Employees and CEOs are at odds over their wellness

Employers have invested time and resources on making sure they’re keeping up with employees’ wellness demands — but is it working? Apparently not. 

The reality is that employers and employees are far from being on the same page. A recent survey from people analytics platform Visier found that 80% of executives believe their company is doing a good job supporting the physical and mental health of employees, compared to only 46% of employees.

“The key decision makers have this blind spot,” says Dr. Andrea Derler, Visier's head of research. “Which means that I don't actually see how employees are feeling and how they experience the workplace. That's a problem because [employees] can't do anything to change anything.” 

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The overall wellness discrepancy is rooted in smaller disagreements between management and employees. For example, 75% of fully remote executives would prefer to work from the office at least three days a week, but only 37% of non-executives agree; 72% of executives feel they’re being transparent with employees about post-pandemic policies, but only 47% of employees agree; and 74% of execs say they’re doing enough to help employees upskill and gain knowledge, but only 36% of employees would say the same.

And all of these disparities — whether executives are aware of them or not — are contributing to employee burnout. Derler says it’s imperative that employers survey their workers to bridge the communication gap and prevent costly consequences. 

“There is no business without people and there is no people without business — it's really a very close relationship that we can't separate,” Derler says. “If [employers] don’t know the levels of burnout, they may not know that burnout leads to attrition and they may not make the link on what it means for cost [and culture].” 

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Unfortunately there is no clear-cut solution, Derler says. Surveys and reports are a good first step, but only as long as employers are prepared to take immediate action and make big decisions in response. The silver lining, according to Derler, is that the future executives of the world are uniquely interested in making these changes. 

“Current leaders can still wake up, look at the data and reflect on themselves — but behavior change is complex,” she says. “Maybe we need a new generation of senior leaders.”