Given the challenging and turbulent times we have been experiencing, it has become increasingly important to regularly check in on how people are going. This means understanding the whole human experience. Before you assume this is a huge or impossible undertaking, we can streamline the check in process into 4 dynamic elements: Wellbeing, Performance, Work and Life. 

Over the last few months, we have inspired thousands of employee Check Ins to help people tune into how they are going, and to prioritise and promote wellbeing actions. This has been done through our new Wellbeing Checkpoint platform which includes an employee app as well as a live leader dashboard of team level and broader group data insights.

Over 95% of the check ins have been recorded by employees in workplaces across Australia. The remaining 5% have come from employees checking in across the globe. The data is fascinating and provides valuable insights into people’s experiences throughout this challenging time of disruption, transition, and innovation.

How well are people feeling and functioning in work and life?

The first level of insight comes from looking at how well people are going on the 4 dimensions introduced:

• Work wellbeing

• Work performance

• Life wellbeing

• Life performance

When we calculate a population score for these four dimensions it is reflected in the Benny Button Index on a range from 0-100. A higher population score signals a higher level of work-life wellbeing and performance. At the time of writing this piece, the population level was sitting at 66/100. This score level will not be surprising to people. Though it is lower than desirable, over the last few months the level has improved by 6.5%. We might infer from this trend that moving forward from recent lockdowns has led to a greater sense of wellbeing and improved performance. At a time when many organisations and the media are highlighting that people are feeling extremely fatigued and wellbeing compromised, it’s promising that for people checking in and taking wellbeing action on the Wellbeing Checkpoint platform are reflecting a more positive outlook and upward wellbeing and performance trend.

When looking at the breakdown of key factors, here are the results at our time of writing (29th November 2021).

Life Wellbeing = 64

Life Performance = 66

Work Wellbeing = 63

Work Performance = 72

From the above, we have seen life wellbeing trending up by 10% from a low of 58 in September, to 64 and climbing higher during the month of November. Following lockdowns people are better able to reclaim some autonomy and freedom around wellbeing promoting actions and can return to doing the things they value and reconnecting with loved ones. It stands to reason, therefore, that we’d see life wellbeing levels trend upwards. There is a clear association between life wellbeing and people’s satisfaction with how well they’re performing in life outside of work. When it comes to functioning well in life, this aspect has also improved by 14% over the same time period.

People’s experience of work has also seen a lift, albeit not to the same level as life outside of work. Nevertheless, the results are encouraging. Work wellbeing improved by 7% between September and November, indicating that people are feeling more fulfilled with their experience of work. Again we can notice the association between wellbeing and performance in the result that employees' sense of performance contribution at work improved by 7%.

It is at this time worth highlighting that our broader database of workplace wellbeing and performance insights has over half a million data points since we began recording people's experiences in 2017. The overall data clearly reflects the important association between wellbeing and performance in work and life. Specifically, 75% of the people reporting high levels of wellbeing record high levels of performance. However, only 6% of people record high levels of performance when their wellbeing level is low. Investing in wellbeing truly is an investment in performance - a clear win-win for employees and workplaces.

Heat Map - What experiences are people having?

Whilst it’s helpful to look at the wellbeing and performance levels in work and life at the population level, it’s really important to recognise that people are having diverse experiences. There are patterns, for sure. But, people are unique. So while average scores are really valuable in that they offer an initial level of insight into a population and allow us to monitor changes and trends over time, we must seek to understand the diverse experiences people are having. This is really important for creating a mindset of inclusion and respect for diversity. A mindset that acknowledges and shows interest in the breadth and differences of peoples’ experiences is vital for opening dialogue and extending guidance and support to meet diverse needs.

So let’s just take a moment to take in the scattering of dots on the Heat Map below. Respecting that a dot is a human being. We can see the pattern in the responses, that is true. But, people are having their experience, and for some, there are challenges or tradeoffs happening. We encourage leaders to be thinking about this data with respect to the diverse experiences your people will be having. What are leaders doing to truly step into the mindset of their people? Are they asking themselves whether what they are doing is opening up supportive dialogue so that everyone’s experience is valid and worthy of attention and action? While some people may well be thriving with high levels of wellbeing and performance, many people are having struggles in one form or another that deserve recognition, empathy and support.

Wellbeing Risk - How many people have recorded low wellbeing levels?

As you would expect in such challenging times, many peoples’ work and life wellbeing has been somewhat compromised over the last 6 months. Our data indicates that 44% of people checking in via the Wellbeing Checkpoint platform have recorded a low level of wellbeing at least once over the last 6 months. 

Before reading on, let’s slow down to acknowledge the significance of this insight for a moment. Stop to think of your peers, your team and your organisation. Consider that almost 1 in 2 people will experience low levels of wellbeing in their work and life at some point in time - putting them at risk of experiencing further decline into more significant mental wellbeing or physical health issues. It could be you. It could be a friend or a work colleague. This is why it is so important to regularly check in and normalise the wellbeing conversation in our teams and across our workplaces. This check in - for yourself and with others - really needs to be happening more regularly than once a year asking people RUOK? Sure, we know this, but we need to act on it and instill in our routines and team catch-ups an open dialogue about whether people are going ok and what support would be beneficial.

Focus - what areas of life do people want to prioritise and take action on?

