GET ENGAGEDHOW A HEALTHY CULTURE CAN DRIVE GREATER EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT AND ENGAGEMENT

Our scientifically developed, independently proven program (formerly the

GCC) takes employees on a journey that fundamentally improves their

relationship with exercise, nutrition, sleep and psychological wellbeing.

Virgin Pulse Global Challenge draws upon the latest aggregated health information and outcomes

shared by more than two million employees who have successfully completed the Global Challenge’s

award-winning, 12-month health and performance program.

These insights, from 5,500 of the world’s leading companies across 185 countries and combined

with the latest independent research, provide employers with new perspectives and practical

recommendations to improve the health and performance of their workforce.

ABOUT VIRGIN PULSE GLOBAL CHALLENGE

CONTENTS ABOUT VIRGIN PULSE GLOBAL CHALLENGE 2

OUR EXPERTS 3THE VIRGIN PULSE PANEL

STATE OF THE NATION 4KEY METRICS OF BUSINESS SUCCESS

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT DEFINED 5WHAT ENGAGEMENT IS – AND ISN’T

STRESS – THE HIDDEN ENEMY 6TACKLE AN INVISIBLE THREAT

USE CULTURE TO DRIVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT 8WHAT BUSINESS CAN DO

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY – THE LINK 9CONNECT THE DOTS WITH DATA

RE-ENERGISE YOUR TEAM 11ENGAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES FOR BETTER BUSINESS OUTCOMES

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OUR EXPERTS

“No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energised

employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it.”

Jack Welch, author and former CEO of General Electric

Jack Welch is considered one of the

most influential business minds of

his time. He led General Electric (GE)

through two decades of solid financial

results and famously attributed

continued growth and success to three

key metrics: customer satisfaction,

cash flow – and employee engagement.

“Soft culture matters as

much as hard numbers,”

says Jack Welch

In 2016, 77% of Global Challenge

clients cited employee engagement as

the workplace performance issue they

would most like to improve.1

As one client succinctly put it:

“I’m tired of looking out from my

office and seeing everyone on

Facebook, avoiding each other,

pretending to work. I want to

change it.”

This report explores the connections

that exist between engagement,

culture and workplace performance.

It arms employers who want change

and improvement with expert advice,

then demonstrates related business

outcomes with data-driven insights.

This report is based on the responses

of 11,051 employees from 25

organisations in 63 countries.

In 2015, these employees completed

the Global Challenge’s 100-day health

program and answered a survey that

was developed in consultation with

US-based Stanford University in order

to better understand and improve

employee engagement.

THE RESULTS SHOW: 1. THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN AN EMPLOYEE’S HEALTH AND THEIR ENGAGEMENT LEVELS

2. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENGAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY

1. Global Challenge Client Survey. Published 2016.

Dr Cynthia Ackrill is a leader in the field of stress management

and a consultant for the Global Challenge’s psychological

wellbeing module, Balance.

As a physician trained in neuroscience, wellbeing and

leadership coaching, she is an expert in the critical

relationships between lifestyle choices, performance

capacities, and leadership effectiveness.

She travels the world to teach better ways to lead

and thrive in the face of stress and constant change.

DR CYNTHIA ACKRILL

Dr David Batman is a member of the Science Advisory

Board for Virgin Pulse Institute. He has been a medical

practitioner for more than 40 years and a registered Specialist

Occupational Health Consultant for the last 30 years.

Before joining Virgin Pulse, he was GCC’s Chief Medical

Officer. And previously, Head of Occupational Health and

Safety for Nestlé in the UK and Ireland.

His expertise covers risk assessments, health surveillance,

return to work and rehabilitation procedures; he has a special

interest in psychological health at work.

DR DAVID BATMAN

Dr Olivia Sackett is Virgin Pulse’s Data Scientist. She has

a doctorate in biostatistics and population research, as

well as experience consulting for business and government.

Her work has also been featured in internationally

peer-reviewed journals. At Virgin Pulse, she successfully

combines her passion for big data with the drive to have

a positive impact on the world.

DR OLIVIA SACKETT

STATE OF THE NATION

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“Engagement is the level of emotional commitment an employee has to the organisation and its

purpose. It influences their work efforts and behaviour and can do so for better – or for worse.”

Dr Cynthia Ackrill, consultant for the Global Challenge’s psychological wellbeing module

Visionary leaders like Jack Welch value

employee engagement. It is valuable

to the bottom line – and may make an

employee’s job more enjoyable.

