3 Ways to Track Employee Wellbeing

Healthy organizations are made up of healthy employees… So, it follows that sidelining resources to go towards employee wellness is one of the most rewarding investments you can make in your company. But what about keeping track of the wellness levels of your employees (and, as a result your organization)? Here are three ways it can be measured.

The average person spends around nine hours a day (if not more!) at their workplace. That’s a significant slice of their day… therefore, it stands to reason that for employees to be as effective as possible in their work, they need to really enjoy the workplace environment and atmosphere. Organizations that understand this and devote time, resources, and energy toward health and wellness programs to support employee wellbeing.  

Numerous studies and surveys consistently find that an organization’s productivity and success will mirror the engagement and happiness of its staff. In short, companies who prioritize employee wellbeing have a competitive advantage over those that don’t.

We’ve written about the benefits of exercise and wellness for individuals before, and how employee wellness programs considerably boost engagement, raise energy levels, and enhances team spirit and morale. However, the next question is, after investing in wellness for employees, how can we monitor it in the short and long term? What are the ways to gauge whether employee wellbeing is high in an organization? 

Gather the facts

Use the data you accumulate on employees’ use of and participation in wellness facilities and organized events to paint a picture of how engaged they each are. Even basic metrics such as the number of employees practicing sports and the frequency of same can provide you with valuable data.

Basically, getting involved in activities and decent fitness levels are generally a pretty good indication of wellbeing and happiness.

Ask for feedback

The first thing you need to do is define what wellbeing looks like and how it presents itself in the workplace. The best way to go about this is to simply ask employees for feedback. For example, you could ask them about how they feel in their position as well as about specific aspects of working life. How would they like to approach certain issues? What is the thing troubling them the most in the workplace? Their answers will give you great insight into where their minds are and how positive they are feeling.

Anonymous surveys can be useful, particularly if you feel that your employees are shy to be honest in a face to face feedback session. However, this itself is an indication of low wellbeing levels in the workplace as an open company culture high on employee wellbeing would engrain transparency and honestly.

Consider their work

Earlier we mentioned that activity and fitness levels generally lead to greater wellbeing and happiness. In turn, this leads to increased employee engagement that results in higher productivity. Therefore, according to this progression, employees’ wellbeing levels can also be determined through the quality of their work.

Do they have a lot of energy and get excited about projects? Are they exceeding their KPIs? Great work performance is probably the best indicator that an employee’s wellbeing is taken care of. 

Measuring employee wellbeing can be tricky. You may, in fact, feel it more than be presented with data to prove it. Either way, when your organization is filled with people who are happy and healthy, it is more positive, productive, and successful.