The Power of Employee Well-Being: Move Beyond Engagement to Build Flourishing Teams
Mark C. Crowley
Berrett-Koehler Publishers (September 2025)
Can the well-being of everyone in your organization be improved?
Years ago, Theodore Roosedvelt obaerved, “People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Executives who have direct reports should always keep that observation in mind.
In The Power of Employee Well-Being, Mark Crowley cites these additional statistics:
Years ago, this was Herb Kelleher’s response when the then chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines was asked why his airline’s profits and cap value were greater than all of its competitors…combined.
“We take great care of our people, they take great care of our customers, and our customers take great care of our shareholders.”
More recently, extensive surveys of employees and customers reveal that — when asked what is of greatest importance to them — a substantial majority of respondents in both groups ranked “feeling appreciated” either first or second.
In The Power of Employee Well-Being, Mark Crowley cites these additional statistics:
o Companies with high levels of employee well-being have a 27% higher profitability rate compared with those with low levels. (Gallup Research)
o Higher employee well-being correlates directly with increased productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability. (London School of Economics)
o Organizations with robust well-being programs experience improved financial outcomes and lower employee turnover. (Case studies in a report from the Glocal Council for Happiness and Well-Being)
What would be the responses if every member of your workforce were asked to respond anonymously to these four questions formulated by Oxford University Said Business School professor Jean-Emmanuel DeGreve?
1. Do you feel happy most of the time?
2. Are you content with your work?
3. Do you find your work to be purposeful and worthwhile?
4. Are you experiencing negative stress at work?
What are your responses?
If the well-being of the members of your organization’s workforce can be improved, and it almost certainly can, the information, insights, and (especially)the counsel that Mark Crowley provides can help to improve it substantially and in a timely manner.
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Here are two suggestions while you are reading The Power of Employee Well-Being : First, highlight key passages. Also, perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to the superb “Study Guide” questions for the Introduction and each of the chapters.
These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.