Long before the pandemic, companies were focusing more on well-being. The realisation is that if employees are happy – mentally and physically, they were looked after and felt ‘cared for’, they would feel more motivated and produce higher quality work. A win-win.

There were many initiatives such as fruit at work, gym memberships or health care vouchers, however, these initiatives focused on physical well-being and barely touched upon balancing the mental strain of work responsibilities. Most companies now recognise that workers need more, and companies are finally seeing that fixed hours, substandard wages and benefits and the idea that people should live and breathe their jobs is outdated.

While the shift in well-being is changing, not all companies are adapting and adopting preventative measures to keep well-being a priority.

Everyone is susceptible to well-being issues, including the C-Suite. Although far less attention has been paid to the well-being of the C-Suite, the increased demands placed upon them encourage stress and burnout.

How can C-suite leaders improve both their employee's and their own well-being? To understand these issues and trends better, Deloitte partnered with independent research firm Workplace Intelligence to survey 2,100 employees and C-level executives across four countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The survey results revealed eye-opening findings, including that nearly 70% of the C-suite are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being.

The research uncovered that both employees and the C-suite are struggling to prioritise their well-being, and for most people, work is to blame. More interestingly, the research showed that executives are significantly overestimating how well their employees are doing and how supported they feel by their leaders. This highlights that the c-suite should be doing much more to understand the needs of their team and demonstrate their care by implementing a more holistic approach to well-being.

Even though well-being should be a top priority, 68% of companies admit they are not doing enough, with many not truly recognising how much their people are struggling. However, with the race for talent and the ‘great resignation’ upon us, companies that don’t focus on the well-being of their employees will soon lose them, given that 57% of employees (including c-suite executives) reported that they have considered quitting their jobs for more supportive positions.

When companies switch their focus from profits to the well-being of their employees, they produce more highly motivated and productive teams as well as more purpose-driven leaders, which ultimately leads to more success for the company.

Creating a well-being initiative needs to address all aspects of well-being, including physical health, physical safety and mental health. Here are a few to consider:

Workplace

A collective and social culture

Encourage good lifestyle choices

Financial wellbeing

Workplace

People need to feel comfortable and productive at work in order to be fulfilled. Working with great people is one of the things that can dramatically improve the fulfilment and positive feelings around a position, especially in executive positions. Developing great teams is not easy, however, investing in an executive search firm to find people who align with your cultural values and ethics is a good place to start.

In order to get great people on board you need to show them you care about their well-being by offering support and initiatives that are either in line or above your competitors. Consider flexible working to relieve pressures from personal lives, provide great onboarding and training management and offer fair and transparent incentive programmes to encourage development and learning.

Creating a positive and inviting culture isn’t just good for attracting and retaining people, but it's also essential for people’s mental well-being. Teams need to be able to work together and feel heard. Creating a good social and collective identity in the workplace will help all levels of employees to feel more at home and allow them to excel.

Encourage your team to brainstorm ideas and contribute to decision-making. This will also help executives stay up to date with what their team is thinking and consider new ideas.
Run regular training courses to develop internal team members. People will feel more valued if you are developing them, rather than recruiting people above them.
Hold regular social outings to encourage people to get to know the people they work with. With the shift to hybrid or remote working, lots of employees don’t have the chance to get to talk to their colleagues on a more personal level. It also gives executives a chance to get to know their teams.

Encourage good lifestyle choices

Encouraging positive well-being outside of work creates an overall approach to supporting the well-being of your teams. There are the typical subsidised gym membership perks, but you can get creative. Generous health insurance, well-being education and opportunities to stay active encourage your employees to make good lifestyle choices themselves without forcing them upon them.

Financial Wellbeing

With the stresses of the increased cost of living, these worries can quickly affect all aspects of life, including work. Companies need to be aware of their employees’ financial situations and offer them more than a ‘living wage'. Some ideas include

Having a profit share scheme to allow employees to benefit from the company’s success, which they have contributed towards.
Debt counselling
Financial advice
Bonus schemes to support their salaries.

Source: Deloitte & Workplace Intelligence research: The C-suites role in wellbeing.

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