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In its recent report, The Next Frontier for Employee Well-Being, The Conference Board found that most U.S. and European employees expect their employer to invest in their well-being. Chief human resources officers (CHROs) have come through by pouring resources into various programs.
At the same time, organizations hoped well-being initiatives would help build corporate culture, foster engagement and boost retention in a tight talent marketplace. Another Conference Board study, the 2025 C-Suite Outlook, found attracting and retaining talent remains a top priority for CEOs and CHROs. Of course, leaders also hope to get ROI through higher productivity from those happy workers.
Yet despite organizations’ commitment and efforts, employees report the well-being needle isn’t moving much.
Well-Being Is Stagnating, In Spite of Investments
“We started on this research journey in December 2023, and what we found is that billions of dollars is being spent on well-being programs, yet despite all the money, resources and focus being spent on this, well-being has stagnated,” said organizational psychologist Rita Meyerson, a principal researcher at The Conference Board and adjunct professor at Columbia University.
“One big data point, we had 82% of employees saying that their organization is committed to their well-being, and 80% in Europe,” Meyerson added. “But we found that 62% of U.S. employees and 70% of European employees reported their well-being being the same or worse than it was six months ago.”
On a positive note, the researchers found that 87% of U.S. employees and 80% of European ones believe that their immediate supervisor genuinely cares about their well-being. And 85% of U.S. employees and 84% of European ones reported that well-being is being addressed in organizational communications.
A majority of US employees (84%) and European ones (90%) see their organization as being at least partly responsible for their well-being. And Gen Z — which is projected to be 31% of the popular workforce by the end of 2025, Meyerson noted — expect their employers to put their well-being front and center.
No Common Definition of Well-Being
Will HR leaders continue believing the business case around well-being and convince the C-suite to renew its commitment to embed it within their strategy, or will programs taper off? Addressing this challenge starts by understanding why things are stagnating, said Mary Slaughter, founder of MFS Consulting in Atlanta.
“There are assumptions about where productivity does or doesn’t happen, and who’s responsible for well-being. The whole return-to-office thing has become so adversarial, and that’s coloring everything,” said Slaughter.
“People figured out how to be productive when they had more autonomy and agency in their lives; they could balance what was needed at work with what was needed at home. And so, it may be that corporations are defining well-being as one thing, and the employee is defining it a different way.”
Slaughter noted that employees view well-being as part of a holistic mindset. With multiple generations in the workforce — more than ever before — there are many differing opinions.
“I don’t think business schools have necessarily caught up with teaching people what they really need to understand about managing human capital and the expectations for well-being,” Slaughter said. “The people in senior roles making these decisions were in business school 25 or 30 years ago, and what they were taught then about managing and leading, probably didn’t even include well-being.”
In today’s talent market, there’s not much point having a well-being program if you’re not going to integrate it beyond HR and into the organization’s overall culture.
“Proclaiming you have a program, and putting up posters around the office is not enough. Neither is, 'Download a gift card when you’ve given five recognitions to somebody else.' These mechanisms don’t make people actually feel like they belong; they’re just working a system to get a gift card. That’s not well-being,” Slaughter said.
Beyond Well-Being Programs Toward Real Change
Battling uncertainty while encouraging belonging is the type of two-pronged approach that helps organizations incorporate well-being with the drive to succeed, Slaughter said.
“If people feel disrupted and threatened from not knowing what’s coming next, who’s going to make a decision, or if they’ll still have a job, it just gets pretty raw for people pretty fast, independent of anything the corporation itself does around programs and platforms,” she said.
Slaughter suggested leaders communicate more effectively to foster that certainty — which then helps workers’ overall .
“When decisions are being made, tell people the timelines, who’s going to be involved in the decision-making, and what the criteria will be for making that decision. Even if you don’t tell them the exact outcome, tell them how the work will happen,” suggested Slaughter.
Treat “belonging” as an emotional state by implementing one of the predominant skillsets in the research, “perspective-taking”: Asking people what they think and how they feel.
“That causes people to feel they matter. The more leaders do this, the more people feel their voice is being heard and included in policy decisions and program development,” said Slaughter. “That’s what you’re ultimately going to work for — a sense of belonging, that you’re better off here than someplace else. How companies treat people is part of the formula, and not just numbers.”
A Framework to Integrate Well-Being Into Company Culture
Meyerson pointed to research showing major changes in social structures over the past two decades, and why organizations must provide a sense of community to employees.
“In the old days, there was a fine line: you had your work persona and your home persona, and it didn’t meld, and now, managers and people leaders need to understand that the line between work and home is completely blurred,” said Meyerson.
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“Before employees even start their workday, they’re managing parents, children, pets. So, to have the most productive team, you need to understand that the whole person is coming to work, and you might have to address that.”
Meyerson cited the work of Harvard management professor Amy Edmondson around creating psychological safety and a learning organization as a good strategic framework to integrate well-being into company culture while promoting efficiency.
“To continuously learn, innovate, be creative and productive, you need to create trust and psychological safety within your team. Leaders must make sure the employee feels supported, both at work and outside of work,” said Meyerson. "For people to bring their best selves day in and day out, the whole person needs to be acknowledged, and it needs to be authentic. This is not a performative checkbox.”
When properly embedded and measured, well-being concepts are good for employees and for business. Meyerson insisted the only way to change behavior is to clearly communicate it, set it as a goal and then reward that behavior.
“It’s not only what leaders do, but it’s how they do it,” Meyerson said. "Someone who’s a great cultivator of talent has a rare skill. But just because you’re an outstanding individual contributor does not mean you’re going to be a great leader. You can learn, but it must be a priority within your culture."
Editor's Note: Read more about well-being in the workplace:
- Workplace Well-Being Efforts Are a Band-Aid, Not a Cure — New research shows well-being programs fail more often than not. Why? Organizations are addressing symptoms, not root causes.
- 7 Employee Wellness Apps to Support Workforce Mental Health — Technology has been a boon to hybrid and remote workers. But there is a downside: the lack of in-person interaction can be detrimental to employee wellness.
- Thriving From Work, Not Thriving at Work — Wouldn’t it be amazing if we all could say our work causes us to thrive?
