{"id":8232,"date":"2026-04-07T19:09:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kyu.fr\/?p=8232"},"modified":"2026-04-07T19:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:09:58","slug":"well-being-in-the-workplace-a-key-factor-in-social-performance-and-employer-branding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kyu.fr\/en\/well-being-in-the-workplace-a-key-factor-in-social-performance-and-employer-branding\/","title":{"rendered":"Well-being in the workplace: A key factor in social performance and employer branding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well-being at work refers to a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in and through work, fostered by recognition, motivation, the quality of relationships, physical and mental health, and work-life balance. In this sense, well-being serves as a meaningful indicator of how work is experienced on a daily basis. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Workplace well-being under threat <\/strong><\/p>\n

In France, only 20% of employees say they feel fully fulfilled in their work (People at Work 2025, ADP Research), meaning 4 out of 5 employees do not reach this threshold. At the same time, 64% of workers report feeling stressed at least once a week in 2025, a figure that illustrates the extent of a sense of unease that has become almost systemic. Indeed, since 2022, resignations have reached historically high levels<\/strong>. This trend slowed in 2025, with a 2% decrease in the number of resignations from permanent contracts in France between the second and third quarters of 2025, representing 419,300 resignations from permanent contracts in France in the third quarter of 2025 (Dares, 2026).<\/p>\n

This decline is also reflected in the growing desire for career change. More than one in two employees today is considering a career change <\/strong>(Cepremap, 2026), either immediately or in the medium term. Among those actively planning such a change, 43% report that their work has often or very often had a negative impact on their mental health over the past twelve months (Cepremap, 2026).<\/p>\n

Recent studies show that while dissatisfaction with pay remains common, it is primarily the actual working conditions that trigger the desire to leave : disagreement with the organization\u2019s values, loss of motivation regarding assignments, difficulty balancing work and personal life, physical strain, a deteriorating work environment, or poor management quality.<\/p>\n

Working conditions vary depending on occupational category<\/strong>. While 35% of all employee\u2019s report experiencing at least three physical strains, this is the case for 69% of unskilled workers, compared with 7% of managers (Ministry of Labor, 2019). This difference is also notable by industry sector, with some being more exposed to physical strain while for others the issues are primarily psychological. For example, the survey on occupational health, occupational risk prevention, and quality of life at work in the Technical Design Offices sector highlights the significant exposure of these employees to psychosocial risks. In fact, 37% of sick leave in the sector has a \u201cpsychological cause,\u201d 95% of which are cases of depression. Workplace distress thus affects many sectors, but its forms and causes differ depending on professional contexts and employee profiles.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, management styles play a decisive role: a top-down management style that fails to listen or is unable to provide a sense of purpose for employees\u2019 work directly leads to frustration and disengagement. Added to this are toxic interpersonal dynamics (conflictual relationships, exclusionary or destabilizing behaviors) that permanently damage the work environment and affect collective performance far beyond the individuals directly involved. Finally, the lack of recognition for work done is one of the most corrosive factors in the long term: when efforts are neither seen, valued, nor rewarded, the very meaning of professional commitment erodes. In 2021, a survey conducted by Hays among 17,000 professionals in France showed that 44% of respondents had already resigned due to a lack of recognition at work.<\/p>\n

Finally, the physical and mental strain of work is a central issue for well-being at work. While workplace accidents have decreased by 25% over the past twenty years according to the French National Health Insurance, which might suggest an overall decline in the strain of work and, consequently, an improvement in employee well-being, a gendered analysis of this trend reveals its highly asymmetrical nature. In fact, workplace accidents have fallen by 40% among men, while they have risen by 26% among women.<\/p>\n

These discrepancies show that the working conditions likely to fuel a desire to leave do not manifest themselves in the same way for all employees.<\/p>\n

Consequently, this decline in workplace well-being leads to high turnover and a corresponding loss of engagement. However, this is not inevitable, and companies have many tools at their disposal to improve their employees\u2019 sense of well-being.<\/p>\n

Work: A Source of Identity and Social Purpose <\/strong><\/p>\n

Work is a fundamental activity through which human beings transform both the world around them and, in turn, themselves. It takes on profound meaning when it allows individuals to feel useful, to find fulfillment in their achievements in accordance with the rules of their profession and shared ethical values, and finally to develop their skills and enrich their experience over time. Thus, work plays a foundational role in building individual well-being and a sense of purpose. According to INSEE (2006), it is, after the family, one of the main determinants of individual identity. However, its role as a source of fulfillment and self-realization varies greatly depending on one\u2019s professional position: while it represents a central and rewarding dimension for managers and the self-employed, it is far less so for employees and manual workers, particularly those in low-skilled positions.<\/p>\n

The Cepremap report highlights that unemployed individuals or those unable to work report a weaker sense of purpose than those who are employed. Unemployment does not only lead to economic vulnerability; it also significantly affects emotional well-being, resulting in greater sadness, anxiety, stress, and fatigue, as well as reduced trust in others and institutions, apart from the public employment service (Cepremap, 2026).<\/p>\n

Work therefore fulfills a psychological and social role: it structures time, provides a sense of purpose, and anchors professional identity. This is no trivial matter: according to a study by Audencia \u00d7 jobs_that_makesense (2022), 92% of respondents consider meaning at work to be a central concern<\/strong>. The study by Perez and Coutrot shows that this loss of meaning leads employees to disengage from their work, even to the point of resignation. Indeed, their study indicates that the most significant factor explaining resignations between 2013 and 2016 is the fact that the individual found little meaning in their work in 2013.<\/p>\n

Against a backdrop of recruitment challenges and increased pressure to retain employees, this serves as a reminder that work is a central part of life for most of the population. Consequently, promoting employee well-being presents an opportunity for companies.<\/p>\n

Employee Well-Being Is Becoming a Powerful Retention Lever<\/strong><\/p>\n

Employee well-being is increasingly becoming a differentiating factor between companies, particularly for younger generations, who place growing importance on work-life balance, the meaningfulness of their assignments, the quality of workplace relationships, and the ability to identify with their employer\u2019s values.<\/p>\n

Many companies now highlight their corporate culture, emphasizing concrete initiatives such as team-building activities, stress-management programs, remote working arrangements, and yoga sessions. However, a study conducted by Oxford, based on data from 46,336 workers across 233 UK organizations, shows that these interventions have little significant impact on well-being or job satisfaction when they are not accompanied by structural changes within the organization<\/strong>. Likewise, the French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS) stresses that the issue is not about offering comfort-oriented initiatives, but rather about addressing the organizational factors that truly shape the work experience: task design, workload, meaning at work, professional relationships, and employee listening mechanisms.<\/p>\n

Quality of Working Life (QWL) provides precisely the framework for embedding well-being into a sustainable approach to improving actual working conditions. This involves reflecting on six interconnected areas of action, as identified by Anact:<\/p>\n