Measuring employee wellbeing is important for workplace mental health. It shows important data such as absenteeism, sick days, productivity, retention, as well as employee feedback to gauge the wellbeing of employees at your company. Given that multiple people analytics tools are now available, organisations can take mental health initiatives a step further by conducting employee wellbeing surveys. 

Most workplace mental health practices tend to focus on two core areas: implementing wellbeing initiatives and evaluating their benefits. However, this article will present arguments for why understanding employee wellbeing requires much more than that. It will also include 6 key questions that should be included when measuring employee wellbeing in the workplace. 

What is employee wellbeing?

Wellbeing includes both mental and physical health, as well as more complex things such as satisfaction and engagement levels in the workplace. High levels of employee wellbeing allow workplace stress to be handled better and with more resilience. A team of employees who are emotionally balanced is more creative, eager to apply problem-solving strategies, and more forward-thinking. 

It is crucial to understand that employee wellbeing and employee mental health are not the same. While they are very often highly correlated, there are important distinctions. An employee can have good mental health but low wellbeing in the workplace. Even if they do not display any signs of mental illness, they can still experience high levels of stress and dissatisfaction in the workplace. Because of that, they will not be able to meet the company’s goals or continue working for their employer for a long time.  

Components of employee wellbeing

It should also be noted that employee wellbeing has distinct components that determine how happy someone will be in the workplace. Wellbeing is not only about someone’s state of mind — it is also about their social life satisfaction, their financial security, or physical health. For this reason, an employee wellbeing survey should address wider areas of the employee experience. Moreover, it should also encompass questions about the quality of their workplace culture, their experience with the managerial team, and the initiatives taken to improve employee mental health. 

According to industry leaders on the topic, there are six pillars of employee wellbeing that should be assessed regularly:

1. Job security
2. Financial security
3. Health
4. Support
5. Protection
6. Work/life balance

Whenever one of these areas is affected, employee wellbeing is also compromised. For example, an employee wellbeing survey found that 16.1% of employees felt as though they had poor job security and 14.9% had considered leaving their job over their sense of job security. 

Therefore, if as an employer you want to know exactly which areas of employee wellbeing you must immediately address in your company, conducting a survey might give you the insights you need. Here are some questions you can include to gauge your employee’s wellbeing in their job:

1. Do you feel our work culture supports employee wellbeing? 

No matter how strong your wellbeing initiatives are and how many resources a company is willing to put towards it, your wellbeing efforts will fall flat if the culture doesn’t support them. Asking questions about company culture and its impact on employee mental health will help you spot weak areas you weren’t aware of. Perhaps you think that your work culture is healthy and supportive — but your employees will feel different about it. 

      2. Do you think employees in this organisation have access to social opportunities? 

If you value mental health but do not encourage social activities, your approach might be incomplete. It is widely recognised that feeling connected at work improves resilience, reduces stress, and improves overall wellbeing. Employees need to feel they have enough opportunities to socialise and network with other people outside their usual work routine. 

       3. Do you get enough time to exercise and destress? Is your general state of physical health improving or at least not deteriorating? 

This is another good question to include in your employee wellbeing survey. Physical health is closely linked to mental health, so if your employees’ health is particularly thriving or deteriorating, this can say a lot about their stress levels. Allow employees to use the state of their physical health as a good indicator of their wellbeing in the workplace. 

       4. How secure do you feel your job is? Are finances a source of stress for you? 

Financial wellbeing impacts wellbeing and mental health. Job insecurity can bring high stress levels, anxiety, and even cause employees to perform worse in the workplace. Ensure that you always measure financial stress and job security in relation to employee wellness — they are always related to each other. 

       5. Do you have access to adequate emotional support? Does your company encourage or provide counselling?

Many organisations have started facilitating access to a form of mental health support in the last few years. However, if you aren’t already doing this, make sure that your employees have someone to talk to when dealing with stress in their lives. 

       6. Do you feel satisfied with your job role and feel that you have sufficient work-life balance? 

Many employees need to find a work-life balance, especially if they’re still in school or have children and dependents. It’s not always easy to find a work-life balance, so companies need to help employees maintain it. Employee wellbeing questionnaires are one of the best ways for management to do that. The workplace wellbeing questionnaire will provide management with the data they need to improve employees’ lives. 

Surveys and workplace mental health

Being aware of your employees’ mental health is essential. This is why, at SupportRoom, we help you measure patterns in your staff’s mental wellbeing. We have efficient data analytics that can help better understand what’s going on in your workplace, so you can implement the right strategy. Find out more information by getting in touch with us.