The boundary between work and home has increasingly become blurred. Whilst blurred boundaries are not necessarily bad, it is the speed at which the boundaries have blurred which has resulted in many employees struggling to adapt and find an appropriate work-life balance.
The importance of employee vitality and well-being
Whilst the rapid development has undoubtedly made our lives easier, it has also made it more difficult for employees to switch off from work and take time out. If you’re ever in doubt of the impact that technology has on our lives, take a look at your fellow travellers the next time you are on a train.
Chances are nearly everyone is on their smartphone checking their emails, Facebooking, Tweeting or keeping up to date with current affairs.
Always up to date
Being online 24 hours a day means that employees spend more time working than they may realise. Even when on holiday, employees keep up to date with what’s happening in the office and although it may seem innocent, it reduces the time employees are switched off from working and related stressors.
Global Employee Engagement Index™
A comprehensive overview of employee engagement with benchmarks from 57 countries with essential lessons for your HR strategy .
DownloadEnergy and health
And that becomes a problem in case it affects employees’ energy and health. In order for employees to have positive levels of vitality and well-being, they need to have a good balance between energy and stress, a good work-life balance, manageable workload, and they need to be physically fit.
The added benefits of this are that less sick days are taken, productivity increases and employee engagement and commitment is higher. Further, such employees have a much better balance between stress and energy, and can work longer, with much more enjoyment.
Big impact
When employees suffer low vitality and poor well-being for long periods of time, the consequences for both employee and organisation are harmful. Symptoms can range from a loss of physical vitality, to psychological stress or problems, to burnouts. Although much depends on the situation, low vitality and poor wellbeing are the main causes of long term absences and even the minor harmful effects can have a big impact on productivity and motivation.
Theme survey
So keep an eye on your employees’ vitality and well-being. It will pay off, both for you as for your workers. With our theme survey you can focus on a specific topic in your company in a fast and efficient way.
Discover the value of employee engagement in human resource management