by Tom Davenport, Towers Perrin
Aside from having a child, adopting a rescue dog represented, for me, the most dramatic instance of taking responsibility for the well-being of another. I’m like the CEO of a one-stop shop that supplies all my pet’s needs. At least I believe my dog thinks of me as a CEO – I know for sure that my daughter does not.
Senior executives’ concern for employee well-being (a sense of physical, mental and emotional health and economic stability) consistently emerges as the strongest engagement driver in our global employee surveys.
Yet employees are ambivalent about the management of their own well-being. In December of 2008, 71 percent of respondents to a Towers Perrin survey agreed that they are comfortable handling their health and health plan benefits.
In the same survey, however, less than half expressed confidence that they could manage their personal wealth and retirement plans to prepare for a secure retirement. When I look at my own 401(k) balance, I know how they feel.
To forge a positive link between well-being and engagement, organizations (and executives) must perform a balancing act: help people become self-sufficient in managing some benefits, while providing more support in higher-risk areas important to perceived well-being.
And let’s not forget first-line managers. They have a dramatic effect on employees’ health and well-being. I’ll comment on that in a later posting. But first I have to take the dog for a walk.
-Tom
