Making employee wellbeing a top priority is proving to be a critical factor in driving organizational success for your business. If you want to attract and retain top talent and stay ahead of your competitors, having a cohesive wellbeing strategy is a key factor to your organization’s success.

As we were analyzing the data for our report, “Creating a high performing work force: The importance of a wellbeing strategy”, the message was clear: Businesses thrive when they commit to wellbeing, regardless of company size.

We gathered and reviewed data from 250 diverse organizations across Canada, with a focus on companies based in Alberta. What we found was that those companies having with a clearly defined and cohesive wellbeing strategy are:

  • 4x as likely to highly support career progression as those without a wellbeing strategy.
  • Nearly 5x as likely to have comprehensive diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policies as those without a wellbeing strategy.
  • Reporting higher employee engagement in wellness programs.

Why having a wellbeing strategy matters

Whether you’re part of an organization that has over 1000 employees or you own a business with less than 50 employees, having a well-crafted wellbeing strategy is important for several reasons:

  • It enables company leaders to be proactive. Ensuring comprehensive coverage and early intervention can help to address issues like burnout and absenteeism before they escalate.
  • It can align with organizational goals. When wellbeing initiatives are integrated with your company’s overall objectives, they can enhance both employee welfare and productivity as well as business outcomes.
  • You’ll attract (and retain) top talent. An organization with robust wellbeing strategies are more appealing to job seekers and current employees who make work-life balance a priority.
  • Your employees will be more motivated. Consistent wellbeing initiatives make employees feel valued, leading to an increase in overall motivation and engagement.

Putting your wellness strategy into action

Having a cohesive wellness strategy in place is one thing. The real magic happens when you put that strategy into action. When we were analyzing the data from our report, we identified a significant gap when it came to executing on a wellness strategy, despite good intentions.

So, what exactly is a cohesive wellness strategy? We see it as a strategy that takes five key dimensions into consideration:

  1. Establishing a physically safe and healthy work environment
  2. Dedication to psychological and psychosocial wellbeing
  3. Fostering purpose, meaning and motivation
  4. Prioritizing inclusive, equitable ways of working
  5. Empowering leaders

When you incorporate all of these dimensions into your wellness strategy, you create a culture that’s healthy and high-performing. In other words, the kind of place where employees want to stick around and give their best.

Turning wellness into a competitive edge

By prioritizing wellbeing, you’re not just doing right by your employees, you’re also gaining a significant competitive advantage. Our findings revealed that organizations who champion wellbeing demonstrate:

  • Stronger support for mental health promotion
  • Higher trust in leadership decisions supporting employee wellbeing
  • Better support for managers in promoting team wellbeing

In fact, here are the top 4 reasons high performing organizations are investing in wellbeing:

  • Boosting employee productivity (86%)
  • Talent attraction and retention (72%)
  • Improving business performance (65%)
  • Higher levels of engagement (65%)

Employee wellbeing isn’t optional—it’s a necessity

When your employees are healthy and thriving, so is your business. According to the 2024 Wellhub State of Work-Life Wellness Report:

  • 93% of employees consider wellbeing as important as salary
  • 87% would consider leaving a company that doesn’t prioritize wellbeing

It goes to show you that prioritizing employee wellbeing is no longer a “nice to have” option—it’s a necessity for long-term success and sustainability. When you adopt a comprehensive wellbeing strategy, your organization can create an environment where employees feel valued and you’ll see improved productivity, innovation and overall business performance.

Want to know more about how implementing a wellbeing strategy can help drive employee and business success for your organization? Get the whole story by downloading the full report now.

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