Social interaction
The positive effects of regular social interactions on health have been widely reported. For instance, a study reviewing mortality rates has documented an average 50 percent increase in likelihood for survival if participants have strong social relationships.1 Furthermore, social integration during childhood is related to lower blood pressure and body mass index in adulthood.2
Social interactions at work experienced by employees strongly influence health and workplace outcomes. Feeling connected at work is associated with greater innovation, engagement, and quality of work—and may be especially impactful for those with smaller social networks outside of their jobs.3 MHI’s 2023 research shows experiencing toxic workplace behavior is a strong predictor of negative health outcomes at work, including loneliness at work, the intention to leave an organization, and burnout symptoms.
Toxic workplace behavior is a critical workplace driver to combat. If left unaddressed, it can mitigate the benefits of any health and well-being initiatives pursued. Examples of interventions to counter toxic workplace behavior include establishing a zero-tolerance policy for it and creating anonymous feedback processes through which employees can report it—which also normalizes a culture of providing concrete, specific feedback to colleagues.4
Meanwhile, experiencing psychological safety on a team and support from coworkers and managers predicts positive health outcomes, including better holistic health. In 2023, MIT Sloan School of Management researchers outlined proven social-health initiatives that helped managers build psychological safety on their teams. 5 They included training managers to use one-on-one meetings to increase employee individuation6 by asking employees what was important to them and where they needed support. Another use of the meetings was to remove blockers for employees by helping them prioritize among tasks. Interestingly, individuation has been shown to increase psychological safety the most when psychological safety is relatively low, while removing blockers is more effective when psychological safety is relatively high.
Mindsets and beliefs
Research, including MHI analysis, has demonstrated a connection between positive mindsets and beliefs and better health experience.1 This includes the positive effects of a growth mindset on mental health and the benefits of gratitude on physical health. Positive mindsets and beliefs in the workplace are also greatly influential in good holistic health.
In fact, good holistic health isn’t achieved by completely avoiding workplace stressors. Instead, it can be maintained through creating positive experiences at work, such as experiencing high self-efficacy, high adaptability, a feeling of meaning, and a feeling of belonging at work. For example, an individual may be able to tolerate the stress of a looming deadline on a big project if they believe that they have the support of their team.
Employers can foster meaning and belonging by engaging employees through compelling storytelling and fostering a connection to an organization’s mission. Purpose-driven companies that excel at this grow two times faster than their competitors do and achieve gains in employee satisfaction, employee retention, and consumer trust.2 Some of these outcomes may be attributed to employees who are intrinsically motivated and able to maintain better well-being over time, creating a positive performance loop.3 Additionally, employee self-efficacy and adaptability are capabilities that can be cultivated among employees to make a more resilient and healthy workforce.4
Productive activity
Productive activity includes employment- and nonemployment-related activities. Examples include volunteering, caregiving, spending time on hobbies, worshiping, spending time on activism, playing music, and traveling.
Employment has been linked to improved life expectancy.1 According to MHI research, one of the top contributors to productivity at work is an individual’s sense of self-efficacy—an employee’s belief that they can cope with difficult or changing situations. Self-efficacy can be improved through interventions, suggesting that employers can target self-efficacy to improve employee productivity.2
Furthermore, employers have the opportunity to help the people in their communities connect to meaningful and productive activities that support their long-term health and well-being. Enjoyable leisure activities are also associated with improved psychosocial and physical measures that support good health and well-being, including greater life satisfaction and engagement and lower rates of depression, blood pressure, cortisol, and physical function.3
Stress
In discussing workplace stressors, it’s important to acknowledge that stress itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it’s actually needed to learn, grow, and develop.1 Optimal levels of stress can contribute to better performance. After that point, the benefits diminish into worse well-being because of the excessive demands of high stress and lack of replenishment of energy resources. The employer’s role is to ensure that employees are stimulated, challenged, and motivated—but not overwhelmed—by the demands they experience in the workplace.
Chronically elevated levels of stress can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, and metabolic disease.2 Job strain and effort–reward imbalance can predict several common mental disorders.3 Additionally, MHI research shows that an increase in workplace demands is the driver most predictive of burnout and distress symptoms at work.
Some jobs are high in demand by structure. For example, some organizations have seasonal or other cyclical patterns in work demand. In these situations, interventions should focus on building in recovery time so that employees can regain their energy after high-demand periods.
Economic security
Economic opportunity and economic security can influence many facets of health and productivity. For example, high-income individuals are five times more likely than low-income individuals to report strong health.1 Employees who are struggling financially are more likely than others to experience signs of poor mental health that might affect their ability to function at work.2 A lack of job stability links with poor mental health, as well as poor physical well-being (for example, cardiovascular disease).3 Any short-term rise in employee performance fueled by job insecurity is often negated by the additional burden on employee physical and mental health.4
MHI research shows that the greatest contributor to employees’ feelings of financial insecurity is whether they are paid sufficiently to cover their basic needs. While what it takes to feel economically secure is unique to each person, employers can reduce feelings of financial insecurity by ensuring that compensation covers basic needs.
Sleep
There’s a strong association between sleep hours and both employee health and workplace outcomes. The cost to employers when employees have insufficient or poor-quality sleep can be substantial.
Employees with untreated insomnia cost employers an average of $2,280 more annually than employees without untreated insomnia because of absenteeism, “presenteeism,” poor performance, and increased incidents of accident and injury.1 According to the MHI 2023 survey, 31 percent of employees across the world average fewer than seven hours of sleep per night. Although everyone has unique needs, this falls below the ballpark number of hours recommended to maintain good health.2 Researchers have shown severe sleep loss can even lead to death, as our bodies conduct necessary reparative processes when we sleep.3
The MHI survey found that one of the main contributors to an employee’s average number of sleep hours is the experienced volume of work required of them. Furthermore, one of the top contributors to an employee’s satisfaction with their sleep is their ability to adjust to unexpected changes. This may suggest that employee programs that look to improve adaptability may in turn improve employees’ satisfaction with their sleep.
Employers have additional interventions they can consider if their employees are struggling with getting consistent, high-quality sleep. They include creating work environments with ample natural light and access to healthy foods, limiting or disabling employees from being online after hours, creating incentives for employees who prioritize sleep, and encouraging and rewarding leaders who model the prioritization of sleep over work.