? Most employees experience significant gaps in purpose and connections, so when they ask themselves, “Why do I work here?” and can’t come up with a good answer or don’t feel connected to their employer, there’s a high risk they’ll walk out the door.
So how do you create an environment where your employees can flourish? Sure, office gyms and meditation breaks are nice, but as we’ve seen, employee well-being is much more complex than this. Employers should instead focus on leading by example, empowering employees to shape their contribution, listening to employees, and tailoring strategies to support them.
Learn more at greatplacetowork.ca.
