4 Workplace Wellness Trends to Watch in 2023

The global workforce experienced some big shake-ups in 2022, including the widely-discussed phenomena of ‘The Great Resignation’ and ‘Quiet Quitting’. Employees began the year with masking and distancing guidelines still in place, and many ended with navigating return-to-office mandates and newly formalized policies around hybrid work. It was a year of change, to be sure.

What has become abundantly clear a few weeks into 2023 is that employees expect wellness to be woven into their company’s business and leadership model – not just a quota-filling program or initiative. It has increasingly become an imperative – something employees are looking for and vetting prospective employers on.

Here are 4 wellness trends that companies are likely to prioritize in the coming year:

 

 

Mental Health & Wellbeing will Continue to be a Priority

Employee burnout continues across the worker spectrum, yet it appears Gen Z and millennial workers are experiencing burnout at some of the highest rates. According to a 2022 Deloitte survey of Gen Z and millennial workers, 46% of Gen Zs and 45% of millennials feel burned out due to the intensity/demands of their working environments.

The same survey found that one in four millennials and one in five Gen Zs do not believe that their employer takes burnout seriously, which indicates that many employers have yet to fully comprehend, let alone address, how burnout is impacting their business operations. This is an important issue for employers to focus on this year, with these two groups set to make up well over half of the workforce by 2025.

While mental health services and employee assistance programs should always be a first-line go-to in this regard, look to supplemental offerings like yoga, meditation, and nutrition classes to help employees stay in touch with the state of their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

Hybrid Work = Hybrid Wellness Program

Organizations will continue to refine their corporate wellness programming for the hybrid workforce. The fall of 2022 brought many organizations increased certainty about what sort of structure they would continue with, be it a full return to the office, or a more formalized hybrid work model.

Many companies have adopted or are in the process of adopting virtual/on-demand offerings paired with on-site offerings like massage, cooking demos and yoga/movement classes.

For on-site programming, choose days when most employees will be in the office, like anchor days (or the equivalent at your company).

Memberships to on-demand wellness platforms have become a popular virtual offering for their ease of access and cost effectiveness for companies. Choose a platform that offers a wide range of class and webinar categories to increase the chance of appealing to a broad range of employees.

Financial Wellness Guidance & Resources

Finances are a huge stressor for employees given the recent economic climate. Soaring inflation and news of recession/widespread layoffs have been stoking a sense of uncertainty for some time.

According to the 2022 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey, 76% of stressed employees say financial worries have had a negative impact on their productivity. 25% of them say the impact has been severe.

Employers can take a multipronged approach to reduce employee stress around finances by offering personalized financial support, as well as more generalized classes and webinars on common topics such as how to set a realistic budget, how to navigate major financial changes, and how to talk with their partner about money.

Employees often benefit from programming that takes a holistic approach by acknowledging the psychological and emotional components of financial matters that impact many employees’ relationship with money and, thus, hinder their ability to make positive change.

Workplace Wellbeing is a Responsibility Shared by All.

While the employee wellbeing burden has been shifted off the individual in recent years and into companies’ court has been in the spotlight in recent years, the reality is that it is a shared responsibility – it takes two. It is the job of employers and employees alike to actively work together to foster well-being-centered, psychologically safe workplaces with an underlying sense of community and care.

It is also a great practice to have a network of workplace wellbeing professionals you can call on. Bring in partners who specialize in holistic workplace wellness programming to provide support when and where it is needed most, and whose offerings are diverse enough that they can be adaptable to changing employee needs.

If your company is seeking to uplevel its commitment to employee wellbeing this year in any of the areas outlined above, contact us for a complimentary consultation.

 

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Urban Balance is the premier provider of comprehensive on-site corporate wellness services including massage in the Portland, Oregon metro area and offers virtual workplace wellness programming worldwide. We deliver livestream and on-demand classes, webinars, and special events to the workplace environment for happier employees and a healthier bottom line.

Browse our virtual wellness services catalog with offerings including yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Zumba, HIIT, Barre Sculpt, meditation, nutrition, learning opportunities, and more.

Discover the benefits of the Urban Balance on-demand video library, a workplace wellbeing solution with 350+ holistic wellness classes. Includes membership options for companies and individuals.