Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters (Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve)

Summary

This insightful presentation explores the importance of workplace well-being, highlighting the significant gap between leaders’ beliefs and actions. It discusses key indicators for measuring well-being, such as happiness, stress levels, job satisfaction, and sense of purpose, backed by large-scale data from companies like S&P Global and Indeed. The presentation emphasizes the social aspects of work, including belonging and managerial support, as the main drivers of employee well-being. It further demonstrates how improved well-being leads to higher productivity, talent attraction, and retention, with compelling evidence linking workplace well-being to better financial performance and organizational success.

Takeaways

• 😀 The importance of workplace well-being should be self-evident, as it’s fundamentally about treating people with care and creating positive work environments.
• 😀 Despite many senior leaders expressing support for workplace well-being, there's a significant gap between their words and actions, with only 33% of leaders prioritizing employee well-being.
• 😀 Workplace well-being can be measured by four key indicators: happiness at work, stress levels, job satisfaction, and sense of purpose.
• 😀 These four indicators are based on well-established principles in positive psychology, offering a comprehensive view of workplace well-being.
• 😀 Companies like S&P Global and Indeed are collecting vast amounts of data on employee feelings at work, revealing that only 22% of global respondents rate their well-being as excellent.
• 😀 There's vast variation in workplace well-being within and across organizations, showing that improvement is possible even in industries or regions facing economic challenges.
• 😀 Drivers of workplace well-being include fair compensation, trust among co-workers, flexibility, appreciation, belonging, and inclusion.
• 😀 Social elements, such as belonging, inclusion, and managerial support, play a particularly important role in driving workplace well-being.
• 😀 Research shows that workplace well-being has a direct impact on business outcomes, including productivity, talent attraction, and retention.
• 😀 A study on British Telecom's call center employees shows that improving emotional well-being increases productivity, with a 12% increase in weekly sales per unit increase in well-being.
• 😀 Data from Indeed’s platform reveals that job seekers are more likely to apply to companies with higher workplace well-being scores, indicating the importance of well-being in attracting top talent.
• 😀 High workplace well-being is linked to lower voluntary turnover, with companies that prioritize well-being losing a third less of their employees, saving substantial costs in hiring and training.
• 😀 Companies that invest in improving workplace well-being show higher profitability, with a direct correlation between well-being scores and financial performance, proving that it's a smart business strategy.
• 😀 A synthetic portfolio created from top companies based on employee well-being shows that companies with high workplace well-being consistently outperform traditional stock indices, demonstrating long-term financial benefits.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the presentation in the script?

The presentation aims to highlight the importance of workplace well-being, provide evidence on its impact, and advocate for investing in it from both a human and business perspective.

Why was the book 'Why Workplace Well-being Matters' written despite the concept being self-evident?

The book was written because there is a gap between what senior leaders say about workplace well-being and what they actually do, with many not prioritizing it despite acknowledging its importance.

What are the four key items used to measure workplace well-being?

The four key items are: 1) Happiness at work (positive emotions), 2) Stress levels (negative emotions), 3) Job satisfaction, and 4) A sense of purpose and worth in the work being done.

What is the role of positive psychology in measuring workplace well-being?

The approach to measuring workplace well-being is based on the consensus in positive psychology, specifically the affective, evaluative, and demonic aspects of well-being, which are then adapted to the workplace setting.

How does Indeed contribute to measuring workplace well-being?

Indeed collects crowdsource data on workplace well-being from millions of workers across different regions, providing a large-scale dataset that allows for the comparison of well-being across organizations and industries.

What is the variation in workplace well-being among different organizations?

There is significant variation in workplace well-being across organizations, with some companies averaging scores of 2 out of 5, while others achieve scores closer to 4 out of 5. This variation is seen across industries and even within specific companies.

What are the most important factors that drive workplace well-being according to the research?

The most important factors are social elements, such as belonging, inclusion, and managerial support. While compensation and flexibility are important, the social capital around the workplace has a greater impact on overall well-being.

How does workplace well-being affect productivity?

Improving employee well-being is linked to increased productivity. For example, a 1-point improvement in well-being can lead to a 12% increase in weekly sales, with even greater improvements seen in tasks requiring social and emotional intelligence.

What is the relationship between workplace well-being and talent attraction?

Higher workplace well-being scores attract more job applications, particularly from talented candidates. Job seekers are more likely to apply to companies with higher well-being scores, which leads to the attraction of better talent.

How does workplace well-being impact employee retention?

Companies with higher workplace well-being scores have significantly lower voluntary turnover rates. Organizations with better well-being retention experience a 33% lower annual turnover compared to those with lower well-being scores.

How does the business case for workplace well-being relate to stock market performance?

Companies with higher workplace well-being scores outperform traditional stock market indices. A synthetic stock portfolio based on well-being scores has consistently outperformed the S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Russell indices, demonstrating the financial benefits of prioritizing employee well-being.