Should employers be required to report on the well-being of their employees?

Michael is a lifelong introvert who also works as an I/O Psychologist. He recently re-located from Dublin, Ireland to the Bay Area and is building a professional practice specializing in leadership development, and also personal and organizational well-being.

There is a serious current debate and also public inquiries in the UK and in France over the means and benefits of measuring national general well-being. The traditional measure of national economic performance, GNP or GDP, is a rough and ready measure universally accepted as the basis of within-country and between-country comparisons and has worked well-enough for over 80 years. Its limitations are well-known. It was once famously said that GDP measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile. Even though the US is three times richer than it was in the fifties, it is well known that Americans experience five time the level of depression nationally. We spend ever more on health and yet are not healthier than thirty years ago (www.stateoftheusa.org).

The economic benefits of promoting high well-being among employees are also well-known and well-proven (ranging from reduced health-care costs and absenteeism to improved talent retention and innovation). So why don’t smart employers start measuring the overall well-being of their employees? The way doctors like to measure our temperatures (using a crude, simple but effective tool). We have the tools, and the frameworks to measure and monitor well-being (a combination of engagement and psychological health) at the individual, team and organizational level, so why dont we? 

Leadership development and career planning was once considered radical and innovative, and early adopters benefited sooner. The benefits of measuring, promoting and monitoring overall well-being of organizations and their members is just as important as focusing on leadership. The decision to take well-being seriously is a leadership issue. Early adopters will benefit sooner. To say this this is not the right time is like those who said the Internet will never catch on. Let’s wait and see who moves first. Ultimately employers might be required to report annually on the General Well-Being of their employees. A general well being measure is good for the employees, good for the organization and good for the country.