Employee well-being broadly covers the health and comfort of employees throughout all aspects of their job, such as physical, mental health, emotional, economic job satisfaction, and work-life balance which are influenced by factors such as organization policies, workplace culture, leadership focus on employee wellbeing, peer relationships, tools and resources accessible to employees, salary and workplace safety.
It is not a surprise in the post-COVID era that employee wellbeing is being focussed on because it creates a positive company culture, boosts productivity, collaboration, problem-solving and innovation. Employee wellbeing is a sine qua non for a healthy work environment. Organisations that promote well-being maintain a positive and productive work environment thus leading to better business and financial outcomes.
Over time and after many years of going in circles around employee wellbeing, in the last 3-4 years most global and Indian organizations are moving away from a reactive mindset around well-being.
A reactive mindset focuses on cost of employee insurance or preventing absenteeism that impacts productivity. Instead, a proactive one aims genuine efforts towards building a healthy workforce thus optimizing employee experience.
In the dynamic landscape of the modern workplace, technology has emerged as a driving force that solves the traditional employee problems of well-being and productivity.
Currently, technology is an indispensable tool for enhancing employee well-being and productivity as organizations are using multiple automated tools to promote physical & mental wellness, flexible working hours, and remote work.
Technology also enables employees to perform their roles better, making several organizations adopt multiple technological solutions to improve performance in their roles.
Organisations that leverage technology intelligently can positively improve employee well-being and productivity.
Some new age technology examples are as follows:
- Collaboration Tools such as Microsoft Teams or Slack facilitate seamless communication at individual and team levels by breaking down silos and enhancing teamwork. Collaboration and communication tools are beneficial for fostering teamwork and reducing isolation. Employees are using agile apps for project management, prioritise tasks, set deadlines, and remain focused. Embracing these technologies can create a work environment that prioritises both the physical and mental health of employees.
- Cloud computing enables employees to upload and access information from anywhere on the internet (for example: Microsoft 360 platform). This technology has ensured that resources are always available for access across multiple devises thus streamlining workflow and enhancing productivity.
- Artificial Intelligence-powered tools save time and improve accuracy including use of AI in programming and software testing, marketing: proofreading, or copywriting. Web applications like Grammarly and QuillBot are used to proofread written work. ChatGPT is increasingly used to find relevant and focused content across the web for all areas of work.
- The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of connected devices that can communicate with each other and exchange data. IoT devices can monitor technology devises and alert the organization or user in case of a problem in advance thus reducing downtown congestion and increasing productivity.
Use of Technology Solutions in Employee Wellbeing:
To holistically enhance employee wellbeing, organizations are responding to increased employee burnout and decreased productivity by expanding well-being programs.
Technology players in the wellbeing space build platforms with components of employee well-being solutions on web devises, mobile apps, or wearable devices that can both monitor and enhance health at the click of a button.
Additionally, there are dashboards to track status, on-demand motivational and instructional content, organized events, communities, and social networking along with gamification services (such as leaderboards and challenges).
More recently, we have seen technology and service providers attempting to cover not just one or two but multiple aspects of wellbeing like physical, mental/emotional, financial, community, or even legal.
Is technology helping or hurting employee well-being? And how can we solve it?
The convenience of technology can inadvertently blur the boundaries between work and personal life, leading to employee burnout, especially with emerging hybrid or work-from-anywhere or anytime practices.
Much of the modern corporate work is built around unstructured, unscheduled collaboration view multiple formal and informal collaboration tools. Despite the high cost of interruptions and distraction, both are constant realities of corporate workers’ lives.
Cal Newport, Georgetown professor and author of “A World Without Email” (2021) calls this style of working the “hyperactive hive mind.”
As per Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trend Index, the average Teams user initiated 45% more chats per week and 42% more chats per person after hours (Source: Gartner Report). Half of users were replying to pings on Teams within five minutes – despite the meeting and chat overload they were experiencing.
This “cycle of responsiveness,” in the words of Harvard Business School professor Leslie Perlow, is vicious; as demand increases and “the conscientious employee in us” is inclined to keep up, “our expectations of each other (and ourselves) continue to rise.”
85% of nearly 3,700 employees surveyed by Gartner said they were experiencing more burnout than they did before the pandemic. High levels of techno-stress or fatigue hurt individual performance, discretionary effort, collaboration, and work innovation.
The same can be counterproductive for organizations as it directly impacts the intent to stay in a job for employees thus resulting in high turnover and employee replacement cost.
Organisations that have solved this puzzle have been known to establish robust Hybrid work policies that encourage employees to take breaks and disconnect after work hours.
Employees can experience burnout due to constant connectivity; these organizations promote the belief that Technology should support, not hinder, a healthy work-life balance and therefore in workplace or IT policies, organization culture and leadership behaviour support overall employee wellbeing, thus leveraging technology for the benefit of the individual, the organization and community at large.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the impact of technology on employee well-being is a nuanced topic with multiple positive aspects along with opportunity areas that cannot be overlooked. The proof of the pudding lies in creating an environment where employees feel valued and supported thus leading to enhanced well-being.
A culture of Positivity and Psychological Safety can increase self-satisfaction, and gratitude towards the company ecosystem, enhance mood, and improve levels of optimism and thus retention.
Developing social and networking relations around Job Function, Skills or Employee Impact Groups (EIGs) leads to better communication, more empathy, stronger interpersonal relationships, greater team involvement, and likability.
When employees feel valued by their employer, 85% say they take more initiative, 73% say they are better collaborators, and nearly half care more about their work.
Prioritising Employee Wellbeing needs focussed and organic efforts by the organization. It ought to be a priority that needs to resonate not just in policies and employee communication but speak through the culture and leadership behaviours equally.
As long as organizations continue to understand important benefits for the individual and the organization, employee well-being would be on top priority list for HR and Technology leaders.
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