A new global study shows that having more headspace could transform the working day for thousands of employees and that a lack of it is currently impacting performance.
The study from Fauna found that almost six in 10 (59%) say that having a good work-life balance is a core ingredient for their dream day, and when asked about one thing that would better enable them to do their best work, 51% said increased flexibility, work-life balance, and better overall wellbeing. Most employees (58%) say they ‘don’t have enough time to do great work’ and over a quarter (25%) feel deenergized by having no time to get work done.
The WorkPossible global employee experience research project, in partnership with CultureCon, aims to enlighten organisations, giving them an overview of what people really want their experience of work to be. Overall, the study found that 1 in 3 (33%) say their employee experiences are currently low quality, and that’s negatively impacting their performance. While nearly 1 in 3 people (29%) say their employer doesn’t support or think about them as a unique person.
The desire for more empowerment day-to-day also came through clearly with 61% of people stating that more empowerment, agency and ownership in their workday would lead to a better experience. The more empowered the person, the better their overall experience at work. The most empowered employees were twice as likely to say they had a good experience at work in comparison to the least empowered employees. Around a quarter of all comments given mentioned autonomy, flexibility to manage own time, and decision-making power.
The importance of recognition at work was also under the spotlight, with over half (52%) of people saying being recognised and valued for the work they do was a core ingredient of their dream day. However, fewer than half (46%) said that their experience of recognition at work was high-quality. And if people feel recognition is a high-quality employee experience, they are 40% more likely to describe their organisation and culture as high-performing. And 34% more likely to say their organisation supports and thinks about them as a unique person.
When it came to leadership, a gap emerged between what leaders are currently providing, and what their teams need them to provide to enable them to do their best work. The top things people wanted their leaders to do was recognise them, empower them and give them headspace. Whereas the top three things leaders thought they should provide is clarity, listening and human leadership.
A strong link emerged between high quality employee experience and a high-performance culture. 78% of people who describe their employee experiences as high-quality, also describe their culture and organisation as high-performing. While 64% of people who describe their current employee experiences as low-quality, have an overall poor experience at work.
The report also covered areas including neurodiversity, with nearly half of all neurodiverse people rating their employee experiences as poor quality (against a figure of 33% overall). Hattie Roche commented:
We know that people want to make an impact and do their best possible work, but the complexity of their employee experience, lack of clear expectations and feelings of overwhelm are getting in their way. What’s striking is that none of the things people ask for in the study are unachievable. In fact, there are fundamental human desires that can be addressed through overall changes to the employee experience. There’s a proven link between high-quality employee experiences and business performance, so it makes commercial sense for organisations to address these concerns.
Hattie Roche
Joanne is the editor for Workplace Wellbeing Professional and has a keen interest in promoting the safety and wellbeing of the global workforce. After earning a bachelor's degree in English literature and media studies, she taught English in China and Vietnam for two years. Before joining Work Well Pro, Joanne worked as a marketing coordinator for luxury property, where her responsibilities included blog writing, photography, and video creation.
