Employers must invest in the health and well-being of their employees to make them more engaged. This is one of the main conclusions of a study carried out by Ipsos for the firm Qualisocial, published this Thursday, January 18.
According to this survey, 88% of employees consider quality of life and working conditions (QVCT) as a priority or important. But at the same time, less than half of them believe that their employer takes them into account. A marked dissonance that raises questions all the more so since this work also reveals the lack of employee commitment.
Only 12% of employees say they are committed to their work. Just over half of employees consider themselves disengaged and a large third maintain a relationship described as passive.
Health and relationships at work considered priorities
Without mentioning the cause, the deterioration of employee health and well-being provides elements of explanation for these results. But they can also be interpreted as symptoms of unhappiness at work. Today, almost one in two French people do not consider themselves to be in good health, while two in three are not satisfied with their lives.
Among the areas to improve QVCT, we find health and safety, considered a priority by 27% of respondents. A result quite consistent with the observation of the deterioration of employee health.
However, relationships and the environment at work also rank high among employees’ priorities, with 22% considering them essential.
QVCT, an effective lever?
Faced with this, the adoption of the so-called QVCT policy represents an effective lever. “QVCT is an approach that aims to improve the conditions in which employees perform their work and their ability to express themselves and act based on its content,” Qualisocial recalls in its study.
Within organizations with a so-called QVCT policy, 61% of employees consider themselves to be in good mental health, compared to 37% in companies without QVCT. This share reaches 71% within the most advanced companies in terms of QVCT.
The quality of relationships at work with colleagues is the axis of the QVCT that shows the most positive effect in terms of mental health but also well-being.
But that’s not all, since it would also have a positive effect on employee engagement and company performance.
An effect on commitment and performance
The proportion of engaged employees is four times higher among organizations with a QVCT policy than those without.
Although they represent parameters that are difficult to quantify, the full use of employees’ abilities and consideration of their health appear to be effective levers for improving engagement. The first multiplies by eight the proportion of employees who promote their organization while the second multiplies it by seven.
Finally, employee participation in strategy is correlated with better organizational performance, as is the work environment.
For this survey, 3,002 employees were questioned, constituting a representative sample of public and private sector employees aged 18 years and over, in France. It took place from November 23 to 29, 2023.
Source: BFM TV
