It turns out that is' not just employees who are struggling at work, it's executive-level business leaders as well. This came to light in a Deloitte survey, released on June 22, which was done in collaboration with independent research firm Workplace Intelligence. The survey explores the C-suite’s role in organizational well-being and examines how an overall poor state of health is affecting retention for workers and executives alike.
The report discovered that 57% of employees and nearly 70% of the C-suite said they are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being.
Despite this mutual struggle, the C-suite largely doesn’t recognize that workers are struggling with their well-being, and this disconnect has the potential to further feed into The Great Resignation if leaders don’t do more to understand the needs of their workers and demonstrate that they truly care about their holistic well-being.
Key findings from the report include:
- People’s jobs are harming their well-being, and many say they will eventually quit as a result. Significantly, 63% of employees and 73% of the C-suite report that their job doesn’t allow them to take time off from work and disconnect. Results also show that for 68% of employees and 81% of the C-suite, improving their well-being is more important to them than advancing their career right now.
- The pandemic has worsened everyone’s health, but executives don’t realize how much their employees are struggling — Around 1 in 3 workers and executives “always” or “often” feel exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed, lonely, or depressed. Despite this, only around half of employees and two-thirds of the C-suite report that they use all their vacation time, take breaks during the day, get enough sleep, and have enough time for friends and family.
- Despite their own struggles with well-being, executives are significantly overestimating how well their employees are doing and how supported they feel by their leaders. For example, only 65% of employees rate their physical health as “excellent” or “good,” but 89% of executives believe their workers are thriving. Just 56% of employees think their company’s executives care about their well-being, but 91% of the C-suite see themselves as caring leaders.
- The C-suite must take greater ownership and action around matters of health. A whopping 95% of the C-suite agree that they should be responsible for employees’ well-being, but at current, these sentiments aren’t translating into action — 68% admit that they’re not doing enough to safeguard employee and stakeholder health. And because just 31% of employees feel that their leaders are health-savvy, it’s evident that they also believe leaders should be taking greater initiative when it comes to matters of health.
“While it’s promising that so many executives feel they should be responsible for employee well-being, many also feel that they aren’t taking enough action,” said Jen Fisher, Deloitte’s U.S. chief well-being officer, said in a statement. “It’s time for the C-suite to become more health-savvy by embracing the expanding focus on well-being in their role. This critical shift will not only benefit their own well-being and the well-being of their people, but also the long-term success of their organizations.”
What do companies need to do? “To make well-being a reality, leaders need to first look at redesigning the work in their organization,” said Steve Hatfield, Deloitte’s Global Future of Work leader, in a statement “By integrating well-being into the design of work itself, organizations can strengthen the link between employee well-being and organizational performance.”