JULY 2018HR TECH OUTLOOK8In My OpinionEmployees at companies large and small are feeling more and more stressed at work and we know that chronic stress leads to fatigue and burnout. An alarming 70 percent of workers are not coming to work energized to deliver their best performance, either because they are not engaged or, worse yet, they are actively disengaged.What do you suppose is the cost of this disengagement? There is certainly a monetary cost to employee fatigue and burnout. Sources ballpark this cost at approximately $300 billion. However, the tangible impact extends beyond this, as leaders see, and organizations feel, a lack of productivity or innovation when disengaged employees do not show up intellectually curious, emotionally agile and energized to take on the very tough challenges of unleashing growth. Would you expect a burned-out employee to have the personal energy to be intellectually curious, to take prudent risks, to be resilient or to show emotional intelligence in challenging moments? So, what can leaders do to continually inspire and engage their employees?It starts by understanding the importance of employee wellbeing. Employee wellbeing and employee engagement are directly connected. At Johnson & Johnson, we have assembled a behavior science team that specializes in studying and enabling wellbeing. Our behavior scientists define wellbeing as "a subjective experience based on a personal evaluation of the relative presence of positive and negative emotions, satisfaction with life, fulfillment and level of functioning." It includes physical, economic, social, and psychological constructs.Our research has shown that successful companies take a multidimensional approach to their employees' wellbeing. A holistic investment in physical, mental, emotional health enables employees to build energy, improve resilience and positively reframe the stress they experience in their life. A focus on wellbeing improves an organization's ability to unleash innovation and motivation. Most companies have recognized that they should invest in amenities that contribute to their staff's physical wellbeing by, for instance, having an Research has shown that having a sense of personal purpose is correlated to lower mortality (i.e., we live longer). Other research has shown that a sense of personal purpose actually physiologically reduces the wear and tear of stress on our bodiesDriving Employee Engagement Through PurposeLowinn Kibbey, Global Head, Johnson & Johnson Human Performance InstituteBy
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