Introduction 

In today’s rapidly evolving work environment, employee health and well-being are no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have for businesses that aim to succeed. A recent study conducted by McKinsey reveals that lower employee well-being is associated with higher rates of disengagement and attrition. This, in turn, could result in a median-sized S&P company experiencing annual losses in productivity ranging from $228 million to $355 million. According to Gartner’s recent research, only 31% of Employees Report They Are Engaged, Enthusiastic and Energized by Their Work. At the same time, HR departments are becoming increasingly data-driven.  

This brings us to a critical intersection: How can People Analytics be utilised to track, improve, and maintain employee mental health and overall well-being?  

The Urgency of the Matter 

The importance of prioritizing employee health and well-being has become even more critical in a world that has moved past the pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 25% rise in the global prevalence of anxiety and depression, underscoring the heightened urgency. This is further supported by financial indicators, as indicated in McKinsey’s recent report, which demonstrates that companies boasting strong employee well-being outperform the market by a factor of 2.8x. Consequently, the focus has shifted beyond mere human resources concerns; it now centres on delivering tangible business value.  

Key Measures to Track 

So, what should you assess? Beyond the typical productivity and engagement Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), here are some recommendations: 

• Conduct a psychological risk assessment to evaluate employees’ exposure to psychosocial hazards and identify and address psychosocial risks in the workplace. 
• Keep an eye on absenteeism and presenteeism rates.  
• Track workplace injury and illness including Lost Time Injury Rate’s (LTIR), to evaluate workplace safety and its impact on employee well-being and performance.  
• Collect quantitative and qualitative input through Employee Climate/Engagement Surveys, focusing on factors such as perceived stress levels, workload, job satisfaction, flexibility, work-life balance/conflict, energy management, and available support. This helps in monitoring and nurturing a positive and supportive organizational climate and culture. But note these surveys are distinct and NOT the same as psychological risk assessments! 
• Examine employee turnover and retention, complemented by insights from exit surveys and interviews.  

Leveraging Predictive Analytics  

With the power of predictive analytics for good, you can proactively tackle issues before they escalate and provide more personalised and targeted insights and interventions as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach. For example, analysing trends in these metrics can help forecast potential burnout risks, identify potential vulnerable groups, or show likelihood/risk of people leaving the organisation over the next 6-12 month’s to enable better support and early intervention.  

Insights from McKinsey’s recent paper on re-framing employee health 

McKinsey has recently published a paper following their health institute survey across 30 countries where they propose reframing employee health, by moving beyond burnout to positive holistic health. The paper indicates that fostering holistic health in employees not only improves their overall quality of life but also significantly impacts economic factors. It is noted that improving employee well-being could add substantial value to national GDPs and reduce costs associated with lost productivity due to employee disengagement and attrition.  

The study explored the relationship between workplace demands (factors requiring cognitive, physical, or emotional effort) and enablers (aspects that provide positive energy and offset job demands) in influencing employee health. The findings revealed that workplace enablers, like meaningful work and psychological safety, are more influential in determining an employee’s holistic health compared to demands. Additionally, the research suggests that demands are more predictive of negative outcomes like burnout. This re-framing of employee health moves away from traditional approaches of viewing ill-health as a business cost to viewing good health as a business benefit.  

Real-world Examples 

GSK’s adaption of the Williams (1994) Pressure vs Performance Curve (see image below) comes to mind as a useful toolkit to self-assess and measure where people are and ensure they are not rusting or burning out.