What is employee wellbeing? It may be hard to define, or at least subject to a variety of definitions, but it's apparently something that HR professionals say they care about.
A new survey by Virgin Pulse, a branch of the Richard Branson's Virgin empire that focuses on workplace habits, finds that 60 percent of HR professionals say they are implementing worker wellbeing programs to boost employee engagement (60 percent), productivity (53 percent) and organizational culture (53 percent).
Nearly all (97 percent) of the 1,000 HR professionals surveyed said that wellbeing initiatives can positively impact those three business objectives.
Recommended For You
Virgin Pulse declares that wellbeing "is no longer being seen as strictly an HR initiative, but rather a business imperative." That means executives are less focused on wellness initiatives geared toward lowering health costs, but rather ways, including traditional wellness programs, aimed at helping employees bond with colleagues and get enthusiastic about their work.
Nearly 40 percent of HR professionals from large companies reported that their firms had increased their wellbeing budget in the past year, compared to 28 percent of those from small companies.
"In today's fast-paced, technology-driven world, employees are being asked to do more at work while balancing personal priorities and responsibilities. We know these competing demands can affect engagement and culture within organizations," said Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin Pulse. "By focusing on well-being as a way to create and motivate productive, thriving workforces, leading employers will see the return on their investment in ways that meaningfully impact their business in 2016 and beyond."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
