Many companies around the world are clear that employee health is a top priority in the quest to attract and retain employees.
As published by Harvard Business Review, Great business leaders know that the success of a company or organization is tied to the presence, engagement and productivity of employees, and have taken great strides to support the well-being of their employees.
It exemplifies that the 2021 Employee Health Benefits Survey from Kaiser Family Foundation found that 83% of large companies offer health and wellness programs to their employees, which can play a vital role in keeping people healthy, and efforts to support them are commendable.
However, these programs alone do not address an important link between wellness and diversity, equity and inclusion. Numerous research studies have documented the importance of these issues for business.
Organizations with diverse workforces enjoy increased financial performance, innovation and creativity, and decreased attrition and related costs. But efforts to address diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace are generally disconnected from those aimed at supporting employee health and well-being.
How to do it?
For meaningful change in employees' lives, business leaders must address employees' total well-being, including their physical, mental, emotional and financial health; work-life balance; and social equity. In other words, wellness is a core strategy to ensure that employees can best contribute to navigating the challenges that affect how they live, work and interact with others.
Harvard Business Review indicates that, by not addressing the intersectionality of diversity, equity and inclusion and wellness, employees are substantially harmed.
To enact meaningful change in the lives of employees, it is critical that business leaders address the total well-being of employees, including their physical, mental, emotional and financial health; work-life balance; and social equity.
Simply put, wellness is a core strategy to ensure that employees can contribute to the best of their ability as they navigate the myriad of challenges that affect how they live, work, and relate to others. Failing to address the intersectionality of DEI and wellness substantially harms employees.
