Nudging in the workplace: increasing participation in employee EDI wellness events

Organisations are investing significant resources in promoting the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of their employees. In hybrid working environments, virtual worker wellness events are increasingly being used to combat social isolation and boost employee morale. Yet attendance at such events is often low. Using a randomised control trial, this study tests whether four behaviourally informed nudges (i) simplification, (ii) changing the messenger, (iii) using social proof and (iv) setting a default, can increase the registration and attendance rates of 6,998 public sector employees at three EDI (Equality Diversity Inclusion) wellness events. We find evidence that defaults matter. Pre-registering employees more than trebles the attendance rate, from 2.8% to 9.5%. While providing social proof and changing the messenger increase registration rates, they have no impact on attendance. We find little evidence of treatment heterogeneity, suggesting that defaults may have wide applicability. Our results have important implications for organisations seeking to enhance the impact and return on investment of their worker wellness initiatives.Irish Research Counci

Worker stress, burnout, and wellbeing before and during the COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom

COVID-19 created a transformational shift in the working environment for much of the labour force, yet its impact on workers is unclear. This study uses longitudinal data to examine the wellbeing of 621 full-time workers assessed before (November 2019–February 2020) and during (May–June 2020) the first lockdown in the United Kingdom. We employ fixed effects analyses to investigate the impact of the restrictions and mandatory homeworking on cognitive, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. Within the sample, the rate of full-time homeworking increased from 2 to 74% between waves. We identify significant changes in 9 of the 15 measures assessed, with a general pattern of improvements in wellbeing during lockdown. Overall levels of stress, self-rated mental health, positive emotions and life and job satisfaction are not adversely affected by the restrictions. There is a reduction in the burnout symptoms of disengagement (−0.13 sd) and exhaustion (−0.20 sd) and in the frequency with which negative emotions are experienced at work (−0.15 sd). Workers feel more autonomous (+0.09 sd), closer to their co-workers (+0.10 sd), and more attached to their organisations (+0.19 sd). However, homelife satisfaction declines (−0.11 sd). These findings highlight the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic and large-scale transition to homeworking was associated with unchanged or improved worker wellbeing. This study has important implications for governments and employers regarding a global shift to homeworking

Worker well-being and quit intentions: is measuring job satisfaction enough?

While the links between worker well-being and quit intentions have been well researched, most studies to date rely on a very narrow conceptualisation of well-being, namely job satisfaction, thus ignoring the documented multidimensionality of subjective well-being. This paper explores whether this approach is justified. Using novel survey data, I compare the extent to which hedonic (job satisfaction; positive and negative affect) and eudemonic (disengagement; satisfaction of basic psychological needs at work) well-being indicators individually and jointly explain variation in the quit intentions of 994 full-time UK workers. Well-being indicators perform well overall, explaining four to nine times more variation in quit intentions than wages and hours combined, with the disengagement measure performing best. I find systematic differences in the hedonic and eudemonic well-being profiles of workers who report positive quit intentions and those who do not. A composite model containing all seven indicators offers the best fit, explaining 29.4% of variation in quit intentions versus 24.0% for job satisfaction on its own. My findings suggest that the standard single-item job satisfaction indicator is probably good enough for organisations who are looking for a quick and easy way to identify workers who may be most at risk of forming positive quit intentions. For organisations seeking to develop effective preventative quit strategies however, supplementing single-item job satisfaction with multifaceted well-being indicators is likely to yield valuable additional insights into workers’ experiences which can inform the design of targeted interventions

Nudging in the workplace: Increasing participation in employee EDI wellness events

Organisations are investing significant resources in promoting the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of their employees. In hybrid working environments, virtual worker wellness events are increasingly being used to combat social isolation and boost employee morale. Yet attendance at such events is often low. Using a randomised control trial, this study tests whether four behaviourally informed nudges (i) simplification, (ii) changing the messenger, (iii) using social proof and (iv) setting a default, can increase the registration and attendance rates of 6,998 public sector employees at three EDI (Equality Diversity Inclusion) wellness events. We find evidence that defaults matter. Pre-registering employees more than trebles the attendance rate, from 2.8% to 9.5%. While providing social proof and changing the messenger increase registration rates, they have no impact on attendance. We find little evidence of treatment heterogeneity, suggesting that defaults may have wide applicability. Our results have important implications for organisations seeking to enhance the impact and return on investment of their worker wellness initiatives

Worker well-being before and during the COVID-19 restrictions: A longitudinal study in the UK

The potential impact of COVID-19 restrictions on worker well-being is currently unknown. In this study we examine 15 well-being outcomes collected from 621 full-time workers assessed before (November, 2019 - February, 2020) and during (May-June, 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. Fixed effects analyses are used to investigate how the COVID-19 restrictions and involuntary homeworking affect well-being and job performance. The majority of worker well-being measures are not adversely affected. Homeworkers feel more engaged and autonomous, experience fewer negative emotions and feel more connected to their organisations. However, these improvements come at the expense of reduced homelife satisfaction and job performance.University College DublinUCD Behavioural Science Grou