Tag: employee wellness

Free food and drinks on a Friday once worked as attractive company perks. However, things have changed dramatically. Today, top talent expects more from employers. They want a competitive salary and stand-out benefits that offer real value.

The business-critical challenge of 75% of executives contemplating resignation highlights a harsh reality - mental health struggles are a significant concern for business founders, entrepreneurs and executives alike. So, what needs to change? The answer lies in mindfulness in the workplace - a proactive approach to nurturing resilience, focus and well-being in high-pressure environments.

What exactly makes a business a great place to work? Some might say it’s the pay, the beautiful offices, or the generous perks. While all these things do play a role, a business’ true attractiveness lies firmly rooted in the work environment that it fosters.

The fusion of technology and healthcare has reshaped how organisations approach employee wellness, and telehealth is at the forefront of this change. Daily, approximately 15% of South African employees miss work, costing businesses between R12 billion and R16 billion a year. What’s more, it's estimated that up to 25% of all employees in South Africa will experience depression or some kind of mental health problem annually.

There’s no denying that technology has indelibly transformed the modern workplace, especially following the onset of the global pandemic. Streamlined processes, enhanced communication and boosted productivity are just some of the benefits businesses have eagerly embraced in the digital era. These benefits come at a price.

Ever since the pandemic, ‘organisational wellbeing’ has gone from a quirky idea that many thought was a bit of fluff, to a business imperative. Now more than ever, companies are seeing the value in having a coherent employee wellness strategy.

The dynamic interplay between personal wellbeing and business excellence has emerged as an unassailable truth. With the corporate wellness market projected to reach an impressive R1 trillion+ by 2026, the growing importance of wellness in the workplace highlights the priority placed on well-being, not only for employee welfare but for business health too. 

Pandemic-related uncertainty and stress saw human resource (HR) departments emerge as valuable partners in ensuring business continuity and success. The role of HR practitioners has evolved, and they are now more important than ever as crucial support structures for employees and facilitators of their overall wellbeing.

Today’s workforce has come to expect streamlined processes, flexibility, and digital connectivity from wherever they may work (whether in the office or remotely) in order to facilitate productivity. Throughout the pandemic, it was this ability to work remotely that broke social distancing boundaries and enabled new levels of productivity to be achieved, despite teams becoming more globally distributed.

With the workplace constantly changing, and with almost every facet of industry and business having experienced rapid shifts in the last three years, the need for specific skillsets has changed accordingly. Soft skills are on the rise as a contributing factor for success in today’s post-pandemic world, because they lubricate change, amplify agility and strengthen resilience.