International Labor Organization Case Study 2022

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Introduction
According to International Labor Organization (ILO), employee wellbeing refers to the
entire aspects of work-life, ranging from the quality and safety of the physical environment to
how employees feel about their work, the environment in which they work from, the climate at
work and also the work organization. It is a measure of safety, health, satisfaction, and
employees' engagement at work.
Employee wellbeing is essential in any organization's long-term sustainability and
survival. Several studies are done to show a strict correlation between the levels of performance
or productivity and the aspect of employee wellbeing. Taking productivity as (P) and wellbeing
as (W), we can show this in a mathematical equation as P=kW to mention the direct

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proportionality between the two parameters. K is the constant of proportionality (Guest, 2014, p.
97).
Most organizations have realized that their most important and critical resource is their
employees, thus the need to take care of their wellbeing and overall health severely. As much as
most entities are moving towards the capital intensive production, it makes no sense without a
happy workforce to even run these machines (Turner, Huemann, & Keegan, 2017, p. 78). A
happy workforce relates to a successful organization.
In the modern world, it is evident that most organizations have realized that most
workplace issues emanate from non-commitment to the wants of their employees. In short, if an
entity gives a deaf ear to employees' wellbeing, then it should be prepared to deal with workplace
nuisances such as stress, bullying, conflict, drugs, and substance abuse and, in the worst cases,
depression (Bakker & Demerouti, 2018, p. 67).
It is worth noting that roughly 90 % of employees hold the opinion that their wellbeing is
a core issue in firms' success and profitability (Brown, Metz, Cregan, & Kulik, 2015, p. 65). This
shows that investment in employee wellbeing can never be taken for granted. A research
conducted by the renowned audit firm, Pricewaterhouse coppers (PWC), shows that for each
dollar spent in promoting employees' wellbeing, a return on investment of 2.3 is yielded. 90% of
workers would actively research a company's investment in employees' wellbeing before taking
up employment with the said company. It is valued that much. A study done by Instinct and
Reason supports this allusion. The same research shows that such an organization that invests in
employees' wellbeing can attract and retain the most talented workforce (Van De Voorde,
Paauwe, & Van Veldhoven, 2016, p. 77).

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According to the Standards Council of Canada, on the psychological health and safety of
employees, investment in employees' wellbeing leads to an immense reduction in employees'
absenteeism, reduced conflict risks, and performance or employees' productivity issues.
Talking about stress and depression, approximately one million employees die globally due to
anxiety and depression from the workplace (Kowalski & Loretto, 2017, p. 83).
Failures by firms to pay attention to employees' wellbeing sometimes land them to
problems and are sued for compensation. Employees' welfare is something that companies
should willingly consider without being pushed.
In the year 2017/2018, it was established that a total of 15 million workdays were lost in
Britain due to work-associated stress in the UK. 0.5 Million cases of depression resulting from
workplace issues were recorded.
Any organization would iron its leadership, the betterment of communication, and also
stress on learning and development if at all, it is committed to promoting the wellbeing of its
employees. In doing this, a more decent and satisfying workplace would be created
(Mariappanadar & Kramar, 2014, p. 48).
In most countries worldwide, employees' wellbeing has become a legal matter that is
being enforced on every organization. Any organization which goes against these legislative
measures usually finds themselves on the wrong side of the law and suffers a massive loss due to
compensation done to the aggrieved employees (Cooper, Liu, & Tarba, 2015, p. 59).
The issue of employee wellbeing is not just an organization's issue but an economy's
problem. Where it has been ignored, it has proven very costly to not only an individual firm or
industry but the economy as a whole. Taking an example of Great Britain's economy, the cost of
non-commitment to employees' wellbeing is about 99 billion sterling pounds, out of which the

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employers suffer half of it (Bakker & Demerouti, 2018, p. 57). This is according to research
work done by Stevenson in November 2018 and recorded in his Book-Thriving at Work.
The same research work by Stevenson showed that the number of individuals retrenched
due to depression as a result of poor mental wellbeing were twice those who were retrenched due
to physical incapacitation.
Currently, in any given organization, you will establish that at least 10% of workers
exhibit symptoms of depression and stress due to poor mental wellbeing at the workplace
(Nielsen, Nielsen, Ogbonnaya, Saari, & Isaksson, 2017, p. 84).
How Organizations Have Attempted To Ensure the Wellbeing of Their Staff and the
Benefits That These Organizations Hope To Achieve By Doing So
Most organizations have taken several measures to ensure that their employee's wellbeing
is taken care of. The below are just but to mention a few strategies that are being employed;
Most firms have actively resorted to the building of mental health awareness at the workplace by
readily availing both support and information. This is to ensure that every employee knows
where to go to or who to approach and seek assistance from on matters relating to mental health
and general wellbeing. Let me make a biblical allusion on this note and state that 'many perish
due to lack of knowledge or information.' I may be depressed, and if I don't know who or where
to approach for help, then the depression would slowly eat me away (Heffernan & Dundon,
2016, p. 40).
Most firms are now encouraging open and vivid conversations based on mental wellbeing
at the workplace. The conversations are at all levels. Forums are being held on employees'
wellbeing. In most countries, we have labor unions spearheading these conversations and
championing for employees' wellbeing. At the organization levels, employees are very vigilant