In 2024, smart employers will make the shift to providing their employees with a lifestyle, not just a career.

A recent survey, titled “What Employees Want from L&D in 2024” by Talent LMS and Vyond, revealed many interesting insights. One of these is the importance of wellness training, which took second spot on the list of most desired training for employees.

“Huh?” might be your kneejerk reaction…

But think again. As conditions around the world continue to deteriorate, employees are battling to remain mentally and emotionally stable and focused with regard to their personal and professional lives. This, says the report, is where mental health training comes in, supporting employees who need it the most to stay afloat and productive.

Another interesting insight that emerged from the survey is that, for the youngest group of employees – from 18 to 24 – mental health training ranks first as the most desired training.

So … if you want to keep your young employees focused and productive and, if you want to retain them in the company, you would be wise to embark on a coordinated, well thought out mental wellness training programme for all of your workers, not just for your Gen Z workers.

The, “Leave your problems at home, you’re here to do a job,” approach to managing workers is now officially over. Persist with that at your peril. That was a part of the military model of leadership, which is quickly falling into disuse. Sure, there are still a few die-hard Boomers who are persisting with a military leadership model, but circumstances and peer pressure is soon going to force them to opt for a more human-centred leadership model that takes mental wellness and other related matters into account.

If you’re still sitting on the fence regarding mental wellness, thinking it’s all a bit “touchy feelie”, get off it. Immediately. Sitting on that fence is not going to do your business or team any favours. It’s not going to attract good quality talent, it’s not going to result in an engaged workforce and it’s not going to retain good talent.

Result? You’re going to have a revolving door of talent that’s going to cost you a whack of money, and you’re going to be paying a disengaged, unproductive workforce that is not at all profitable. What’s to like?

That’s why the smart money is being invested in building a workforce that is mentally well and feels emotionally safe in the workplace.

So, how do you do that?

From this year, ditch narrow minded thinking that focuses only on skills training and adopt a far more holistic approach to L&D. Sure, offer training that enhances and develops your employees’ technical and job skills. That will always be important, but – and that’s a big “but” – also include training that focuses on mental wellness and personal development that results not only in your employees working better but living better. 

Start changing your mindset from a career mindset to a lifestyle mindset where you no longer offer your employees a career (only) but also a lifestyle that is made up of a stimulating career as well as a desirable way of life.

 Now that requires a significant leap from the Industrial Age/Military mindset in which people were seen as assets of a business. If you want to have talented people working for you, you have to start presenting your company as an asset to them. Yep, the boot is now on the other foot. You may well kick and scream at the shift in the balance of power but suck it up.

You can persist in old school thinking and leading … and oversee a flight of talent – away from your company. Or you can start to provide an emotionally safe and attractive workplace that provides a lifestyle for talented people, and experience a flight of talent of a different kind – a flight of talent TO your company instead of away from it!

That’s why I will be offering in-house training programmes that help people to become better parents, whether they are new parents or parents of teenagers, programmes to manage their stress better and, for those who are a little, shall we say, more mature, programmes to manage their age as an asset instead of allowing it to become a liability.

Think about it, by providing your employees with opportunities to become better parents, live lives in which they know how to comfortably manage their stress and/or learn how to attain agelessness (it’s not about trying to act like a 20-year-old), you end up with happy, settled and productive talent delivering the goods.

 There was a time when I advised companies that Gen Y and Gen Z talent were not loyal to a company. They’re loyal to a career. So, I would tell them, give them a career to which they will be loyal and you’ve got them. Interestingly, that now no longer applies only to Gen Y and Gen Z talent – it also appears to Gen X and Boomer talent.

With the pandemic resulting in millions of people experiencing the death of a loved one, friend, acquaintance, associate or colleague, people have reprioritised what’s important to them. Like it or not, while their careers are still extremely important to them, so are other things.

Employers can choose to ignore this seismic shift or acknowledge it and indeed utilise it to make it a competitive edge.

It’s just a question of how smart you want to be. Do you want to wait and see – and risk losing talent, or will you be one of those who proactively moves with the trend? Being proactive and innovative takes courage. It’s just a question of how much courage you have to make the shift.  

Alan Hosking is the Publisher of HR Future magazine, and a Leadership Development Expert who specialises in developing both young and experienced leaders. He is the author of the best seller parenting book What Nobody Tells a New Father.