PwC’s Well-Being Learning Project

Revealing definitive links between well-being and performance

When corporate well-being practices are combined with individual commitment to healthy behaviors and attitudes, it leads to a positive impact not only on the individual, but on their teams and client relationships.

This is a key finding from the Well-Being Learning Project, one of the largest studies to date of a corporate well-being effort. This research, conducted over a six-month span and featuring data collected from more than 1,400 partners and staff, examined the behaviors at the individual, team and organizational level that truly make a difference in our people’s well-being and in our business overall.

Key findings from the Well-Being Learning Project

A commitment to healthy behaviors is more important than choosing “the right” habits

Researchers discovered that each of the healthy habits PwC employees adopted in the study positively impacted one or more measures of their well-being. While there are many possible components of a corporate well-being effort—from hydration and meditation, to taking frequent breaks and encouraging employees to find ways to recharge—the specific behavior an employee chooses to embrace isn’t nearly as important as the act of simply committing to engage in a healthy habit that is personally meaningful.

That said, the study revealed three healthy habits that rise to the top and deliver the greatest impact on well-being. PwC employees who made a point to: 1) Appreciate their personal accomplishments at work, 2) Remember the ways they had been fortunate in work and life and/or 3) Engage in activities that renewed or recharged them were most likely to report higher levels of happiness and passion for their work, an increased PwC People Engagement Index and lower levels of burnout.

1. Ledford, G., & Lucy, M. (2003). The rewards of work: The employment deal in a changing economy. New York: Sibson Consulting, The Segal Company.
2. Catalyst, May 23, 2018, “Quick Take: Turnover and Retention” https://www.catalyst.org/research/turnover-and-retention/

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