Research on employee engagement and well-being has gained increasing momentum. Employee engagement is the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral energy an employee directs toward positive organizational outcomes.

Studies show that engaged employees are more likely to be productive, stay with their current employer, and interact positively with customers.

Workplace well-being includes both physical and psychological health. Organizations must create an environment that supports employee well-being to maintain engagement and productivity.

Several factors contribute to workplace well-being, including job satisfaction, organizational support, and work-life balance.

When employees feel good, they are more likely to be engaged in their work and perform at their best. There is usually a link between employee engagement and well-being. Much research shows that they are reciprocal and additive: one influences the other, and each contributes uniquely to employee performance and motivation.

That’s why creating a workplace that supports employee well-being is essential for any organization looking to maintain a high level of engagement and productivity.

Well-being in complex times

The pandemic and the Recession, among other social and economic crises, have seriously affected people's mental and physical health. Balance has been a challenging habit for people to achieve and is the centerpiece to increasing or maintaining business engagement and productivity.

Today more than ever, organizations worldwide are realizing the value of a resilient, motivated, and wellness-oriented workforce. Perhaps because they know that, in the future, new crises will come, affecting the quality of life of their employees and the results of their performance.

What elements makeup well-being

To address well-being, we must first understand what elements make it up and what aspects positively influence employees. For Gallup, there are five fundamental elements for the well-being of people:

• Social: Having meaningful relationships
• Work: enjoy a stimulating job
• Physical: having the energy to face the challenges of life.
• Community: establish ties with the place where you live and with the people of that context
• Financial: earn enough to relieve stress and manage money wisely

While employers cannot cover all areas of wellness, they can try to provide their employees with working conditions that nurture some of these aspects of wellness.

Support from a leader can make team members feel more secure in their work and as if they have an essential ally standing up for them. Extending a program to encompass mental health can make people think the company cares about their psychological and emotional well-being.

How to engage employees in well-being

Workplace wellness is virtually impossible to achieve if the work environment is not centered on human needs and if you don't empower employees to prioritize their requirements and those of the company. The same happens if organizations cannot engage employees in the culture of wellness and mental health.

A great way to encourage employee participation is by sending weekly surveys to evaluate employee sentiment on different aspects of the work environment. In this way, leadership will be able to know in a good way how their teams are doing and will be able to identify areas that require improvement or guidance.

Another core strategy may be to incorporate wellness training as a way for employees to support their colleagues in the event of psychological or emotional stress. These tools can help recipients address their mental health and develop dynamic flexibility.

How to create a well-being-focused work structure

How your company's wellness program is structured will make a difference. Promoting healthy behaviors between people and the company and people and their daily environments is essential.

Previously it was believed that well-being was linked almost exclusively to organic socialization. For this reason, many organizations used to organize fun events such as parties, birthday lunches, and happy hours; but the new times require doing things differently.

Expanding access to mental health beyond offering employees a moment of laughter or relaxation is essential. Creating protocols for mental health that allow people to learn techniques to relax in situations of work stress or how to mitigate economic and emotional uncertainty are significant first steps toward the development of a culture of well-being.

Allowing access to educational tools and financial advisors that help employees plan for their future is a great way to help a company's employees and promote well-being inside and outside working hours.

According to a Deloitte study, large US companies are estimated to have spent an average of $3.6 million on wellness programs for $762 per employee. The same study estimates that by 2026 corporate welfare spending will increase from 53.6 billion to 90.7 billion.

In conclusion

By providing tools to help employees seek well-being inside and outside of working hours, companies offer a service to their employees and the business and corporate culture.

Employees with satisfactory work experience have a more outstanding commitment to the company, their functions, and themselves, improving their performance, productivity levels, retention, and results.

Having internal tools allows them greater self-regulation, autonomy, and, finally, a better balance in their work-life relationship.