Thriving at Work

Perspective

Shrinking the separation between employee needs and organizational offerings creates enormous possibilities for everyone involved. Based on our studies this year, when employers focus on fulfilling necessities such as sufficient compensation and robust healthcare, they open the door for people to thrive via growth and development, workplace flexibility, and a stronger sense of purpose. At the same time, the larger investments in workers’ wellbeing unlock a wealth of untapped potential for organizations, including increased productivity, innovation, and loyalty. If we can look beyond employment as a business transaction, and embrace a broader human-centric perspective, we will find much greater mutual success.

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Introduction

According to a recent Gallup poll, barely half (52%) of people in the U.S. consider themselves to be thriving in life.¹ And based on our global research, other nationalities feel much the same way. This decline from past years is at least partly attributable to increased daily stress and worry, coupled with feelings of discouragement about personal finances.

Given the substantial role work plays in most of our lives (and the amount of our time and energy it consumes), it’s easy to imagine how pressures in the workplace spill into our personal lives and inhibit us from thriving. This is especially true for frontline and offline workers who feel detached from their organizational cultures.² Conversely, cultures that foster connection, support, security, and belonging can help us feel we’re succeeding in our lives.

So, what does it mean to thrive at work? The hallmarks are a feeling of fulfillment and security about the future. Thriving is what happens when employees have their basic needs met (adequate pay, health benefits, etc.) and can then enjoy growth opportunities, flexibility, and appreciation.

When employees feel they’re thriving at work, the odds of several important outcomes improve significantly:

• Retention (6x)
• Promoting the organization to others (7x)
• Great work (8x)
• Overall satisfaction with employee experience (14x)

Unfortunately, simply having a long list of Total Rewards offerings won’t help people thrive. Organizations must evolve how they approach these offerings, and the most effective strategies clearly convey to employees that they are understood, cared for, and valued.³

Our research finds employees with Total Rewards programs that communicate long-term security have 5x improved odds of feeling they’re thriving at work. That said, organizations have a lot of progress to make because while employees consistently rank offerings like career development among their top priorities, only 20% of global employers have the infrastructure for building skills or charting career paths.⁴

And even organizations that do provide development opportunities should take a close look at their motives. Offerings and efforts to help employees thrive are more effective when they’re people-centered and purpose-driven. For example, the odds of an above-average sense of thriving are 8x greater when employees feel their Total Rewards package serves their needs (rather than their employer’s). Make no mistake, employees know when their organization genuinely cares about them.

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“Companies have been engaged in an arms race to offer the best perks. But once basic needs are met, people are more powerfully motivated by feelings than by material features. Employees today want to be treated as people, not just workers. When HR leaders can generate these emotions in employees, both organizations and the human beings that comprise them win.”
—Carolina Valencia, Vice President Team Manager, Gartner

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The Three Key Elements of Thriving

According to our research, once basic needs are met, three key elements elevate an employee’s sense of thriving in the workplace: flexibility, skill building, and career development.

These three factors communicate that the organization is invested in employees and their wellbeing for the long term. And, as the following table shows, when part of a Total Rewards strategy, each of these levers improves the odds of belonging, fulfillment, and thriving at work.

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“When I think of thriving at work, it’s also about the future. I’m enjoying my role today, I’m doing good work, but do I have a career path in this company? Or do I have to leave to find that career path elsewhere?”
—Focus Group Participant, Tech Operations Professional

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The Importance of Focusing on People

Flexibility, skill building, and career development each have characteristics that can make them people-centered and purposeful.

Let’s look at flexibility first. Organizations can (and should) clarify what flexibility means for all employees and give leaders autonomy to work with their teams to determine the best ways to implement such policies.⁵ Employees crave—and respond to—the kinds of flexibility that allow them to manage their own time, better balance their lives, find greater fulfillment, and ultimately thrive.⁶‍

For skill building and career development, a people-centered approach means allowing employees to choose what skills they want to build and how to build them. Or it could involve offering a variety of opportunities and providing a clear development path with tangible steps.⁷

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Recommendations

After meeting their basic needs, help employees thrive at work by providing offerings that support flexibility, skill building, and career development.

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1. Provide Total Rewards packages that offer long-term security

As outlined in the previous chapter, fulfilling employees’ basic needs is a prerequisite for helping them thrive. And thriving at the highest level takes support for their personal and professional growth. Be sure to include offerings that focus on flexibility, skill building, career development, and recognition in Total Rewards packages. Also include benefits like retirement plans and life insurance to care for people’s future needs.

Even if employees have skill-building or career-development opportunities outside of work, the impact is greater when the employer provides these—with resources and support—in the workplace. As the following table illustrates, access to such offerings significantly improves engagement (to name just one cultural metric).

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“In designing [a clear, consistent, and differentiated Total Rewards strategy], we must look at what motivates employees and then map it to their individual aspirations and personalize the experience.”
—Meenakshi Virani, Head of HR, Zee Entertainment

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2. Approach offerings in a people-centered, purpose-driven manner

For a Total Rewards program to be most effective, our research shows it must do more than address the three key elements of thriving. It must also deliver offerings in ways that show the organization cares about employees.

Clearly communicate that flexibility, skill building, career development, and other long-term security and inclusion benefits are available because the organization values employees and wants them to succeed over the entire course of their careers. Also, make sure policies, resources, training, and leadership support are easily accessible and contextualized. For example, promote (rather than just provide) a library of learning modules by explaining the importance of growth and development, and offer skill-building opportunities on the clock. Or have a formal mentorship program with regular check-ins at work. Or let employees choose training or other classes that interest them and cover as much of the costs as possible.¹⁰

Communicating that the organization cares requires both words and actions. Resources and support to take advantage of offerings help ensure employees feel valued, want to return the good faith, and ultimately, thrive. As the following table shows, the degree to which employees believe their organization cares about them has a dramatic impact on their perception of whether they’re thriving at work.

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3. Recognize employees often to reinforce security, inclusion, and belonging

Recognition inherently communicates that people are a crucial part of your organization and its success. When employees recognize each other frequently for their great work, it connects them with a shared purpose and meaningful appreciation. Conversely, if recognition is infrequent or absent, employees are more likely to feel they’re in survival mode, especially during times when they feel overworked, overwhelmed, unsupported, or burned out.

Organizations that make recognition an integrated, everyday part of the employee experience increase the odds of improving several cultural metrics, as illustrated in the following table.

Recognition that’s integrated happens frequently and in meaningful ways.¹¹ So provide tools to recognize a variety of accomplishments and milestones. Communicate what employees uniquely contribute and share how they further the organization’s purpose. And ensure all employees, no matter what their role or location, can give recognition and feel appreciated as a crucial part of the company’s success.

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When recognition is given to employees who are already thriving, it improves odds of:

• Staying with the organization (11x)
• Promoting the organization as a great place to work (16x)
• Doing great work (24x)
• Satisfaction with the employee experience (31x)

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“We have the opportunity, especially with everything that is happening in the world today, to step up our game and value the wonderful people we have here at ACG. What we are seeing right now is that companies who truly value their people are going to not just survive but thrive.”
—Senior Executive, The Auto Club Group

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Thriving at Work—Key Takeaways

Helping employees thrive at work requires more than fulfilling their basic needs.

Companies must provide and support three key elements of thriving—flexibility, skill building, and career development.

Delivering the key elements of thriving in people-centered ways is more impactful than simply offering them as Total Rewards options.

Integrated recognition builds long-term security and belonging, which is essential to thriving at work.