Prioritizing employees’ well-beings in the workplace should, one would hope, be a top focus. Creating safe, healthy, and professionally supportive environments can lead to a whole cornucopia of benefits for the employees and the organizations alike. Studies cite jumps in productivity and reduced absenteeism and turnover rates, as well as the ever-significant states of team members’ mental and emotional health.
In these veins, a recent 2023 Global Workplace Study and its results were released by Targus, a provider of PC, mobile, and backpack accessories. The study examined the predominant factors, tools and trends deemed most important for the quantifiable improvements of employees’ well-beings.
The Targus study surveyed senior-level business decision-makers and workers across North American and European businesses. Amongst these groups, three workplace well-being priorities shone the brightest: 40% voted for cost-of-living support, 43% voted for genuine recognition, and 47% voted for flexible working conditions. And to boot, another standout stat showed that (of the decision-maker group), a whopping 88% of them agreed that flexible work opportunities impacted existing employees’ and new hires’ engagement levels greatly.
Looking more closely at the North American respondents:
- 58% stated they don’t work in an on-prem office full-time; 51% only work on-prem between two and four days per workweek
- 80% believe that having the right tools empowers work-from-anywhere lifestyles (which is certainly noteworthy, given not all businesses supply all the necessary accessories)
- 62% said they’d happily contribute for more sustainable remote-work products in order to keep working remotely
“Since most of us spend more time at work than we do with our family and friends,” said Andrew Corkill, Vice President of Global Marketing and eCommerce at Targus, “it ‘s vital to understand how to make work more purposeful. Our study helps answer purpose-oriented questions by exploring employee well-being themes like preferences for the standard workweek, engagement incentivization, productivity, and sustainable living.”
Outside of the study from Targus, additional well-being musts that people point to include mental health training and resources, real ways to mitigate stresses and prevent burnout, health screenings and ergonomic workstation options, and the reiteration of can’t-forget values: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I).
To close this, I personally attended Future of Work Expo 2023 (held in Fort Lauderdale, FL) and attended a session titled “Navigating the Future of Work: Successfully Managing Hybrid Workforces” where these well-being topics (especially related to changing workforce landscapes) were covered. If interested, that article can be found here.
The full Targus 2023 Global Workplace Study is available, as well.
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
