According to a 2021 survey by The Conference Board of Canada and TELUS Health, 83% of Canadian employees perceive a gap between the health benefits they have and what they desire, indicating that comprehensive wellness programs are crucial for employee satisfaction and retention.
Reflected in today’s competitive job market, these findings amplify the dramatic shift over the past few years where a company's wellness offerings have become more than just a perk — they’re a strategic imperative to attract and retain top talent.
Gen Zs and millennials, who make up the lion's share of the workforce, are more assertive in attaining their workplace desires, prioritizing work-life balance, mental health, physical health, flexibility, and relevant benefit packages, leading businesses to adjust their approach to wellness programs to temper the prevalence of job hopping.
"Organizations have come to the realization that healthy workers are not only more productive but more engaged with the organization," says Jason Walker, Psy.D., Ph.D., associate professor and program director of industrial and organizational psychology and applied psychology programs at Adler University in Vancouver.
"When the employer starts investing in employee wellness, everyone does better, both the bottom line and the morale within the organization; people drive the organization. And if you have healthy workers who are focused on the task at hand, knowing that the company is stepping up for their wellness, on and off the job, you will exceed expectations."
Reinforcing Dr. Walker's assertions, Manulife’s 2023 Wellness Report highlights that organizations prioritize employee health and wellness to experience notable investment returns. Specifically, the top-performing organizations gained 13 more days of productivity per employee annually compared to others, underscoring the direct link between wellness initiatives and enhanced productivity.
Not to be overlooked, the scores of stressors that can lead to employee burnout. Taking on the biggest impact to mitigate these daily pressures is the innovative employer who can tailor employee benefits. As Dr. Walker suggests, "The employer that invests in the employee in a way that matters to them is less likely to burn out, less likely to leave."
"Organizations need to leverage the business with insurance companies where there's a menu of services. When companies can offer a menu of wellness, where the employee has a choice versus 'here's your benefits program, use it or don't' — that is the evolution, and that's where people want to work."
Self-care is a concept that gets talked about more often than implemented in people's daily work lives and is not often ingrained in the workplace culture, as is the case for most. However, it's what younger generations value. "It's part of the social fabric, and organizations need to catch up," says Dr. Walker. "Workplace psychology within organizations is where we can help in changing the thinking."
Adler University stands out, offering graduate programs designed for individuals at various stages of their careers, including recent graduates and professionals seeking advanced expertise or considering a career shift. "We offer graduate degrees in work psychology where students learn everything from change management to leadership, human resource management and psychometric testing in the workplace."
Focusing on both individual and organizational health, Adler’s comprehensive Industrial and Organizational Psychology programs offer a dynamic curriculum that applies psychological principles to the work environment to support employee well-being, promote engagement and drive organizational effectiveness.
"Graduates are walking away as subject matter experts in understanding organizational behaviour, and how people behave and respond in organizations, how to motivate them, how to support them and how to do business differently," says Dr. Walker.
The programs aim to integrate theory, research and practice and break down complex issues to be practical and innovative in the workplace. Adler's breadth and depth reflect both the practitioner model and the integration of academics in perfect balance, a benchmark of the university's programs.
"Our faculty are leaders in their fields as practitioners, industry experts, and academics, and we really value the diversity in our team members who bring the real-world experience to life," reveals Dr. Walker.
"Our faculty’s expertise is one thing that sets us apart because what we teach students is practical, supported by evidence. They learn to be creative and innovative and they learn to think differently, and our faculty are really the ones who help shape that."
For more information, visit Adler.edu.
