Gen Z are highlighting a shift in workplace expectations that businesses can no longer ignore, with loneliness, lack of support, and limited social interaction, affecting both employee wellbeing and business success.
Recent data from Bupa’s Healthcare Index revealed that almost a quarter of all employees feel lonely or socially isolated as a result of their work circumstances, but this is an issue that is even more prevalent for those 16-24 with more than a third (38%) feeling this way.
The Impact of Lack of Support
With a change in the working environment and expectations, this has been shown to most closely impact Gen Z with more than one in three (34%) 16–24-year-olds saying that they feel ‘unsupported’ and a fifth (21%) say that their workplace currently provides no support for mental health.
And it’s not just a lack of support: they want a workplace that offers more from a social perspective, so much so, 45% of Gen Zs are considering changing jobs that provide more social interactions. This presents a critical opportunity for businesses to rethink their employee engagement strategies, leveraging social connection and tailored support hubs as a tool for motivation and retention.
So, what can businesses do to counteract the lack of support and disconnect felt by the future generations of talent and business leaders?
It can be incredibly difficult to build an employee benefits package that suits everyone – what is valued by one area of the workforce, isn’t necessarily something that will interest, attract and retain others. Gen Z can often come under scrutiny by employers as much more difficult to please, and whilst it’s not universal, their expectations around working from home and working beyond contracted hours etc. are significantly different from a workforce that had much stricter rules and grew used to the pre-Covid norm.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, Gen Z are just putting more value on their health and setting more reasonable barriers between personal and professional life.
The Connection Between Wellbeing and Productivity
Once it is understood what matters to Gen Z, it becomes clear where companies are falling short and need to pay more attention. Since wellbeing is interconnected with motivation, engagement, productivity and commitment, improving one aspect will have a positive impact throughout.
What’s more, addressing such gaps is not just about employee satisfaction, through creating a positive companywide culture and tending to employee needs, overall business success such as quality of output and retention is also strengthened.
Increased movement is a highly effective investment, with 80% of workers claiming to be significantly more productive when they feel both physically and mentally well. However, it has been found that over a third of UK adults do not meet the recommendations set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) when it comes to physical activity.
By not addressing physical and mental wellbeing, companies risk their workforce becoming burnt out and may face a steady decline in productivity, engagement, and overall retention.
Our Experience in Improving Wellbeing
AT GoJoe, we tackle the challenges around movement by gamifying the experience, which creates up to a 400% boost in exercise levels and therefore has a significantly positive effect to motivation and other areas of wellbeing.
This repositions exercise as being team-wide; something that appeals to all fitness levels. Creating a platform where workers can play against each other not only leads to a 42% boost in health habits, it also builds social connections throughout the team, across the different generations.
To further incentivise employees to take part, users are rewarded. Giving people extrinsic motivation such as monetary vouchers on top of intrinsic motivation such as team and connection, leads to a 43% increase in exercise levels.
And this is all tied together via an AI-driven analytics platform which pulls all wearable, engagement, and health data together for a clear picture of organizational health and where challenges are cropping up.
Long-Term Benefits of a Wellbeing-Focused Approach
When businesses re-evaluate their approach to wellbeing, adapting their focus to align with the current workforce, they will see both immediate and long-term results, that ultimately deliver a multitude of benefits throughout the whole company.
On the day to day, businesses will experience a decrease in absenteeism and improved productivity, whilst in the long-term, they will reap higher retention rates and increased employee engagement.
Will Turner is the co-founder and CEO of GoJoe, a London-based health-tech company transforming workplace wellbeing through gamified fitness and social engagement. A former lawyer turned entrepreneur, Will combines strategic acumen with a passion for sport and digital innovation.