Extensive research undertaken by Benny Button revealed 8 core factors that together strengthen and sustain high levels of wellbeing and performance in work and life. These are Stress Mastery (people's relationship and response to stress), Mindful Action (awareness, attention, focus and emotional intelligence), Nourish (nutrition, hydration, and digestive functioning), Rest (sleep and relaxation), Connect (quality relationships and engagement in these relationships), Move (physical activity and resistance exercise), Work (experience of life at work, work demands: resources, leadership and culture) and Grow (relationship with learning & development and growth mindset).

Our Wellbeing Checkpoint platform is designed to help people get focused on one of these 8 factors at a time. This gets people thinking about what area of their wellbeing and performance they feel is most relevant right now. This could be an area of challenge the employee feels they need to work on or improve, or it could be a relevant interest they want to work on or a strength they’d like to strengthen further.

Population data has highlighted that the majority of people are focused on the Move factor.

To gain greater clarity on what to focus on, the Wellbeing Checkpoint platform helps people identify 1 to 3 key priorities within their area of focus. Not only does this help a person gain greater clarity and feel like their focus is highly relevant to them, the priorities a person selects drive a recommendations engine that serves up action recommendations as well as resources for self-directed learning and practice.

Here are the top 10 priorities selected by the Benny Button Wellbeing Checkpoint population:

Top 10 Priorities selected

1. Move: Prioritising physical activity

2. Move: Flexibility & mobility

3. Nourish: Drinking water

4. Move: Strength & resistance exercise

5. Move: Reduce sedentary time

6. Nourish: Unhealthy foods or drinks

7. Mindful Action: Focus & concentration

8. Nourish: Cooking ideas

9. Mindful Action: Time for reflection & thinking

10. Move: Stamina & endurance

Taking Action for Wellbeing

The Wellbeing Checkpoint has recorded 000’s of wellbeing action updates indicating that people are focusing on and making time for self-care and wellbeing learning. As well as recording action updates, people are encouraged to reflect on the progress they are making. This is a valuable wellbeing intervention and micro-learning opportunity itself that serves to improve how people understand and approach wellbeing action and behaviour change over time. When it comes to making progress with wellbeing, satisfaction ratings and associated insights into what enables progress versus barriers to progress people experience are quite illuminating.

Here is a breakdown of progress satisfaction levels:

• 51% of the population are highly satisfied with their progress

• 38% of the population are moderately satisfied with their progress

• 11% of the population are experiencing low levels of satisfaction. This doesn’t represent a failure by any means

We can celebrate that when people check in and focus on their wellbeing, 50% are reporting high levels of satisfaction with their wellbeing progress. A further 38% are moderately satisfied. What’s more, even the proportion of people recording lower levels of progress have the opportunity to learn from that by identifying what barriers they can acknowledge are getting in their way of making progress. Let’s unpack key enablers people are recording when their progress is moderately or highly satisfactory, as well as barriers people are acknowledging.

People who were highly satisfied with their wellbeing progress indicated the top 3 key enablers of their improvement were:

• I took responsibility (22%)

• Actions felt achievable (18%)

• Actions were rewarding (18%)

The top 3 barriers identified by people who recorded lower levels of satisfaction with their wellbeing progress were:

• Felt too busy (29%)

• Haven't made time (26%)

• High workload (24%)

Our aim is to support people and organisations to promote and strengthen the enablers of progress as well as overcome barriers to achieving satisfactory wellbeing and performance progress. These data insights allow us to develop effective behaviour change strategies in our platform and in our discussions with our partners. Over time, these insights will further support wellbeing conversations in workplaces so everyone can learn from each other’s successes and struggles.

An award-winning wellbeing culture

Just last week, the Surf Coast Shire Council, early adopters of our Wellbeing Checkpoint platform, won AHRI’s Martin Seligman Wellbeing Award. This is the premier workplace wellbeing award in Australia. 

The Surf Coast Shire’s commitment to integrating wellbeing check ins into their flow of work is inspiring. Sam Liston, Coordinator for Workplace Health & Safety sums up the approach best.

“We want to continue being curious and open minded to having wellbeing conversations. Team members may not be struggling but by regularly checking in and having normal meaningful wellbeing conversations we are more likely to have a team member approach our leaders or open up when they are starting to struggle. A strong wellbeing relationship will allow us to engage early and assist our colleagues in accessing tools and resources to assist them to take proactive steps to enhance their own wellbeing.”

- Sam Liston Coordinator Workplace Health & Safety

Wellbeing Checkpoint and the future of work

Challenges with work-life imbalance and conflict have skyrocketed, placing strain on mental, physical, and social health and wellbeing as well as performance and productivity. 

The emerging hybrid reality requires better ongoing data insight into the work-life dynamic. Our aim is for our Wellbeing Checkpoint platform to monitor and enhance employee work and life wellbeing and performance levels over time. Through simple data visualisations, actionable insights, and smart support resources, people and leaders can see how wellbeing is a vital component of a positive work-life experience. 

A workplace culture where it’s normal for people to pause and regularly check in will encourage wellbeing action and ensure people reach out for support before it’s too late. Not only is this clearly of great benefit for people, providing support early can mitigate risks from becoming costly expenses and workplace health and safety issues.

A wellbeing forward culture requires a whole organisation approach - a Win-Win mindset where people and organisations work together to check into and take action for wellbeing. This mindset shift is needed in workplaces across the world. 

Connect with us to learn more about Wellbeing Checkpoint