According to the American Institute of Stress, almost 50 percent of workers say they need help learning how to manage their stress.
According to the American Institute of Stress, almost 50 percent of workers say they need help learning how to manage their stress. In her 2014 book “Thrive,” Arianna Huffington cites research indicating that 96 percent of leaders feel burned out; that women who feel just “a little too” much pressure at work are at greater risk of heart disease.
A 2016 report found that employees who believe that they have higher well-being (defined as “a state of optimal health, happiness, and purpose”) feel more engaged at work, are loyal to their teams, recommend their company as a great place to work and plan on staying at their company. With benefits like these, it’s clear that there’s a place for wellness programs at work.
Huffington calls it the “third metric” to defining success: In addition to money and power (the traditional way we’ve measured success), she writes in “Thrive” that “we need a Third Metric, a third measure of success that…consists of four pillars: well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving.” Since employer success is directly tied to employee success, it stands to reason that this third metric is one that companies should measure as well.
In the vocabulary of Huffington’s third metric, has employee – and organization – well-being increased as a result of the program? Have sick days decreased? Are employees more productive – without working longer hours? Have the company’s health care costs decreased? Rather than measuring success solely with ROI, they focus on a newer metric called VOI – value on investment. Companies value their employees’ happiness and satisfaction but can’t always immediately translate those values into dollar figures.
The first step is understanding your employees and their needs. Organizations don’t need to implement large-scale programs right off the bat; they can start small - “micro-steps for macro-change.” Start by acknowledging that your employees are people with holistic needs, and implement that third metric into your organisation’s definition of success. The payoff could be big.
Source: Taryn Oesch, CPTM, is an editor at TrainingIndustry.com
