Digital maturity and employee wellness programmes and the influence thereof on employee participation

Abstract

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been accelerated transformation in the workplace that has affected the overall wellness of employees. With a changing workforce and increasing expectations from employees, companies have had to expand their employee wellness initiatives to meet the needs of their employees (Bhaidkar, 2022). Even though organisations have expanded the scope of employee wellness programmes (EWPs) to include and support employee mental health and wellbeing, these initiatives remain underutilised and undervalued. While low utility rates can be associated with a variety of factors including a lack of awareness of EWP services, limited access and inadequate coverage of services offered, it is organisation-wide factors such as organisational culture and behaviours modelled by leaders that affect participation. This paper explores digital maturity and Employee Wellness Programmes (EWPs) and the influence thereof on employee participation by considering employee perceptions of the awareness, access, and utility of these services. This paper examines if the digitalisation of EWPs affects variables such as awareness, access, and utility in employee wellness initiatives. Using a qualitative methodology of semi-structured interviews of volunteering participants and the Maturity Model of Technology Adoption for Educational Organisations (MMEO) as a framework to evaluate the digital maturity of EWPs in an organisational setting, this research suggests that employee perceptions and attitudes towards EWPs affect utility and participation rates despite increasing levels of digital transformation of EWPs. Employee participation in EWPs is less influenced by their design (including the adoption of digital tools) and more by employee perceptions and attitudes, work- related demands, and concerns around confidentiality and trust of the EWPs. Organisational culture and leadership also play a critical role in shaping employee engagement where visible promotion and modelling from leaders enhance credibility and uptake, whilst a non-trusting organisational culture can hinder use.