Jobs of the Future: Better supports attracts better employees

There is new research that says Canadian employers are losing out on attracting and keeping new workers because the employers are lacking the resources to handle mental health and well-being concerns.

The report, which is titled “The State of Workplace Health and Wellness in Canada”, is a research document that highlights many of the concerns facing Human Resources (HR) leaders across the country. 

The research report was commissioned by Dialogue Health Technologies and carried out by Environics Research, said a news release from Dialogue.

The report includes new trends and insights that identify a lack of mental health and well-being supports as a key contributor to talent attraction and retention challenges, as well as barriers to improvement, said the release.

The 2023 survey was completed by 98 Canadian HR leaders (those with decision making responsibilities about employee benefit plans) between January 17 and February 2, 2023. These HR leaders collectively influence and manage health and wellness benefits for over 50,000 employees, said the report.

Staffing was identified as the top issue facing HR leaders in 2023, with 70 per cent identifying difficulties attracting talent, retaining staff and managing staff shortages as key challenges. 

"As a result, concerns about burnout are top-of-mind, as 61 per cent of respondents cited employee mental health as an important challenge to manage this year," the release continued.

Dialogue also reported that access to mental health support can have a positive impact on the well-being of employees, but HR leaders in Canada reported that workplaces don't have the right resources in place to address increasing demands. The document also reported that nearly half (48 per cent) of the HR leaders indicated that their employee benefits programs did not provide access to a mental health professional.

The Dialogue report further stated that the issue extends to education and training, as 45 per cent of HR leaders found it difficult to ensure employees are making the most of their benefit plans. It also said 70 per cent of HR professionals have not trained managers,  or they feel managers have insufficient training to help them recognize and support employees' mental health needs.

Dialogue also reported that initiatives and programs aimed at well-being can enhance the employer's ability to deal with the challenges of attracting and retaining employees.

HR leaders however reported that as many as 50 per cent of them faced the challenges of not being able to secure financial resources to boost HR initiatives. 

Ahsan Sadiq, Vice President, Health & Wellness at Environics, said the HR leaders need more support from the corporate head offices.

"HR leaders are challenged with talent retention and attraction; and recognize that employee mental health and well-being are related challenges. They want to improve their employees' well-being, but need support from leadership across the organization," said Sadiq.

"Employers that prioritize the well-being through comprehensive benefits and services will benefit from a more productive and engaged workforce, which creates an attractive work environment for new talent," Sadiq added.