Working well-being and productivity go arm in arm, and this is why more and more companies are deciding to favor an improved company environment, by pursuing solid welfare plans. However, it must be stated that the link between well-being and productivity can only work if the actions taken start with actively listening to employee needs: only then can there be a real increase in performance.
Organizational well-being and performance
The most recent surveys show that Italian companies are increasingly more aware of the link between organizational well-being and performance. The Welfare Index PMI 2019, the report promoted by Generali Italia with the participation of Confindustria, Confagricoltura, Confartigianato and Confprofessioni, now in its fourth edition, also confirms this.
There are many interesting data: this year, the survey involved 4561 companies in total, 1,600 of which are micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees. Of course, in this type of survey, the contributions from the smallest companies are fundamental: in this way, in fact, it is possible to highlight the gap that exists between large and small enterprises.
As Enea Dallaglio explained in his presentation of the 2019 Report, the latter «find it difficult to achieve a structure that can efficiently implement welfare initiatives» and therefore «need to join with other companies to create adequately sized catchment basins». The pairing of welfare and productivity therefore applies to all companies, but must be articulated differently depending on the size of the various companies.
The awareness of the role of employee welfare in increasing productivity is growing
The Welfare Index PMI divides welfare initiatives into 12 different areas: in fact, it speaks of insurance policies, welfare extended to the territory and community, private pensions, safety and prevention, private healthcare, work-life balance, support for weak parties, training, economic support, culture and free time, family education support and care services.
The index states that companies active in at least 4 different areas are “active”. In 2016, 25.5% of companies were considered active; in the Welfare Index PMI 2019, on the other hand, 45.9% of companies are active, underlining the increase in efforts made to increase employee welfare. In parallel, ‘very active’ companies are also on the rise. These companies have set up initiatives in at least six areas: in this case the increase was from 7.2% in 2016 to 19.6% in 2019.
The results of very active companies in company welfare
The ratio between working welfare and productivity is highest in the ‘very active’ SMEs. Here – where 71.2% of SMEs involve workers in the definition of company welfare policies – 73.1% show a positive impact on worker satisfaction, which reflects in the 63.9% of cases of increased productivity. Most of these companies have decided to structure their services using a welfare software platform that can automate the flexible benefit management process based on employee preferences.