Recently, there have been several incidences of employees leaving organizations, making it compulsory for management to focus on employee well-being and engagement. Workplace well-being ensures that the employees working in an organization are given the best emotional and physical environment. It also ensures that the employees are not mistreated and the organization follows the labor law rules. 

What is an employee well-being metric?

Employee well-being metrics are data that help assess the mental and emotional state of employee well-being at an organization. It also includes the results of the employee well-being program being implemented in the organization. Previously, the employee well-being programs focused on wellness, specifically physical fitness activities and lifestyle management, like regular exercise, quitting smoking, and having a healthy diet. Several organizations focused on incorporating these activities as they are quantifiable and are known to reduce health care spending by an organization on employees. A healthy person will spend less money on healthcare facilities than an unhealthy person.

However, this approach was not successful and required certain changes. So, an American analytics and advisory company named Gallup included five compulsory elements in employee well-being. They are:

• Career wellbeing: Liking what you do.
• Social wellbeing: Having meaningful friendships.
• Financial well-being: Managing money well.
• Physical well-being: You have enough energy.
• Community wellbeing: Loving where you live.

Benefits of maintaining workplace well being

1. Improvement in job performance- A healthy and happy employee can always go the extra mile in his job and help benefit the organization in several ways.
2. Increased work attendance- When employees are physically fit and sound, their work attendance improves significantly.
3. Reduces Employee turnover- Employees feel satisfied and comfortable in an organization where they are given compensation and bonuses for their extra efforts. This will lead to a reduction in employee turnover.
4. Acceleration of personal resources: A comfortable workplace for employees will help them experience a higher level of positive attitude. This is help makes them more sociable, outgoing, creative, and positive. Positivity will also help encourage employees to strengthen their personal resources, such as emotional,  intellectual, physical, and social resources. This positivity also helps employees increase engagement and job performance, leading to higher attendance at work. 

Organizations at various levels support the well-being of employees, which benefits them in various ways. The incorporation of good programs helps increase the retention rate. Most of the employees also recommend their company to family and friends as a good work environment. At the same time, many also agree that they have a healthy lifestyle and are maintaining a work-life balance properly. This also reduces the company's sick leaves and healthcare costs, and employees feel motivated after the workplace well-being program is incorporated into the organization. For instance, Google prioritizes the health of its employees by providing them and their dependents with dental,  medical, and vision insurance. It also has wellness centers at the work location so that an employee can schedule an appointment and get themselves checked in case they are not feeling well. The medical insurance also covers the medical advocacy program for transgender employees. MNCs' offices are equipped with a massage center, an outdoor basketball court, an indoor cricket pitch, and decompression capsules. They also ensure that the employees are well groomed before meetings by providing them with free on-site haircut services.

Several organizations provide programs and compensation to employees, such as competitive compensation in the form of student loan reimbursement, bonus or equity, and one-on-one financial counseling. They also enable a hybrid work model, in which an employee can have 2 work from home days each week. Apart from this, an employee also has the option of working from anywhere for 4 weeks. To fulfill the mid-work cravings of the employees, some organizations provide on-site free meals and snacks to the employees. One of Google's best policies is its death policy, which states that the family of a deceased Google employee will receive half of their salary for 10 years, and all the stock options will be vested. Moreover, each child will also receive $1,000 every month till they reach 19, or 23, as a full-time student. Google also offers its employees 18-22 weeks of paid maternity and 7 weeks of paid paternity leave. Primary caregivers, like adoptive parents or surrogate mothers, can claim up to 12 weeks of paid leaves.

How to recognize if your workplace needs a well-being program?

1. Recognize the signs- The manager responsive to handling the employees must gain insights into the well-being of the employees. They must take the employees' feedback on the workplace environments and all related documents. They must guide their employees to the best resources to assist them if they see any signs. 
2. Say the right thing- It is always the best option to ask open-ended questions, listen to the answers carefully, and try to gain insights from the answers. When starting a conversation with any employee, the manager must point out the objective and observable behavior of the employee.
3. Be proactive- It is very much important to be responsible for managing the human resource of an organization and be responsive when any situation arises. However, the manager should also be proactive and inform the employees and team regarding the organization's availability of mental health resources. 
4. Be accommodating when possible- Most employees these days are facing problems with flipping strictly set routines. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, employees have started working from home, and post the Covid-19 period; several organizations have adopted the hybrid work module. A manager should understand employees' perspectives and help them accommodate the new changed work routine.

For instance, Persona is an organization that promotes the well-being measures of employees. They believe in empowering the health of their employees in every aspect of their life, both mentally and physically, and also helps them establish a work-life balance. The KPIs that Persona uses to measure their employees’ well-being is as follows: 

• Feedback/Surveys
• Absenteeism rate
• Overtime Rate
• Productivity level
• Employee Fluctuation rate

Conclusion

Employees' well-being metrics are an important aspect of the business to achieve the targets of an organization. They can be obtained through surveys, active listening, and empathy. So, an organization must focus on the well-being of the employees to increase the employee retention rate. The managers involved in the organization must actively speak to their employees to understand their needs and note down the feedback to help improve the organization's working environment.

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