Yet Gallup reports that employee

engagement is “stagnant” in the US.

Their 2015 pulse-check reveals that

more than half of US employees

(50.8%) are not engaged, while a

further 17.2% are actively disengaged.2

Outside the US, Deloitte’s Global

Human Capital Trends report confirms

that engagement is the single most

important issue facing organisations.3

This is because disengaged employees

cost USD $450 billion to $550 billion

per year in lost productivity, according

to Gallup.4

Dr Ackrill – a physician trained in

neuroscience, wellbeing and leadership

coaching, as well as an expert

consultant for the Global Challenge’s

psychological wellbeing module –

offers a reason for these worrying

numbers.

“The problem for many organisations

is that our current business culture

often overlooks the intrinsic nature

of engagement,” she says.

“There’s far too much external, carrot

and stick type motivation. When

really, intrinsic motivation is the more

powerful drive for human behaviour.

Especially true of the complex

behaviours needed for engagement.”

Employee engagement is intangible.

It’s intrinsic, specific to each employee.

And its nature varies from the CEO’s

office to the customer service desk.

It’s not an external business asset that

can be produced overnight, according

to Dr David Batman, a member of

the Science Advisory Board for

Virgin Pulse Institute.

2. Adkins A. Employee engagement in U.S. stagnant in 2015. Gallup. 2016. Available here. 3. Deloitte. Global Human Capital Trends 2015: Leading in the new world of work. P 4. Deloitte University Press. 2015. Available here.4. Garman K. Sorenson S. How to Tackle U.S. employees’ stagnating engagement. Gallup. 2013. Available here.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

“If businesses put too

much of a priority on their

bottom lines rather than

their people, they may

end up with a stressed

workforce – not an

engaged one – which may

negatively impact their

bottom line.”

Dr David Batman, member of the Science Advisory Board, Virgin Pulse Institute.

Stress is one of the main reasons

why employees may not connect

emotionally in their workplace,

according to Dr Batman. With

more than 40 years of clinical

experience, he is a registered

Consultant Specialist in

Occupational Health and has a

particular interest in psychological

health at work. He sees the same

pattern time and again:

“Stressed workers

are almost always

disengaged,”

says Dr Batman

“The stress itself can come down

to a number of things: a lack of

opportunity for career growth, poor

management, a lack of concern for

employee wellbeing, even stress

from home life.

“But regardless of the source,

all these things contribute to

disengagement in the workplace.

Remember, we’re dealing

with employee attitudes and

behaviours. If they aren’t positive,

then business outcomes are less

likely to be positive. It’s a cycle,

and both elements – human and

organisational –

trigger and reinforce one another.”

STRESS – THE HIDDEN ENEMY

“Engagement is about positive

employee attitudes, and behaviours

that lead to improved business

outcomes,” he says. “An organisation’s

role is to create a culture that makes

the workplace a humane place,

somewhere people can do their

best work.”

DISENGAGED EMPLOYEES COST USD $450 BILLION TO $550 BILLION ANNUALLY4

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USE CULTURE TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT

¢ FACTORS THAT CAN NEGATIVELY IMPACT ENGAGEMENT

STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH ISSUESThe biggest problem affecting an increasing

number of people, and still growing.

BUSINESS ISSUESE.g. Job design, work relationships,

trust and uncertainty.

PERSONAL ISSUESE.g. Family, debt, relationships,

substance abuse.

PHYSICAL HEALTH DECLINEE.g. Chronic ill health, major

illness diagnosis.

¢ STRESS AFFECTS THE BRAIN AND BODYDr Ackrill further explains the scientific link between stress and poor results in the workplace:

“When employees are stressed, they don’t have access to their

full brainpower,”

says Dr Ackrill

“The stress reaction systems hijack blood from the frontal lobe to send to the legs, so all the

executive functions that are critical to productive industry – creativity, motivation, judgement,

perspective – are compromised.

“To further complicate this issue, self-awareness is decreased during times of stress, so employees

may not even realise how compromised they are.

“They’ll just stay in the vicious cycle of stress, disengagement, missed deadlines – and poor

results.”

Cultures that promote wellbeing, safety and human connection

drive engagement and ultimately become more competitive,

according to Dr Ackrill.

“Unfortunately, common business practices and cultures are

actually compromising their best potential, not nurturing it,”

she says.

“What we need to do is help people get to a state of flow more

readily – that’s the place where you are productive, time seems

suspended, ideas flow easily, focus is effortless and – most

importantly – effective work gets done to achieve the overall

business objectives.

