The Hidden Cost of Workplace Inflexibility: New Wellhub Research Reveals a ‘Mismatch Problem’ Threatening Employee Wellbeing

NEW YORK (October 18, 2023) – Wellhub, the leading corporate wellness platform, today announced the release of its second annual State of Work-Life Wellness 2024 Report highlighting the growing importance of wellbeing for employees around the world. Based on a survey of more than 5,000 employees across nine global markets, the State of Work-Life Wellness Report uncovers valuable insights about demands for wellness support in the workforce.

For its 2024 edition, Wellhub examined wellbeing trends within the context of the return-to-office debate, uncovering that working in your preferred environment significantly boosts personal wellness and productivity.

“Mismatched” employees--those who work remote but prefer in-office, or work in-office but prefer remote--reported significant negative effects on their overall wellbeing, compared to “matched” employees.

• When asked to rate their wellbeing, mismatched employees were twice as likely to report that they were “struggling” or “really struggling” compared to matched employees. 
• Mismatched employees were more likely to have higher stress levels, lower emotional wellbeing and more sleep loss from work stress. 
• Mismatched employees were twice as likely to report being unhappy working at their current company.

“The workplace ‘mismatch problem’ underscores a larger issue: that wellbeing is unique to each individual. Flexibility is a crucial consideration as companies navigate the return-to-office landscape,” said Cesar Carvalho, co-founder and CEO of Wellhub. “Everyone is different. Companies can take better care of their employees by offering flexible, preventative benefits that not only make employees happy and healthy, but save your company money in the long term.”

Employee wellbeing is non-negotiable for today’s global workforce, with its importance growing significantly year-over-year.

• The vast majority of employees--96%--seek employers who prioritize wellbeing. 
• 93% of global employees believe that wellbeing is equally important to salary, which is a significant increase of 10 points year-over-year. 
• 87% of workers say they would consider leaving a company that does not focus on employee wellbeing, which is also a 10-point increase year-over-year.

Company leaders are experiencing better wellbeing compared to others, creating a “blind spot” that can cause a disconnect between them and teams at large.

• 91% of company leaders (directors and above) say they can take time for their wellbeing, compared to 76% of managers and 66% of non-managers. 
• The vast majority of global employees say that emotional wellness (95%) and physical wellness (94%) boosts their productivity and satisfaction at work. 
• 77% of employees engage with their company’s wellbeing program, up nine points year-over-year.

“Company leaders and managers: If you feel good about your wellbeing, you cannot assume that the rest of your team does, too,” said Carvalho. “Leaders must ensure that employees, especially non-managers and those early in their careers, have the same time, resources and flexibility to take care of themselves. Wellness is not a seniority perk; it's the most important thing to keep your employees healthy, productive and engaged at work."

The State of Work-Life Wellness foreword was contributed by Maxine Carrington, Chief People Officer of Northwell Health, which announced a partnership with Wellhub in October 2023. The largest healthcare provider in New York will use Wellhub to set a new standard of wellbeing for its employees.

“Our journey towards holistic wellness and the success of initiatives like Wellhub have not gone unnoticed,” said Carrington. “It’s well past time to build a world that supports the wellbeing of the individual in all aspects of their life. Northwell Health brings the world one step closer every day as we raise the standard of health. And every check-in at Wellhub brings us one step closer to making wellbeing universal.”

To download the full State of Work-Life Wellness 2024 Report, click here.

About Wellhub

Wellhub is the most loved corporate wellness platform, offering the best network of gyms, studios, classes, personal trainers, and wellness apps - all in one employee benefit. More than 15,000 companies use Wellhub to help their employees move, eat, sleep, and feel better with access to fitness and wellness partners in subscriptions that cost up to 50% less than traditional memberships. Wellhub more than doubles the number of employees engaged with wellness. This widespread participation results in workforces that are 40% less likely to turnover and save their companies up to 35% on healthcare costs. Investing in employee wellbeing is investing in company performance. Get started at gympass.com.