Indeed: Employees can thrive – but 23% aren’t reaching their full potential due to poor wellbeing

Employees have an optimistic view of the workplace, with almost all (94%) of candidates in Indeed's new wellbeing report stating that they believe employees can be happy all the time at work.

This being said, employees also believe a job can provide more than just a pay packet (87%), with almost 9 in 10 (89%) expecting their employer to care about how they feel.

Employees’ wellbeing expectations are also higher than they were 12 months ago (49%), with Gen Z setting the highest expectations (66%), followed by Millennials (53%), Gen X (40%) and Baby Boomers (28%).

To gain a deeper insight into the state of wellbeing in the workplace, UNLEASH spoke exclusively to Indeed’s Senior Strategic Advisor, Matt Burney.

The three drivers of workplace stress

Workplace wellbeing is still a top priority for employees, with data showing that work (52%) is the main stressor for people, followed by economic and political changes (36%), family (31%), healthy and safety (29%), and relationship stress (17%).

In fact, how satisfied employees feel at work can directly impact their mood at home, with 87% sharing that it affects their mood outside of working hours.

As a result, 46% report lower energy levels, 45% have trouble sleeping, 44% have physical health issues, and 40% have noticed a decrease in their mental health.

As a result, employees aren’t ‘thriving’ at work. In fact, on average only 23% are, meaning 77% are falling short.

Across the globe, this is the same for individual countries with Canada (20%) having the lowest satisfaction rate, followed by Germany (21%), the UK (23%), Australia (25%), France (25%), the US (26%), and the Netherlands (35%).

“The findings show a clear imbalance between what people believe is possible at work and how they’re actually feeling day-to-day,” Burney tells UNLEASH.

Most employees still see happiness at work as achievable, but too few are actually experiencing it. That gap matters, because when wellbeing drops, stress and turnover rise, and productivity and a sense of purpose fall.”Most employees still see happiness at work as achievable, but too few are actually experiencing it. That gap matters, because when wellbeing drops, stress and turnover rise, and productivity and a sense of purpose fall.”

What’s more, the report highlights three key areas that drive wellbeing:

• Being energized by work
• A sense of belonging
• Achieving goals at work

These three aspects represent a clear barrier to achieving workplace wellbeing, as almost half of those surveyed report not feeling energized, a sense of belonging, or trust in their colleagues.

Burney adds: “The good news is that wellbeing can be measured, and taking action on the top three drivers – energy, belonging, and achievement – makes a real difference.

“The challenge now is for leaders to move wellbeing from something they talk about to something they actively build into how their teams work.”

The positive impacts of a workplace with a thriving cultural wellbeing doesn’t just improve individual employees' performance – it can also be used to attract new talent, as 95% of candidates want wellbeing metrics.

In fact, more candidates are using Glassdoor or Indeed (48%), former employers (42%), company websites (42%), LinkedIn (35%), social media (32%), or apps (5%) to gain a deeper understanding of the wellbeing cultures of future employers.

Although workplace wellbeing is the responsibility of the individual (36%), the business they work for also plays a vital role (64%).

Broken down, this falls on direct managers (23%), executives (15%), HR (13%) and the CEO (10%).

So as two thirds of responsibility is placed on employers - what is your organization doing to boost wellbeing?