After our first LinkedIn live event Livia Mensah, Head of Health Propositions at Cigna Healthcare Europe, shares her thoughts on why your workplace culture should be centred around employee vitality and inclusivity.
In today's evolving workplace, the coexistence of multiple generations brings both opportunities and challenges. With distinct perspectives, values, and needs, understanding the dynamics within multi-generational workforces is crucial for fostering inclusivity, promoting vitality, and driving organisational success.
The recent Cigna Healthcare vitality study provided valuable insights into the varying levels of vitality and well-being across different demographics. It highlights disparities such as the differences in energy levels between senior management and junior employees, and the prevalence of burnout, particularly among Gen Z and Millennials. Additionally, the study underscores the gender gap in mental health and burnout, emphasising the need for more effective support strategies.
In our recent LinkedIn Live, we spoke to Dan Murray-Serter, Co-Founder of Kindling Media and Foundrs, Frank Giampietro, Chief Wellbeing Officer at Ernst & Young Americas, and Jack Parsons, CEO of Youth Group. Our three guests provided valuable insights about how to support the diverse needs of your multi-generational workforce, as well as highlighting why workplace culture should be centred around vitality and inclusivity. Here’s what we learned:
Embracing a Multi-generational Workforce
As a modern organisation, it is important to embrace a multi-generational workforce by recognising the value of diversity in age and experience. Younger employees often struggle to connect with their older colleagues; however, organisations can overcome this by encouraging shared experiences across generations. By doing this and leveraging their differences as strengths, organisations can help foster greater collaboration, innovation and inclusivity.
The Challenges of Supporting a Multi-generational Workforce
One common obstacle organisations often face is the tendency to predetermine employees’ abilities and needs based on their age, appearance or background, which hinders inclusivity and perpetuates imposter syndrome. Organisations should communicate with employees and learn about them, to ensure that support systems are suitable and resonate with employees of all ages and backgrounds.
There has also been a significant shift since employees now have more elderly dependants than younger for the first time in history. Organisations must re-evaluate traditional support structures to ensure they are fit for purpose, particularly for employees with caring responsibilities. Employers should also seek to update their parental support policies to ensure fairness and inclusivity for all parents.
Wellbeing is Both a Personal Journey and a Team Sport
In the modern workplace, prioritising employee well-being is a team effort. Both leaders and colleagues have the shared responsibility of being accountable for each other's health and happiness. However, while it’s important employers and colleagues offer support and resources, it’s ultimately up to individual employees to manage their own health. By recognising that well-being is a shared responsibility as well as a personal journey, organisations can create environments where employees thrive, leading to healthier, more productive teams.
How to Gain Buy-in from Leadership Top of Form
To gain buy-in from leaders, it's essential to paint an accurate picture of the varying perspectives of their multigenerational workforce. However, it is also imperative to showcase this alongside personal stories, delivering anecdotal evidence of when an employee has benefitted from support to demonstrate the true return on investment. The most effective way to gain buy-in from leaders is by showing them it’s the smart thing to do, as well as the right thing to do.
Conclusion
Supporting the needs of today’s multigenerational workforces while cultivating a culture around employee vitality and inclusivity is crucial to the success of an organisation, as highlighted by experts in our recent LinkedIn Live discussion.
Embracing a diverse multi-generational workforce involves fostering collaboration and innovation through shared experiences and leveraging differences as strengths. Overcoming challenges such as stereotypes and adapting support structures to accommodate changing demographics are crucial steps towards creating a supportive environment.
Prioritising employee health and well-being is a shared responsibility, with leaders and colleagues contributing to a healthier and more productive workplace culture. Gaining buy-in from leadership involves demonstrating tangible benefits and showcasing evidence of positive personal outcomes.
As multi-generational workforces become increasingly diverse, it is crucial to foster a culture based on vitality and inclusion by prioritising the well-being of your employees.
To see your company as well as your employees thrive, implement a health = growth plan that focuses on flexibility, empathy, prevention and engagement, while delivering a robust return on investment. A Cigna Healthcare plan empowers employees to embark on a journey of enhanced vitality and well-being, in turn, promoting business growth too.
