In March 2023, Fika surveyed 202 workers in the US (working a minimum of 30 hours per week) to better understand current workplace wellbeing trends. 116 men, 85 women and a small number of people identifying as genderfluid, working across 23 industries, were recruited.
We have 2 key findings:
- The wellbeing of workers in the US is still cause for concern
There is no denying the impact that the pandemic had on US workers’ wellbeing. But our data shows that these impacts have continued.
37% of workers in the US are experiencing medium to high levels of exhaustion. And 38% are experiencing medium to high levels of disengagement.
This is not a surprise, as many workers are still not only coping with the long term effects of the pandemic, but are also adapting to changing working conditions and increasing financial pressures.
While these findings are cause for concern, we must also consider how they are also translating to staff retention, health and productivity.
More specifically, 33% of those surveyed reported thinking about quitting their jobs with some degree of regularity. And on average respondents reported working at 77% of their full potential.
- Many workplace wellbeing solutions aren’t having their desired reach or impact
Typically workplace wellbeing solutions are offered as optional health and wellbeing benefits (e.g. subscriptions to meditation apps, access to wellbeing web pages). Yet we found that 72% of workers in the US either weren’t aware of, or hadn’t used, the health and wellbeing benefits available to them.
Many organizations are challenged with the same problem. How are they going to get their employees to engage proactively with solutions to offset the risk of wellbeing decline?
Many existing wellbeing solutions out there simply aren’t working.
Workplace wellbeing has to start with work, not wellbeing
It’s our belief that optional wellbeing benefits will never be effective. Because typically the leading causes of wellbeing decline at work relate to how people work with their colleagues on a daily basis.
As a result, that’s where workplace wellbeing solutions need to begin with: work, not wellbeing.
