Right Management, a subsidiary of Manpower Inc., a world leader in the employment services industry and a strategic partner of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, released a white paper on January 27 titled, "The Wellness Imperative: Creating More Effective Organizations." The paper reveals findings that clearly demonstrate a strong connection between an organization's wellness initiatives and its competitive edge.
"When thoughtfully integrated into overall strategy, wellness is a powerful positive driver of employee engagement, productivity and performance," said Owen Sullivan, Manpower Inc. executive vice president and CEO of Right Management. "In the recovery, success will depend on creating and sustaining a competitive advantage; this survey demonstrates wellness initiatives as an important key to building that edge."
While wellness is typically thought to encompass straightforward physical and psychological health, Right Management's study shows that a broader understanding is what leads to positive benefits for an organization. Results of the study include:
- Employees are eight times more likely to be engaged when wellness is a priority in the workplace;
- An organization is four times more likely to lose talent if its employees take an unfavorable view of its promotion of wellness; and
- When wellness is a priority, employees are 3.5 times more likely to report being encouraged to be creative and innovative, keys to maintaining organizational agility.
The association of wellness with each of these elements clearly shows its strategic importance. In many instances the survival of an organization may rest entirely on rebuilding a strategy that includes wellness.
"The active promotion of wellness offers major opportunities for organizations to improve effectiveness," says Sullivan. "Currently, however, wellness has limited appeal as a strategic investment and organizations fail to successfully connect wellness within the context of organizational strategy."
"The strongest organizations are going to be the ones that attract, engage and retain top talent," said David Arkless, Manpower Inc. president of corporate and government affairs. "Wellness in the workplace is central to an organization's survival. Companies, governments and the like will need to revisit their strategies to ensure that workplace wellness is woven into their plans, as the organizations that don't will struggle to remain competitive."
Arkless will stress the importance of wellness during this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum as a panel member for "Peak Performance in Business: Optimizing the Return on Investment of a Healthy Workforce."
A copy of the Right Management paper "The Wellness Imperative: Creating More Effective Organizations" is available for download at www.manpower.com/research/research.cfm.
