Safe and healthy work environments benefit employees, employers and the Victorian community.
A safe workplace is a key outcome of the Leading the way health and safety strategy and the Victorian public sector mental health and wellbeing charter.
Many academic studies have shown a link between employee wellbeing and improved organisational performance.
A workforce that is well works well...organisations need to take better care of their people and recognise how the demands of work affect their physical and mental health, as well as their ability to perform well at work.
- Sir Professor Cary Carter, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, President and wellbeing expert.
Improving the wellbeing of your employees triggers a virtuous cycle. It leads to higher levels of engagement and productivity, which again leads to better health, wellbeing and satisfaction with work.
Research suggests that employees who report high levels of wellbeing are more likely to:
A recent Gallup Panel Web study found that employees who are engaged and have high wellbeing are:
How your employees feel at work is an indicator of their wellbeing.
We analysed the People matter survey data from 2019 to 2021 to find out what drives employee wellbeing in the Victorian public sector.
We grouped the survey questioned based on:
Then we identified the factors that have the biggest impact on employee wellbeing. We call these drivers.
For example, we found meaningful work to be the top driver of employee wellbeing. Respondents who felt they were doing important work and making a worthwhile contribution reported higher levels of wellbeing.
Interestingly, we found consistent results before and during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the survey, we asked respondents how work made them feel in the 3 months before they took the survey.
We measured their wellbeing by how often they experienced:
Then we assigned them a wellbeing level:
To improve employee wellbeing we need to understand what affects it.
We've included some measures of wellbeing from the People matter survey that organisations should pay attention to.
Results from the survey show about:
This graph shows the percentage breakdown of responses.
Negative behaviour can impact the health, wellbeing, performance and behaviour of your employees.
Measures of negative behaviour should be considered and included in your action planning.
We asked respondents if they’d experienced negative behaviour at work in the 12 months before they took the survey.
This graph shows a breakdown of the types of negative behaviour respondents experienced.
If your employees are satisfied at work, they’ll likely be more engaged and productive.
This also leads to lower absences and turnover.
This graph shows how engaged and satisfied respondents are with their jobs, work-life balance and career development.
The employee engagement index is a score out of 100.
The engagement statements are:
The weightings for each engagement response are:
The index is the average score of the 5 statements.
This graph shows the relationship between positive affect and employee engagement.
If your employees feel enthusiastic and energetic at work, they’ll likely be more engaged.
The positive affect rating shows how often respondents felt enthusiastic or happy at work.
As positive affect goes up, employee engagement typically goes up.
Each dot represents a public sector organisation that took part in the 2021 survey.
This graph shows the relationship between negative affect and employee engagement.
If your employees feel miserable or worried about their work, they’re likely to be less engaged.
The negative affect rating shows how often people felt worried, miserable or severely stressed at work.
As negative affect goes up, employee engagement typically goes down.
Each dot represents a public sector organisation that took part in the 2021 survey.
Employees who report higher wellbeing levels also report higher levels of:
We analysed People matter survey data from 2019 to 2021 to find out what drivers impact employee wellbeing the most.
We put all survey questions into factor groups. The factor groups that have the biggest impact on employee wellbeing are called drivers.
All drivers are important to understanding and improving employee wellbeing. But we found some were more important than others depending on where you work and what you do.
For example, health professionals reported different drivers of wellbeing compared to child protection practitioners or police officers.
To illustrate this, we've divided the drivers into 2 groups:
This is how your employees feel about their contribution and how worthwhile their work is.
If they find meaning in their work, they’re more likely to achieve better outcomes for themselves, their team and organisation.
Wellbeing is higher for respondents who agree with these statements:
This is how your employees feel about their workload and time pressure.
If they have too much work to do or not enough time to do it, they’re likely to experience more work-related stress.
Wellbeing is higher for respondents who agree with these statements:
This is how safe and secure your employees feel at your organisation.
If they feel safe, they’re likely to be more productive and feel good at work.
A bad safety climate may lead to:
Wellbeing is higher for respondents who agree with these statements:
This is how your employees feel about their opportunities to learn and grown in your organisation.
If they can learn and develop their career, they’re more likely to be engaged, efficient and capable.
Wellbeing is higher for respondents who agree with these statements:
This is how supported your employees feel by their direct manager.
Supportive managers provide clarity, appreciation and positive feedback and coaching.
If your employees feel supported by their manager, they’re likely to be more satisfied and productive at work.
Wellbeing is higher for respondents who agree with these statements:
This is how freely and confidently your employees can talk about issues without fear of retribution.
If they don't feel safe to speak up they're more likely to feel worried or miserable at work.
If they feel safe to speak up at work, they’re more likely to report negative behaviour and integrity issues at work. This leads to safer a workplace for everyone.
Wellbeing is higher for respondents who agree with these statements:
Wellbeing is lower for respondents who agree with these statements:
This is how your employees feel about their autonomy at work and their role clarity.
If they can use their skills, knowledge and abilities at work they’re likely to be more engaged.
Wellbeing is higher for respondents who agree with these statements:
This is how well your team works together and supports each other in your organisation.
The better you work together, the better you’ll perform as a team.
It’s a significant driver of wellbeing for respondents:
For example:
This is how well your organisation supports work flexibly.
Employees who have flexible work arrangements tend to report higher wellbeing compared to those who don’t.
It’s a significant driver of wellbeing for respondents:
For example:
This is how much trust your employees have in your organisation and how it operates, implements policy and delivers services.
It's a significant driver of employee wellbeing for respondents in organisations where delegation and hierarchy are important.
For example:
This is how your employees feel about their direct manager's leadership.
Good managers can foster the right environment for your team by acting as role models for your organisation’s strategy and values.
It's a significant driver of employee wellbeing for respondents in organisations with less hierarchy.
Often these employees engage directly with the community.
For example:
This is an indicator of how well your organisation supports diversity and inclusion in your workplace.
If your employees feel valued and included, they’re likely to be more engaged and productive.
It's a significant driver of wellbeing for respondents that are directly involved with the community and their clients.
For example:
This is how well your team operates to deliver quality services.
Your team needs to be motivated, make impartial decisions and have clear accountabilities.
It's a significant driver of wellbeing for respondents providing critical services to their clients.
For example:
This is how well your employees feel your organisation innovates its operations.
If your organisation is innovative, you can reduce costs, create public value and deliver quality services.
It's a significant driver of wellbeing for respondents who are:
Your People matter survey 2021 results provide information on how your employees feel at work.
Positive employee wellbeing benefits everyone and helps us serve the Victorian community.
You can compare your People matter survey results against each driver and use the survey statements to help guide your action planning.
Speak to your People matter survey coordinator, human resource or people and culture representative for more advice about action planning.
A safe and healthy work environment benefits employees, employers, and the Victorian community.
Read more about the People matter survey 2021.
For tips, tools and activities for managing team wellbeing check out the Wellbeing toolkit.
If you’d like to know more about what research we’ve done or the technical definitions and methods we used, please get in touch.