More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of Canadian employers say employees’ emotional well-being continues to be their main wellness focus as they navigate challenges posed by workplace mental-health concerns and hybrid working arrangements, according to a new survey by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
The survey, which polled more than 400 employers, found roughly a third said they’re focused on employees’ financial (37 per cent), physical (34 per cent) and career (33 per cent) wellness. Respondents also said they’re supporting employees’ work-life balance by offering remote working arrangements (76 per cent), flexible hours (66 per cent), parental leave top-ups (35 per cent) and volunteer time (30 per cent).
The continued growth of remote and hybrid working policies and flexible hours is due in part to a desire among employers to support workers’ mental health, says Sarah Beech, chief executive officer of Gallagher’s Canadian benefits and human resources consulting division.
“I think it’s something that can be provided quite quickly [to support employee mental health]. I also think there’s competitive peer pressure to provide a flexible work arrangement — similar employers elsewhere are going to offer this so [employees] could get the same pay and work somewhere else in a more flexible environment.”
The evolution of the workplace in the post-coronavirus pandemic era is also raising concerns about company culture among some employers, resulting in a focus on building a “culture of trust,” she adds.
“I think employers that are successful around our work culture are recognizing everyone, [whether employees] work [onsite] or work from home — [these employers] understand employees have a role to play and they’re going to get work done. [When they] bring people together, they also have a reason . . . be it a really important office meeting or team meeting that’s work related, not just a free pizza.”
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The survey also highlighted the role of communicating total rewards in attracting and retaining talent. However, it found roughly half (46 per cent) of employers limit these efforts to new hires and nearly a third (30 per cent) reach out to employees on an annual basis. Fewer than one in 10 said they connect with employees semi-annually (six per cent), quarterly (six per cent) or monthly (one per cent).
While employers can design effective benefits programs, the value of these offerings is diminished if they’re not communicated effectively. “What’s good for employees is also good for the organization . . . but unfortunately, many organizations spend a lot of time making those decisions and they [only] do a good job communicating when they first launch [these offerings],” says Beech.
“People don’t have the attention span to read long [documents] . . . and they need to see the information more often. [For example], for employers that do a wellness newsletter, wellness shouldn’t be separate from their benefits plan — they’re part and parcel together. There should be articles about how to use paramedical practitioners or [they can] bring it to life with storytelling about one of their employees.”
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