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Irish workers feel employers fail to support their wellbeing

Women feel less supported than men amid wider mismatch between employer initiatives and employee needs

Survey results shine a light on the mismatch between employee needs and employer’s understanding of them, especially among women. Photograph: iStock

Ian Curran
Mon Apr 8 2024 - 05:00

A large cohort of workers in Ireland believe their employer does not support their wellbeing in the workplace, a new survey has highlighted, pointing to a “mismatch” between employees and employers.

The report, based on a survey of more than 700 workers across the Republic by employee engagement and benefits platform Lockton People Solutions, found that more than one-third of employees do not feel supported at all in relation to their physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

Just 15 per cent of survey respondents said they felt fully supported, while 45 per cent felt adequately supported.

Those working in construction and the public sector were least likely to feel their employer is looking out for their wellbeing, with just 37 per cent of construction workers and 41 per cent of public sector workers feeling looked after. At the opposite end of the spectrum a more positive 61 per cent of pharmaceutical and agricultural employees said their mental wellbeing was supported.

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The employees who said they were most well looked after were those in larger organisations with more than 250 staff.

“The results shine a light on the mismatch between employee needs and employer’s understanding and recognition of these needs,” said Ray McKenna, partner at Lockton People Solutions. “Employees across the board are not satisfied that their needs are being met. Often this is not because the employer is not trying to look after their staff but simply because they don’t know how to. So their efforts are misdirected and often in vain.”

Women were also more likely to feel less supported in all aspects of their workplace wellbeing than their male counterparts, Lockton said. This points to “the need for greater cognisance on the part of employers of the differing needs of their workers”, said Mr McKenna, “whether that be based on gender, age or simply on the individuals within the organisation”.

One solution, he said, was for employers to design benefits packages tailored to the preferences and lifestyle choices of their employees.

Employers also need to keep up a constant line of communication with their staff, Mr McKenna said. “By establishing regular channels for employees to provide feedback such as using surveys, focus groups, employee resource groups and capturing utilisation data to gather insights, employers can get an idea of what changes might be needed.”

Ian Curran

Ian Curran

Ian Curran is a Business reporter with The Irish Times

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