The Hidden Cost of Workplace Inflexibility: New Gympass Research Reveals a ‘Mismatch Problem’ Threatening Employee Wellbeing

• Amid the return-to-office debate, employees who are not able to work in their preferred environment are twice as likely to report they are struggling with their wellbeing

• Wellbeing is equally important to salary for 93% of global employees, up by 10 points year-over-year

Gympass, the leading corporate wellness platform, today announced the release of its second annual State of Work-Life Wellness Report highlighting the growing importance of wellbeing for employees around the world. Based on a survey of more than 5,000 employees across nine global markets, the State of Work-Life Wellness Report uncovers valuable insights about demands for wellness support in the workforce.

For its 2024 edition, Gympass examined wellbeing trends within the context of the return-to-office debate, uncovering that working in your preferred environment significantly boosts personal wellness and productivity.

“Mismatched” employees–those who work remote but prefer in-office, or work in-office but prefer remote–reported significant negative effects on their overall wellbeing, compared to “matched” employees.

• When asked to rate their wellbeing, mismatched employees were twice as likely to report that they were “struggling” or “really struggling” compared to matched employees.
• Mismatched employees were more likely to have higher stress levels, lower emotional wellbeing and more sleep loss from work stress.

“The workplace ‘mismatch problem’ underscores a larger issue: that wellbeing is unique to each individual. Flexibility is a crucial consideration as companies navigate the return-to-office landscape,” said Cesar Carvalho, co-founder and CEO of Gympass. “Everyone is different. Companies can take better care of their employees by offering flexible, preventative benefits that not only make employees happy and healthy, but save your company money in the long term.”

Employee wellbeing is non-negotiable for today’s global workforce, with its importance growing significantly year-over-year.

• The vast majority of employees–96%–seek employers who prioritize wellbeing.
• 93% of global employees believe that wellbeing is equally important to salary, which is a significant increase of 10 points year-over-year.
• 87% of workers say they would consider leaving a company that does not focus on employee wellbeing, which is a 13-point increase year-over-year.
• Company leaders are experiencing better wellbeing compared to others, creating a “blind spot” that can cause a disconnect between them and teams at large.
• 91% of company leaders (directors and above) say they can take time for their wellbeing, compared to 76% of managers and 66% of non-managers.
• The vast majority of global employees say that emotional wellness (95%) and physical wellness (93%) boosts their productivity and satisfaction at work.
• 77% of employees engage with their company’s wellbeing program, up nine points year-over-year.

“Company leaders and managers: If you feel good about your wellbeing, you cannot assume that the rest of your team does, too,” said Carvalho. “Leaders must ensure that employees, especially non-managers and those early in their careers, have the same time, resources and flexibility to take care of themselves. Wellness is not a seniority perk; it’s the most important thing to keep your employees healthy, productive and engaged at work.”