Employee Well-Being Is Back to Pre-Covid Lows
A Johns Hopkins study finds that worker wellness, which spiked through remote work flexibility in 2020, has deflated again.
By Annabel Burba, Editorial fellow
As the Covid pandemic has eased, more and more companies have pushed for a return to the office--and according to one study, that's caused a big dip in employee wellness.
Despite the pandemic, an index of U.S. worker wellness hit 4.21 in 2020, up from 4.10 in 2019, because of the flexibility employees felt they gained from remote work, according to a study by the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and workplace culture platform Great Place to Work. The index has now dropped back down to 4.11, and the study authors say it's due to recent RTO pushes.
The pandemic forced corporate leadership to "make people a priority," per the study. But the authors say that mindset has not persisted in all workplaces.
"As workplaces transitioned back to pre-pandemic norms and more employees return[ed] to physical office spaces, the overall climate of well-being often regressed," a Johns Hopkins press release said.
Using more than 1.5 million survey responses from 2,500 organizations in the U.S., the study's authors defined workforce wellness as the amalgamation of five factors: mental and emotional support, sense of purpose, personal support, financial health, and meaningful connections.
The study also found that female employees, Black employees, and Gen-Z employees all report lower levels of well-being than their older White male colleagues.
This highlights "the ongoing need for organizations to address equity, inclusion, and belonging for all employees," according to the report, a topic which has recently come under attack at several organizations--including Lowe's and John Deere--despite the fact that 60 percent of Americans support DEI programs.
Another disparity the survey discovered: Higher-ups report significantly higher wellness levels than their employees, meaning they may risk becoming "out of touch" decision-makers.
"The Covid pandemic heightened employers' awareness of the importance of well-being, and many of the best organizations worked to create a positive work climate," Michelle Barton, a co-author of the study, said in the press release. "The challenge now will be to integrate those practices into everyday work life, rather than simply as a crisis response."
Photo Credit: Getty Images.