Well-Being at Work: Take Steps to Address Energy, Belonging and Trust

Today’s talent is looking for more than just a paycheck. According to a report from career website Indeed, workers want purpose, support and the opportunity to thrive. Yet, only 26% of surveyed employees say they’re truly thriving at work.

The report suggests when organizations invest in well-being benefits and initiatives, they unlock higher performance, stronger retention and greater adaptability.

The top predictors of work-related well-being, according to the report, included:

• Energy (feeling energized by work)
• Belonging (feeling part of something)
• Trust (feeling confidence in coworkers and leadership)

“These drivers aren’t just trends; they’re essential for sustaining engagement and performance,” said Deb Smolensky, the vitality and well-being solutions global practice leader at workforce advisory firm NFP.

Addressing the Need

According to the Indeed report, 46% of polled U.S. workers said their expectations for how they should feel at work were higher than just a year ago. In addition:

• 97% of surveyed workers believe it’s possible for people to be happy most of the time at work.
• 87% report it’s important to find an employer that cares about how they feel.
• 87% agree that work can provide more than paycheck.

Still, almost half of the survey respondents struggled with feeling energized, belonging and confident in their coworkers. As a result, high stress may lead employees to begin to look for a new role. Surveyed workers stated the following reasons why they would consider new opportunities:

• “I am not paid fairly for my work.” (38%)
• “I feel stressed at work most of the time. (24%)
• “Overall, I am not satisfied with my job.” (20%)
• “I don’t feel happy at work most of the time.” (18%)
• “My work doesn’t have the time or location flexibility I need.” (17%)

How people feel at work also can impact how they feel at home. The report found poor work well-being leads to:

• Reduced time/energy for personal interests (50%)
• Decreased mental health (45%)
• Difficulty sleeping (45%)
• Increased stress in personal relationships (41%)

Workplace Culture Evolves

According to Smolensky, work-related well-being starts at the top. Leaders who can regulate their own stress, build emotional intelligence and have confidence in themselves amid uncertainty can create psychological safety for others, she said.

“When leaders model these mental fitness skills, trust becomes part of the daily work experience, not an abstract value,” Smolensky said, adding that belonging is built through connection, and recognition is the doorway.

For Smolensky, when appreciation becomes a daily habit embedded into meetings, milestones and real work moments, people are more likely to feel seen and valued.

“Peer-to-peer recognition strengthens relationships, reinforcing trust and creating genuine belonging,” she said.

Smolensky considered energy the most dynamic predictor of the three drivers defined by Indeed. In her view, it rises or falls based on daily interactions, workload and culture. When trust and belonging are present, energy follows, she explained.

“Aligning career development with individual strengths and opportunities sustains vitality, while redesigning workflows to allow creativity and recovery prevents chronic depletion,” Smolensky said. “These efforts work best when executives, HR and people managers work as one system, creating interoperability and interdependence across the employee experience to strengthen well-being.”

Equipping Your Employees

For HR and total rewards (TR) leaders, the challenge with improving well-being can’t be solved with perks and salaries alone, said Andrew Shatte, the chief knowledge officer and cofounder of meQuilibrium, a workforce performance, engagement and well-being platform. Work-related well-being requires building skills proactively, he said, noting that the most effective policies equip employees with practical capabilities to manage stress, navigate uncertainty and recover from setbacks. These, he stated, are the core components of resilience.

“Without these skills, even the best benefits packages fall short because people lack the capacity to use them well,” Shatte said.

To more effectively support employees, Shatte said HR/TR leaders should:

• Establish baseline metrics for energy (e.g., sleep quality; data from employee responses on stress, positivity level, problem-solving agency and work-life balance) and track changes over time, so they can understand where people stand and can measure improvement.
• Integrate resilience training into wellness offerings — not as optional content but as fundamental professional development.
• Provide managers with “conversation frameworks” to discuss workload, boundaries and growth in ways that build energy rather than deplete it.

“Give people evidence-based tools to strengthen their mental fitness and you create a multiplier effect,” Shatte said. “They show up more complete, contribute more meaningfully and build the connections that drive belonging and trust. That’s when retention becomes natural, rather than forced ... [because] when employees feel energized by their work, they’re not just happier, they are more productive, more innovative, and they are far more likely to stay put.”

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Employee Experience
• Total Rewards
• Well-Being
• Workforce Engagement