(PR in) HR Pulse | HR News Round-up: 3rd – 9th July 2023

Photo by Ashni on Unsplash

Employees, managers and C-suite leaders are quitting due to a lack of wellbeing support

Deloitte’s recent Wellbeing at Work report shows there is employee/employer disconnect when it comes to workplace wellbeing and awareness.

The report surveyed 3150 employees, managers and C-suite leaders and found that around half feel exhausted (52%), stressed (49%) and overwhelmed (43%) due to their work. Almost three-quarters (74%) said they have difficulty disconnecting and taking time away from work, with just above half (52%) taking annual leave. 

The Wellbeing at Work study also reveals that less than half of employees engage in daily physical activities (48%), sleep at least seven hours a night (45%) and spend time with friends and family (42%).

As a result, the majority of respondents have said they are seriously contemplating whether to quit and find a job that better supports their wellbeing - 60% of employees, 64% of managers and 75% of the C-suite say this is the case.

Deloitte’s research found that part of the issue is employees' lack of awareness about their companies’ commitment to providing workplace wellbeing. 

Although more than three-quarters (84%) of the C-suite have publicly committed to workforce wellbeing, less than half (39%) of their employees are aware of this and nearly half (44%) believe that their companies had made no such commitment. 

Another part of the issue, as stated by the report, is that companies aren’t sufficiently empowering and supporting managers to support their employees’ wellbeing. 

Of those surveyed, nearly all employees (94%) and managers (96%) expressed that managers should be somewhat responsible for employee wellbeing, but this isn’t reflected in managers' proactive engagement. 

Less than two-thirds (54%) of managers perform wellness checks on employees, less than half ensure employee workloads are reasonable (48%) and that they are taking their daily breaks (47%). In addition, less than a third of managers practise healthy working behaviour (30%) and/or focus on team wellbeing activities (26%).

Source: UNLEASH.

Lack of menopause support forces women to retire early

The British Standards Institution’s (BSI) new report on why women retire early outside of personal choice reveals that nearly a third (29%) of UK women expect to leave the workforce before the age of retirement.

Nearly half (42%) believe their reason for leaving will be related to health and wellbeing issues - almost a quarter (20%) predict they will be forced out due to menopausal issues.

The Lifting the Second Glass Ceiling, which surveyed c5,000 self-identifying women from the UK, US, Australia, China and Japan, found that less than half (46%) felt addressing issues around menopause would be straightforward with their employers. 

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents said they felt more comfortable raising health and wellbeing issues with women managers than with male managers. 

More than two-thirds (67%) of UK women surveyed also said having experienced women mentors improved the development of younger women - however, less than half (46%) have had this opportunity due to early retirement.

Anne Hayes, Director of Sectors at the BSI, suggests these issues should be seen as an opportunity to invest in issues faced by women in the workplace for current and future generations.

Kate Field, Global Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing at BSI, says that there are many reasons why women retire early. However, if these reasons are related to women’s health and wellbeing issues, organisations need to do more to improve their DE&I practices and culture.

Sources: HR Magazine, People Management and Personnel Today.

How can individuals combat feelings of social exclusion?

New research from Bupa, in partnership with ParalympicsGB, has found that more than half (58%) of the UK’s population have experienced social exclusion in the last year - causing them to feel shut out when conducting daily activities (28%), at work (27%) and/or in society (24%).

This has also caused a deterioration in a third (30%) of individuals' mental health - presented through feelings of isolation (41%), sadness (41%) and anxiety (33%).

The percentage of social exclusion is significantly higher for women and individuals with disabilities - nearly three-quarters (72%) of disabled people experience exclusion, with almost half (43%) suffering from loneliness and nearly two-thirds (61%) of women report feeling isolated.

Bupa and ParalympicsGB suggest this rise in social exclusion is due to a twenty-one percent decrease in team activities over the past three years - currently, almost half (44%) of the UK’s population aren’t involved in any social, professional, community or interests-based support networks. 

Individuals who do invest time in team-based activities are reportedly nearly a quarter (17%) more likely to experience good mental health. People with disabilities are three times (33%) more likely to experience good mental health, and more than three-quarters (80%) say they are happier.

Dr. Naomi Humber, Head of Mental Wellbeing at Bupa, explains that joining a group or team provides a sense of belonging by promoting social connections and helps to motivate individuals’ overall health and wellbeing.

Sources: HR Review and Health & Protection.