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Thecovid-19pandemicmadehorriblyclear
thatthehealthandproductivityofa business
is entirelydependentonthehealthofits
people.It hasalsogivenusa moreholistic
understandingofemployeehealthandwell-
being,fromworkplaceergonomicstothe
importanceofworkasa siteofcommunity,
support,andpurpose.It hasalsohighlighted
theimpactonmentalhealthofjugglingwork
andfamilycommitmentswhenthelines
betweenpersonalandprofessionaltimeblur
toinvisibility.
Theemployerimperative:DrivingUS
economicvitalitythrougha healthy,
productiveworkforce, a newreportfrom
EconomistImpact,commissionedbyCigna,
outlinesthelinksbetweenemployeewell-
being,productivity,andbusinesssuccess.
Utilisinga novelconceptualframework
developedfromexpertinterviews,focus
groups,anonlinesurveyof1,800employersand
employeesacrosssixindustries,theresearch
looksathowemployerscanensuretheir
workforce,andtheirbottomline,areinthebest
possibleshape.
Accordingtothereport,over90%ofexecutives
nowagreethatinvestingina healthyworkforce Readthefullreportathealthyworkforce.economist.com
COMMISSIONED BYEmployee health
and well-being linked
to business success
directlyimpactsbusinesssuccessandultimately
economicrecoveryintheUnitedStates.
Shareholdersalsoincreasinglyunderstand the
valueofthatinvestment.A businessculture
thatprizeshealthandwellnessis seenasvital
inrecruitingandkeepingthebesttalent,being
partoftheGreatRetentionratherthanGreat
Resignation.Introductionofworkforcehealthandwell-being
programmesis,though,stilluneven,thereport
finds,particularlyamongstsmallercompanies.
Performancemetricsareill-definedand,despite
significantadvancesandmoreopennessaround
thesubject,notenoughattentionis paidto
employeementalhealth.Thereportarguesformoretailoredsupport
anda pro-activeandsophisticatedapproach to
addressingthehealthandwell-beingneeds of
socio-economicallydisadvantagedemployees.
Clearobjectives,a betterunderstandingof
bestpracticeanda rigorousanddata-backed
assessmentofperformance,it argues,arevital
if businesseswanttomakea genuineimpact on
workforcewell-being.New Economist Impact study fi nds companies need
better metrics if they really want to move the needle