Well-being is a major factor for employees.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says regular physical activity is essential because it can improve your brain health, help manage your weight, reduce your risk of disease, strengthen your bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday tasks. Workers have taken note, specifically Gen Zers and millennials, as research shows employees want more well-being benefits.
Sixty-five percent of respondents to research agency Opinium said they would use a gym membership if their employer offered the benefit. Similarly, 77 percent of the more than 9,000 employees surveyed by Gympass said they would consider leaving a company that doesn't focus on well-being. More than 80 percent of respondents in the same survey said that well-being is just as important a factor as their salary.
It's not just about physical well-being, however. Twenty-five percent of Gympass survey respondents reported experiencing burnout either often or always.
Employees want to feel like employers are taking their struggles with mental health seriously. The workforce has seen a considerable increase in focus on mental health; 80 percent of workers surveyed by the American Psychological Association said that their employer's approach to employee mental health is an important consideration, and searches for "how to ask for a mental health day" grew by 1,000 percent between February 2020 and February 2022, according to a study by marketing platform Semrush.
There's evidence, however, that workers won't use employer-provided mental health support. Results of a LifeWorks survey reveal that 42 percent of 5,000 workers surveyed said they did not use their mental health services. A quarter of respondents declined support because they didn't know how to access it, were concerned about confidentiality, or were worried about cost.
To combat that, employers need to remain flexible with their workplace environment, whether that means employees working in the office or working remotely. FlexJobs research shows that individuals with flexible work arrangements are likelier to have the emotional support they need to deal with the stresses of life and work. Those employees are also more likely to be able to change the stressful aspects of their jobs.