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Press Release

Dutch employers prioritise wellbeing, but miss the mark with employees

Dutch employers prioritise wellbeing, but miss the mark with employees

July 29, 2024

Employee Experience|Health and Benefits|Benessere integrato
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Amstelveen, July 29, 2024 – While employers are taking steps to support employee’s physical and mental wellbeing, research found there is a disparity between the focus of employer wellbeing programmes and what employees need the most. That’s according to the latest Wellbeing Diagnostic Survey by WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company.

Dutch employers are prioritising support for mental (75%) and physical (44%) wellbeing, in light of declining mental health amongst employees and 2 in 5 employees suffering from poor physical health. Yet, employees say that financial wellbeing support is among their top areas of concern (47%), despite being the lowest priority for employers (14%).

Dutch employers often offer foundational support for financial wellbeing, through life and disability insurance or retirement/savings programmes. Fewer are providing much needed support in the way of educating employees on the various financial issues they may face or offering personalised financial decision support for spending, borrowing and saving.

Two- fifths of employees (37%) are suffering with moderate or major issues in at least two areas of their wellbeing. Poor health in any dimension of wellbeing can lead to higher absence, presenteeism and burnout among employees and lower levels of work engagement.  The study shows that Dutch 40% of employees have above average levels of stress, while 28% have reported symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Ploni Vercoulen, Consultant at WTW says: “Increasing mental health issues have brought employee wellbeing to the forefront of employers’ minds in recent years. Companies have been leaning heavily into physical and mental wellbeing to make it a core part of their human capital strategy. We know that these investments have improved employees’ perceptions of these initiatives.

“Organisations that are highly effective at employee wellbeing often report better business outcomes, such as enhanced financial performance and reduced employee turnover. However, there is a disconnect between the wellbeing areas that employers are investing in and what employees are saying they need help with.”

While employer programmes are helping some employees live healthier lifestyles, the effectiveness of these initiatives overall has fallen from the employees’ perspective since the pandemic, from 40% in 2019 to 31% now. There is a disconnect between the majority of employers (65%) who think their wellbeing programmes are important in supporting employees’ health, and the workforce, where only 33% of employees agree, prompting interest in how employers can better optimise their support to align with employee needs.

Yet Dutch employers are aiming high, as 32% look to make wellbeing a foundational element of their human capital strategy in the next three years, compared to only 5% today. Additionally, many employers (61%) are planning to encourage manager involvement and connect wellbeing to company culture (54%) to raise the bar on employee health and wellbeing.

Casper Mayenburg, Head of Clients Growth, Health & Benefits Netherlands at WTW says “The delivery of wellbeing initiatives is just as important as the content of the programmes. Communication, accessibility and creating a connected culture that links back to company and employee values is key to building a stronger employee experience when it comes to wellbeing.

“It’s important that employers focus on getting the right priorities in place to support the varied needs of their workforce, as well as creating an enabling environment that promotes the services they make available.”

About the Studies

The 2024 Wellbeing Diagnostic Survey was conducted from March to April 2024. Respondents include 57 Dutch employers working at medium and large private sector employers, representing a broad range of industries.

The 2024 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey was conducted from January to March 2024. Respondents include 1000 Dutch employees working at medium and large private sector employers, representing a broad range of industries.

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