“If you’re going to get the most out of your team, then you

really need to foster this. You need to create an environment

that isn’t compromised by stress or any other energy drain.”

Dr Batman agrees that prioritising health – both physical and

mental – is arguably one of the most import prerequisites to

engagement. And that improving this element of workplace

culture will provide notable return.

He says: “As well as being happier, healthier and more

committed, research shows that engaged employees have

fewer sickness absences, suffer less presenteeism, and are

less likely to get involved in conflicts and grievances. In this

environment, productivity should increase.”

YOUR ENGAGEMENT CHECKLIST• Promote values-based leadership that drives

intrinsic motivation and empowers employees

with a sense of:

− Mastery (doing the job well)

− Autonomy (doing the job with relative freedom)

− Purpose (doing the job for a cause or vision)5

• Foster connections between employees

• Proactively manage stress and psychological wellbeing

• Create a space where it’s safe to ask for help

and support

• Promote self-care behaviours

5. Pink D. The Puzzle of Motivation. Ted Talks. 2009. Available here.

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FIGURE 2. INCREASE IN ENGAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY (POST-GCC)

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(global participant set; n = 87,471, p < 0.001)(optional question set; n = 11,052, p < 0.001)

Figure 2 focuses on the increases in productivity

and engagement after a workplace health

intervention.

“After participating in the Global Challenge,

employees were more engaged and more

productive,” Dr Sackett adds. “This is very

encouraging, since it shows that businesses

can really benefit when employees focus

more attention on their health and wellbeing.”

¢ FIGURE 2. INCREASE IN ENGAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY (POST-GLOBAL CHALLENGE)

ENGAGEMENT (0-100)

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FIGURE 1. HIGHER ENGAGEMENT = HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY (PRE-GCC)

(n=1,057) (n=1,593)(n=296) (n=665) (n=7,113)

R2 = 0.994, p=0.006

In 2015, in conjunction with Stanford University,

the Global Challenge surveyed 11,051 employees

from 25 organisations and 63 countries about

employee engagement. Figure 1 confirms the

connection between their productivity and

engagement levels.6

“The data shows that employees with the highest

engagement levels also reported feeling more

productive,” explains Virgin Pulse’s Data Scientist,

Dr Olivia Sackett. “In other words, those who

were connected with their workplaces reported

better outputs.”

ENGAGEMENT & PRODUCTIVITY – THE LINK

6. Based on the responses of 11,051 employees who completed the Global Challenge’s 100 Day health program. 2015.

¢ FIGURE 1. HIGHER ENGAGEMENT = HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY (PRE-GLOBAL CHALLENGE)

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ABOUT VIRGIN PULSE

FIND OUT MORE AT:

virginpulse.com

globalchallenge.virginpulse.com

Virgin Pulse, part of Sir Richard Branson’s famed Virgin Group,

helps employers create workforces that are happier, healthier

and ultimately more productive in all aspects of their personal

and professional lives.

The company’s modern, mobile-first platform delivers a

personalised user experience that utilises gamification to

engage users in building habits that inspire meaningful and

measurable change across individuals and the business.

By helping employees thrive at work and in all aspects of life,

Virgin Pulse is helping change lives and businesses for good.

Unlike narrowly focused employee health solutions,

Virgin Pulse’s solutions span the full wellbeing spectrum –

from traditional wellness to strategic wellbeing – providing

organisations with solutions that are appropriate for them

today and tomorrow.

More than 2,200 organisations representing many

of the Fortune 500 and Best Places to Work have selected

Virgin Pulse’s solutions to engage their workforces and drive

their businesses forward.

RE-ENERGISE YOUR TEAM NOWThe data in this report shows that healthy,

engaged employees are productive employees.

Employee engagement may be intrinsic, but

employers can create a culture that connects

it to better business outcomes.

BOOST ENGAGEMENT WITH A WHOLE-OF-PERSON APPROACH THAT: • Encourages self-care behaviours

• Promotes values-based leadership

• Fosters connections between employees

• Links individual talents to wider

organisational goals

Find out more about the Global Challenge Program – and how

it can improve engagement in your workplace.

¢ DISCOVER DEEP DIVE REPORTS

Our Deep Dive Reports empower you to make better

business decisions. They provide evidence of the health and

performance challenges that matter in your organisation.

Then benchmark you at industry and global level for a wider

perspective and competitive advantage.

Click here for more information about our Deep Dive Reports.

Then make better business decisions across the board

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