Report: Employee wellbeing in Mauritius in 2024

(Key Mauritius companies in FMCG, Finance, Law, Medical, Hospitality, Education, Construction and Real Estate)

In Mauritius, the importance of corporate wellbeing is gaining traction.

Many major Mauritian companies are implementing various wellbeing and wellness programs and activities to support the welfare of their employees.

In this article I will share:

• What are the most common wellbeing practises in Mauritian companies.

• The benefits and drawbacks of these wellbeing programs and activities.

• Room for improvement and growth, and where.

What are the most common wellbeing practises in Mauritian companies?

Formalized in the 2000's and now commonly know as the EVP, was one of the hottest trends to re-evaluate work environment and organization culture in Mauritius in the past 36 months. It has been the most common in the hospitality industry - which has significant employee turnover.

What are the benefits of an EVP for company wellbeing?

• Improved employee engagement. A compelling value proposition that matches the expectations and needs of the employee raises commitment and engagement. A highly engaged employee is less likely to get burnout. He/she is also more productive and more likely to stay at the company.

• Enhanced company reputation. Creating and implementing an authentic and well-communicated EVP boosts reputation as the place to work at. This attracts potential talent and employees, whilst at the same time impacting customer perception and the company's brand image.

What are the drawbacks of an EVP for company wellbeing?

• It can overpromise and fail to deliver. Misrepresentation of the employee's experience can easily go sides ways and have the opposite effect. If certain conclusions and plans are made, they must be followed up effectively. Otherwise, misalignment can lead to mistrust and frustration amongst employees, and then to decreased moral and an eventual increase in turnover.

• It can increase pressure. Over emphasis on increased performance or overly ambitious goals or promise of fast career progression can put excessive pressure on the employee. Individual professionals development plans must be designed effectively. Otherwise this can lead to stress and burnout. Again with increased dangers of affecting turnover.

One of the most common benefits that Mauritian companies offer their employees as a wellness solution. And usually available around the clock.

What are the benefits of a psychologist or therapist for company wellbeing?

• Improved mental health. Access to a professional to talk about mental health issues, stress or anxiety is a becoming more and more common place. Immediate or gradual support leads to professional growth and healthier workforce.

• Engagement and productivity. Addressing personal and professional challenges allows employees to become more focussed and motivated leading to higher levels of productivity and engagement and becoming the best professional that the employee can be.

What are the drawbacks of a psychologist or therapist for company wellbeing?

Yes, there are a few.

• Employee work-life UNbalance. A usual occurrence in Mauritius, where boundaries are blurred and personal issues take significant time during the sessions. Instead of spending on working out work-related issues, personal issues are often the focus. This is unfortunate since it is quite rare that individuals invest in their own mental health. Which leads us to......

• Stigma and lack of trust. Whilst seeing a professional to talk about issues is commonplace in many countries, it is still stigmatic in Mauritius. As seen in the previous point, if employees do talk they prefer to talk about personal issues and problems, showing a lack of trust and reluctance in the process. This leads to in-effective sessions and ROI.

The most trendy wellbeing activity in Mauritius is the wellness week. These mainly take place at corporations with a significant amount of employees.

What are the benefits of a wellness week for company wellbeing?

• Promoting healthy lifestyle. Promoting a diverse range of activities and health habits in a full focus week, showcasing healthy nutrition to fitness to stress management workshops, is an efficient investment into the long term health of the workplace.

• Higher moral, engagement and team spirit. Taking a break from the weekly routine with educational activities and programs which add energy and rejuvenate the employee spirit. Adding group building exercises and games lead to an increased understanding of more effective communication, teamwork, work relationships, community spirit and fun!

What are the drawbacks of a wellness week for company wellbeing?

• Work flow disruption. Interrupting normal day-to day and weekly operations is the yang to the wellness week's yin. Time away from regular work creates the unnecessary stress connected to deadlines, productivity and project timelines.

• Short-term impact and investment. The organizing of such weeks is costly and takes up a lot of resources. If these weeks are not followed by sustained efforts, programs or activities, the benefits and positive effects will diminish limiting the impact of the wellness week.

The employee engagement surveys take place at almost every major company in Mauritius.

What are the benefits of an employee engagement survey for company wellbeing?

• Identifies improvement areas. It provides valuable insights into employee satisfaction and areas where the company can improve. This feedback can help management address specific concerns, leading to a healthier and more productive workplace.

• Tracks engagement progress. Regular surveys shows commitment to the employee's input and concerns, and allows for feedback to be acted upon. This in turn helps foster a culture of openness, trust and transparency which improves employee engagement.

What are the drawbacks of an employee engagement survey for company wellbeing?

• Disengagement and misinterpretation. If feedback is not acted upon, the employees can start to feel disengaged making the data less meaningful. This misinterpretation of data can lead to misguided followup initiatives that do not solve the issues.
  

• Ineffective implementation. Carrying out employee engagement surveys is the first step, however acting on the data is not so simple. The solutions are not always available or not enough is invested into continued employee wellbeing - with no commitment from management and when no real changes are implemented - frustration, cynicism and disengagement can creep in amongst the employees.

Nutshell:

Mauritius companies are embracing solutions from Employee Value Propositions (EVPs), in-house therapists to wellness weeks and engagement surveys.

EVPs are great for boosting engagement and reputation, but should not be overpromising – nobody likes broken promises.

Therapists are lifesavers for mental health, but there's still some stigma and work-life boundaries to deal with.

Wellness weeks are like a breath of fresh air, boosting morale and team spirit, but they can also throw a wrench in the workflow.

And engagement surveys?

They're super insightful, but only if you act on the feedback – otherwise, they're just fancy paperweights.


So where is the room for improvement?

• Breaking the stigma. Destigmatizing and addressing mental health concerns through carefully crafted workshops and mental health days.

• Continued wellbeing investment. Allocating resources to support ongoing programs beyond surveys and one-off events is crucial for sustained impact. Mindfulness trainings, fitness classes, healthy cafeteria options and team building activities are easy wins.

• Focusing on long-term programs. Short-term initiatives like wellness weeks need to be complemented with consistent efforts to maintain their positive effects. Training mid-management on stress management is an effective investment in the leaders of the future whilst giving them the tools to further coach their team.

• Aligning with employee needs. Ensuring that surveys, EVPs, and wellbeing programs genuinely address employee expectations and employees needs is the key to success.

• Tracking employee wellbeing with data. Using data-driven reports to gain company insights allowing for effective and actionable solutions to track wellbeing investments and employee growth.

Employee wellbeing matters because employees are the core of a company, and their wellbeing directly impacts productivity and retention.

Investing in employee wellbeing must be sustainable to yield long-term benefits.

By understanding these dynamics, Mauritian companies can refine their strategies to foster a more productive and satisfied workforce.