How the rise of chief well-being officers is reshaping corporate success
Ever since the pandemic, ‘organisational well-being’ has gone from a quirky idea that many thought was a bit of fluff, to a business imperative. Now more than ever, companies are seeing the value in having a coherent employee wellness strategy.
According to recent study conducted by Ipsos, more than 70% of employees are a lot more likely to stay at an organisation that tracks and measures employee well-being. This shows a strong link between employee well-being and job performance, engagement and retention.
Unfortunately, only 1 in 5 employers is very active in managing and preventing employee stress, while 33% of employees feel like support is only there when they request it.
The growing link between employee well-being and business performance has spawned the creation of a new position in a company’s organisational structure: the chief well-being officer (CWO).
Where does the CWO come from?
The CWO position backs up an organisation’s corporate value proposition to care for its people. We know that when people feel supported, and they feel like they belong and their employer cares about them as a person, productivity and engagement increase. People are more creative, willing to take risks, and have higher levels of psychological safety when they feel connected and engaged at work.
According to the World Economic Forum, the role of a CWO first made its debut in the early 2010s, but during the pandemic, the role began to make its mark on the public consciousness.
YuLife’s mission to craft an insurance offering that helps employees and organisations live their best lives aligns closely with that of the responsibilities of a CWO.
Why CWOs make companies better
It has become increasingly apparent that organisations that invest in their employee well-being do a much better job of retaining, attracting and motivating staff, which in turn leads to higher productivity. For example, research YuLife co-conducted with Forrester Consulting found that companies that actively invested and supported well-being in the workplace (for example, having a CWO) have seen up to 23% reduction in absenteeism and 5% increase in productivity and better retention.
YuLife’s own research has shown that companies that focus on well-being not only perform better but also see a return on investment of as much as 181% through reduced absenteeism and increased productivity.
Hiring a CWO allows businesses to take a more comprehensive approach to employee well-being by addressing financial, physical, mental and emotional health, and cultivates a workplace where employees don’t just survive but thrive.
Even if having a dedicated CWO does not fit an organisation’s current objective, companies should still encourage their leadership teams to integrate well-being into their business strategies and make it a priority to ensure productivity, engagement, lower resignation and overall happiness of staff.
The rise of the CWO shows that, in some ways, the world is changing for the better. Gone are the days when being a high performer meant burning yourself out or sacrificing your well-being. Having a CWO in the C-Suite is a positive step toward building workplaces that prioritise their most valuable asset – their people – while still pursuing profitability.
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