Blog, Employee Wellbeing
A tech-powered evolution for wellbeing benefits and resources
27-09-2023
In the evolving landscape of the modern workplace, employee wellbeing has become a priority for organisations worldwide. However, as employers provide more wellbeing resources to their people, a problem emerges – namely, the technology used to deliver it. Many employees say the workplace technology that they use to access wellbeing resources could be improved; a lot.
Redefining wellbeing technology for the digital age
Currently, only 27% of global employees rate their online wellbeing experiences as excellent, with 37% rating them as good. These figures have fallen significantly from 2022, when 32% described their online wellbeing experiences as excellent, and 47% reported that they were good. This shift highlights a need for improvement not just in the resources themselves, but also in the workplace technology employees need to find it and use it.
Across the board, employees point to considerable room for improvement when it comes to the workplace technology their employers are providing. Alarmingly, 70% of employees now state that the technology they use at work lags behind the technology they use at home, and this figure has jumped significantly, from 60% in 2022. For employees used to the hyper-personalised and seamless experiences that they receive from the likes of Netflix, Spotify and Amazon, the friction they’re experiencing when accessing wellbeing benefits, resources and apps from their employers can cause frustration, disengagement, and damage their perception of what their employer can do for them.
In response, employers should be looking to create a digital home for wellbeing, using technology to bring all elements of wellbeing benefits and support together in one place. This overcomes the problem we’ve seen revealed in our research of siloed wellbeing initiatives dotted around different parts of the organisation; the benefits team making some wellbeing decisions in one part of the organisation, the wellbeing team making decisions in another part, the Mental Health First Aiders sharing content and best practice in another part, and so on.
Additionally, how employees access this technology also matters; as working patterns continue to be mobile and dynamic, more and more employees will turn to apps to access wellbeing and benefits support when they’re on the move or outside of work. Notably, 83% of employees say they’re happy to use their own phone to access work-related apps if it means a better experience.
It’s time to use technology to bring benefits and other wellbeing support into one easy-to-access and user-friendly place for every employee. By offering this kind of unity, HR and Reward leaders have the opportunity to help the organisation become much more strategic in how it approaches employee wellbeing.
To find out more about how organisations can meet their HR goals through wellbeing benefits, strategy and technology, read the full version of our Wellbeing Report.
27-09-2023
