New Global Wellbeing Survey by Aon has shown in its current report that improving wellbeing of employees can enhance company performance by at least 11%, and potentially by as much as 55%.
Aon’ report is contained in the firm’s 2022-23 Global Wellbeing Survey showed that there is a relationship between wellbeing and a sustainable working life, which can impact company performance. The higher an employer’s ratings are in overall employee wellbeing, culture and climate of wellbeing, performance of wellbeing initiatives and funding allocation toward wellbeing, the better their scores are in workforce resilience, agility and belonging, which make a sustainable working life.
Relying on the survey of more than 1,100 organisations, Aon found that employers are increasingly prioritising wellbeing programs, in both recognising the issue and aiming to take action. Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported that wellbeing is more important to their company since 2020, and just under half said that employee wellbeing has increased in priority in that same timeframe. 87% of companies have at least one wellbeing initiative in place, unchanged since 2020.
The global shift to embrace showed in the report with 83% reported having a wellbeing strategy, compared to 55% in the 2020 report. Stephanie Pronk, senior vice president for health solutions at Aon, said: “Despite companies facing increasing volatility and uncertainty in the form of inflation, a global pandemic, changing workforce patterns and geopolitical conflict, the latest global wellbeing survey demonstrates that employers are still focused on wellbeing, now more than ever.
“Companies are building resilient workforces by increasing their commitment to employee wellbeing both in support and financial investment, which also helps to attract and retain talent. Wellbeing is far from being a niche issue – wellbeing programs that are designed to address the diverse needs of employees can have wide-ranging impacts on an organisation.”
Globally, 43% of companies say they have increased their investment in wellbeing, while most other companies have left investment the same or refocused their investments. The allocation of funding toward wellbeing varies, with about half of companies allocating 2-5% of their benefits for wellbeing-related initiatives.