Work needed to narrow wellbeing provision ‘perception gap’, says British Safety Council

British Safety Council worked with YouGov to survey the views of 4,017 employees and employers.

While six in ten (60 per cent) employers said workplace wellbeing is either ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to their organisation, they were also more likely to describe their wellbeing strategy as being ‘embedded’ then their employees.

Just over a quarter (27 per cent) compared with just 20 per cent of employees said wellbeing was embedded in their organisation, while employees are more likely to say there is no strategy at all (21 per cent compared with 16 per cent of employers).

A perception gap also existed between employees and employers’ when it came to some provision of wellbeing support. For example, while 49 per cent of employers say they offer flexible or remote working just 40 per cent of employees say it is available to them. And on burnout prevention, while 26 per cent of employers report providing support, just 14 per cent of employee say they have it.

The survey found significant differences between how employees and employers perceive not only what support is on offer but also the maturity of that provision. Photograph: iStock

Commenting on the ‘Keep Thriving: Future of Workplace Wellbeing’ survey findings, Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of British Safety Council said: “We know that when done well, supporting people’s wellbeing at work not only helps them thrive and cope with change it also leads to a happier, more motivated and more productive workforce. But as we have also found, some significant differences exist between how employees and employers perceive not only what support is on offer but also the maturity of that provision.”

He continued: “The big message coming through these survey findings is the need for clear communication between employers and their staff, to close the gap between perceptions in the levels and types of support and ensure that wellbeing strategies work for everyone. In meeting the real wellbeing needs of our employees, we will be better able to deal with challenges we face now and in the future through wider economic and technological change.”

The survey also showed that when wellbeing strategies are more embedded and mature, levels of wellbeing are also higher.

For example, close to half (47 per cent) described their wellbeing in work as ‘moderate’, with over a third rating it high or very high (36 per cent combined), and just one in five reported their wellbeing at work to be low or very low (18 per cent combined).

Where strategies were said by employees to be more ‘embedded’ and mature, employees reported even higher wellbeing. In these cases, 8 per cent said it was very high and 61 per cent high.

Robinson added: “This makes it all the more important that we help organisations to develop effective, measurable wellbeing strategies which are fit for purpose for their workplace.”

The survey also showed a regional disparity, with the gap between employee and employer perceptions greater in some parts of the UK than others.

For instance, London saw the highest proportion of employees in the net ‘high’ category for levels of workplace wellbeing (42 per cent) and the lowest net low share (14 per cent), and it also had the highest proportion of employers reporting mature workplace wellbeing strategies, which was also in line with employees’ views.

In the North East however, while employers still mainly reported having either ‘operational’ or ‘embedded’ wellbeing strategies and also placed a high importance on wellbeing, employees rated workplace wellbeing strategies lower and reported the highest share of net low wellbeing (27 per cent) and one of the lowest net high scores (27 per cent).

There was more agreement between employees and employers when asked what policy changes or interventions would make the biggest difference to improving workplace wellbeing.

Legally binding obligations such as minimum leave or workload limits came top for both employers (29 per cent) and employees (40 per cent) and a legal duty to assess risks to wellbeing also received significant support (23 per cent of employers, compared with 28 per cent of employees), while voluntary certification or accreditation scored lower (15 per cent of employers versus 12 per cent of employees).

Mike Robinson continued to say: “While this research does not identify one single way forward, it does show that both employers and employees would welcome more clarity, direction and support from policymakers and regulators, possibly even legally binding obligations or better incentives and support.”

The data was collected from 2,009 employers and 2,008 employees spanning all sectors of the economy and from all nations and regions of Great Britain.

To download the survey report, click here: Keep Thriving: Future of Workplace Wellbeing | British Safety Council

To view the full data tables from YouGov, click on the links below:

• Employer data
• Employee data