03/07/2022

Supporting the Well-being of Your Underrepresented Employees

Understand the unique challenges they face

Many business leaders have made it clear that employee health is a top priority as they seek to attract and retain employees during the Great Resignation. They know that company success is inextricably tied to employee presence, engagement and productivity, and they have made great strides toward supporting their employees’ well-being. For example, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2021 Employee Health Benefits Survey found that 83 percent of large companies offer their employees health and wellness programs. Programs like these can play a vital role in keeping people well, and efforts to support them are to be lauded.

However, these programs alone fail to address an important link between well-being and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Bountiful research has documented the importance of DEI for business. We know that organizations with diverse workforces enjoy increased financial performance, innovation and creativity, and decreased attrition and related costs. But efforts to address DEI in the workplace are typically disconnected from those aimed at supporting employee health and wellness.

To enact meaningful change in the lives of employees, it’s critical for business leaders to address employees’ total well-being, including their physical, mental, emotional and financial health; work-life balance; and social equity. Simply put, well-being is a central strategy to ensure that employees are able to contribute their best while navigating the myriad challenges that impact how they live, work and relate to others. Failing to address the intersectionality of DEI and well-being does a substantial disservice to employees.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Harvard Business Review.