Employee Well-Being Drives the Future of Work

When the pandemic struck, our day-to-day lives turned upside down and it has become a pressing challenge to shift the way we do our human interactions. The rapid changes that the world has undergone over the past couple of years have also drastically transformed the dynamics of the work environment and the way we do our business. The well-being of employees has become a fundamental part of this equation as the pandemic took its toll on our mental health.

The COVID-19 epidemic introduced a slew of new hurdles, particularly for corporate attempting to reopen, with managers and staff going under massive pressure to bring their business back to normal as quickly as possible. Most companies swiftly adapted to the new world’s needs by implementing new standards and improved methods to provide for a safe, steady return. These measures guided us through the critical phases of rebuilding our business in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. We ensured that our facilities are totally clean and disinfected and that we have a strategy in place to keep the business safe, established a support network for our staff when they return to work, and adjust to the new realities and emotional challenges brought by the COVID-19 outbreak. Also tried to create a safe work atmosphere approach that protects employees and customers from the risks associated with COVID-19, such as exposure and transmission.

These latest measures have come to life to address the new challenges and realities we are forced to adapt to. Yet, the well-being of the employees has always been at the heart of our operations as we strive to apply the best practices in the work environment and human asset management through the already existing programs to ensure the well-being of the employees.

Being an employee-oriented company has been an essential part of our journey. We invested in the human asset, as we understood that it is the driving force of our operations and the future of the work environment. We have done extensive research and studies on the effects of employee well-being programs on staff health and wellbeing across various businesses worldwide. Our Well-being programs are set to help us achieve better engagement and productivity from our employees as studies show that employees who are satisfied are 12 percent more likely to be productive and ninety-five percent of employees who claim to be highly engaged believe that their bosses should listen to their ideas and take their comments into account.

Employees’ mental well-being also means less absenteeism and turnover as several studies suggest that a well-planned employee well-being program reduces absenteeism rates for 78 percent of firms. A healthy work atmosphere, in turn, stimulates employees and keeps them with your organization for a longer period. Employees are more likely to burn out in the absence of such programs, which cost businesses between $125 and $190 billion each year.

Meanwhile, we believe that these well-being programs will support us in creating Staff Built on Resilience as it serves as a guiding light for employees who are dealing with stress at work or in their personal lives. Finally, these programs will have a positive impact on Employer Branding by improving workplace culture and acquiring new employees who will flourish in your company's environment. At the same time, employees who are happy with their positions are more likely to recommend your firm to their peers, decreasing your recruitment costs and ensuring a loyal workforce.

For this purpose, we introduced Danone's corporate health and wellness programs to assess the effects that the organizational climate and job type can have on employees' health and create initiatives or campaigns targeted at making healthy choices simpler for the workforce.

Our team is a family that grows and works together, and we realize that they are an important part of our success story. For this purpose, Danone has been hosting recognition events (Golden Danoners) six times a year to acknowledge employees' exceptional talents and devotion in their sector.

We strive to empower our staff and work together with our partners. We have entrusted the building of new futures to our more than 100,000 employees by allowing each of them to co-own our agenda and our goals on a global and local scale. The company continues to pioneer new methods to promote inclusive growth for all stakeholders in our food chain, especially the most vulnerable. Furthermore, we are collaborating with our partners to support the food revolution by co-creating long-term solutions and transforming the way food is grown, produced, promoted, distributed, sold, and consumed.

As a foundational act to make our 2030 Goals a reality, we created an innovative governance model called "One Person, One Voice, One Share" that puts Danone's 100,000 employees at the center of defining the company's future. In addition to out-of-work benefits such as corporate discounts, all staff is eligible for premium offers and discounts in a variety of industries, including gyms, restaurants, services, and more, including nurseries. We also provide ergonomically comfortable seats to improve their posture, vital stationery to streamline their workflow, docking stations for efficiency, large screens to protect their vision, and a baby/lactation room for women on maternity leave who require more than the government's provision.

At Danone, we have also introduced non-physical features such as regular breaks, company support, educational sessions, and nutritional advice, as well as an HR call program established during COVID to ensure employees are stable with new work schemes, a dynamic working environment, doctor support for all employees to check on their health, and any other type of support or guidance that they may require.

Employees’ well-being has proven to be the linchpin of all business operations. In order for corporate to continue to thrive, it is time for businesses to step up their game, bring to life real and tangible programs, and truly invest in its calibers in an effort to support businesses thrive on one hand and to curb the impact of the pandemic on employees’ mental health and wellbeing. The corporate need to forge their ways with an employee’s-driven mindset, which, without a doubt, will positively reflect on the businesses.