Employers need to do more to support and boost employee wellness as the UK’s stress levels increase. The data* revealed that less than 1% (0.26%) of job postings in the country cite benefits which include wellness programmes.

While this is a slight increase on the yearly average of 0.21%, the talent solutions expert has warned that this figure is far too low given the increasing pressures facing employees today. Especially considering that more than 90% of adults across the country have experienced high or extreme levels of stress in the last year, according to recent data from Mental Health UK.

Craig Sweeney, EVP of global strategic talent solutions at WilsonHCG commented: “The mental wellbeing of employees should always be a top priority for businesses, but there’s no doubt that the pandemic and the overnight move to increased remote working initially drove this high up the agenda for employers. However, as is often the case, now that the immediacy of the well-being crisis has cooled in the media, it is beginning to slip down the list for some organisations.

“The fact that so few employers proactively promote access to wellness programmes as an employee benefit signals that it is still seen as a nice-to-have rather than the critical part of talent engagement programmes that it should be. Aside from the moral and ethical responsibility to look after employees, providing wellness support also helps with with talent attraction and retention.

With our data also showing that hiring activity is beginning to creep up, competition for talent is going to heat up once again. Those organisations that demonstrate a clear commitment to the wellbeing of their workforces will no doubt be the ones able to attract the best candidates in this environment.”