We need to talk about employee wellbeing

If you have been following the Tokyo Olympics this week, you will no doubt have seen the news that Simone Biles – regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time – made the decision to withdraw from the team event to focus on her mental health. This decision and Biles’ openness in discussing it has been largely praised and rightly so.

Better business results

It is a very timely reminder of the importance of mental health, given that employee wellbeing is now considered one of the most important areas on the people agenda for every organisation. Businesses are finally understanding that if they put employee wellbeing first, better business results are more likely to follow.

In a press conference, Biles stated that “I took a step back because I didn’t want to do something silly out there and get injured”, recognising that her mental performance has an impact on her physical performance. Her coaches have publicly supported and praised her decision. In business, if an employee is struggling and does not feel adequately supported, their productivity is more likely to reduce and they may even be at risk of moving on.

Wellbeing is a priority

Through People Analytics, employee wellbeing can be measured using a number of different metrics. Here are some of the key indicators:

1. Productivity – productivity-related metrics can help employers understand how their employees are performing. If they’re underperforming, people analytics allows you to dig deeper to understand if there’s an underlying reason linked to employee wellbeing.
2. Employee engagement - when employees feel like their wellbeing is a priority and they’re being taken care of, employee engagement naturally improves, as do factors such as productivity and retention.
3. Sickness absence – an increase in sickness absence rates gives an obvious indication of a decline in physical and / or mental wellbeing. A high absence rate in a department can also impact colleagues who are picking up the extra workload so tracking their wellbeing can also be key. People analytics enables absence trends to be tracked so that employers know where to target support.
4. Focus time – do your employees have free blocks of time, uninterrupted by meetings and calls, where they can fully focus on their work? Measuring focus time per employee can uncover correlations between this and productivity and help to strike the right balance.

Employee feedback

People Analytics can also help with the effective analysis of employee feedback. For example, gathering monthly, quarterly or half-yearly feedback on how likely employees are to recommend their workplace to others provides employers with a strong indication of employee satisfaction.

One of the most important benefits of using People Analytics is to help employees be more engaged, healthy and balanced. Biles say “put mental health first” and this is a message that is rightly becoming more prevalent in the business world.

If you would like to learn more about how People Analytics can boost employee wellbeing, get in touch.