Insights for What’s Ahead

Senior leaders must play a critical role in elevating employee well-being to the level of a strategic business priority, ensuring greater investment, access, and culture-building. The importance of this factor in the success of well-being initiatives cannot be overstated, especially in the Asian context, where top-down structures are typically the norm. Asia lags behind Europe and the US in its responsiveness to the problem.

Develop an integrated approach. Emphasis on well-being should extend beyond physical and mental health to include organizational and team culture, manager support, etc. Traditional approaches—fitness, yoga, mindfulness, and the like—may not be sufficient to support employees in dealing with stressors from organizational and pandemic-induced change, such as digital overload, the shift to remote work, and social isolation. Leverage digital tools for innovative solutions.

Tailor approaches for different employee segments. Underrepresented segments, especially ethnic minorities, women, and millennials have been more severely impacted—possibly due to poorer access to information and resources. Key cultural factors in Asia that will need to be tackled head-on include stigmatization, low propensity to self-disclose, hierarchical organizational structures, and lack of access and empowerment.

Connect DEI and well-being efforts. Early research findings from different studies suggest adverse impacts on well-being caused by exclusion. In companies where cultural environments are relatively less equitable and inclusive, adverse effects on employees can be especially severe. In such instances, operating models that integrate DEI and well-being have better chances of success than siloed ones.