On the heels of National Mental Health Day, results from the 2023 Workplace Wellness Survey published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research found that 74% of American workers are moderately or highly concerned about their workplace well-being. In addition, nearly three-quarters of the workers reported a similar level of concern about their emotional well-being or mental health and one-quarter rate their mental health as fair or poor.
“What we found surprising is that this is the first year that saving for retirement is not the primary financial stress factor for employees. Instead, we found that day-to-day issues like emergency savings and paying for household bills are top of mind for workers,” says Jake Spiegel, research associate, health and wealth benefits, EBRI.
Key takeaways:
- One in three (29%) American workers are highly concerned about their own workplace well-being, while another 44% are moderately concerned. Approximately one-quarter (26%) of American workers are not too or not at all concerned.
- One-third of American workers report they are highly concerned about their emotional well-being or mental health and one-quarter rate their mental health as fair or poor.
- American workers are worried about how potential economic challenges will impact their finances. More than four out of five American workers are at least somewhat concerned that there will be a recession in the next year or that inflation will remain high for at the next 12 months.
- Four in 10 workers feel at least somewhat prepared to handle an emergency expense of $5,000. Far more American workers (70%) feel equipped to manage an unexpected expense of $500.
- Down slightly from last year and from 2021, 40% of employees are extremely or very satisfied with their benefits package and 22% are not too or not at all satisfied. At the same time, seven in 10 agree at least somewhat that their benefits package is designed to meet their lifestyle and/or family needs.
- More than half of workers feel mental health benefits have become more important to offer in the past year and four in 10 feel the same way about financial wellness programs.
