WorkWell: Our new initiative gives employers data-driven insights to make work life better

Today's organizations are caught in a balancing act between employees' needs and business priorities, but they can only achieve an ideal balance if they know the true weight of each. While many leaders might be clear on their organization's goals, they might lack reliable evidence on how their policies and processes are impacting workers' quality of life.

To move forward, organizations need access to data-driven insights that paint a clear picture of workers' day-to-day reality, and that's where our latest research initiative comes in. At Dayforce, our mission has always been to make work life better. That's why we launched WorkWell, a research series that leverages our millions of internal data points, expertise from leading third parties, and surveys of the American public to help organizations deliver meaningful impact in four core areas: pay, leave, retirement, and scheduling. This includes partnerships with the Living Wage Institute, the Financial Health Network, and JUST Capital.

A clearer picture of worker wages and health outcomes

The first report in this series focuses on pay, specifically the importance of a living wage. Developed in close partnership with the Living Wage Institute, our inaugural Dayforce Living Wage Index reveals which portions of the U.S. workforce are - and are not - earning enough to cover their families' basic needs.

Read the full report

The results are startling. Only 56% of full-time workers in the United States are making a living wage. Women are nearly a third more likely than men to fall below this threshold. Six in 10 Black and Latino workers do not earn enough to pay for food, housing, transportation, and other essentials for themselves and their families. This makes them nearly twice as likely to earn less than a living wage compared to white workers. When we look at the results by industry, nearly seven in 10 workers in leisure and hospitality don't make a living wage - along with two-thirds of those in retail and more than half of those in healthcare.

When such a high number of workers don't earn a living wage, it's critical to understand how their lives are impacted. To dig further into this, we've also released the results of our first-ever Employee Health Survey as part of the WorkWell research series. Conducted in partnership with third-party research firm SSRS, the study shows that American workers making less than $50,000 a year are significantly more likely to rate their wellness as poor or very poor compared to their higher earning counterparts. They are also three times more likely to choose this rating for their overall health, two and a half times more likely for their mental health, and three and a half times more likely for their financial health. They are also significantly more likely to report experiencing anxiety, stress, and depression.

Moving forward

In launching the WorkWell initiative, our guiding philosophy is an axiom that's as old as civilization itself: knowledge is power. As employers look for an ideal balance between workers' needs and business objectives, this research will help ensure that their decisions account for the true weight of just wage, a secure retirement, a fair schedule, and the paid leave workers and their families deserve. It's only when we gain a clear picture of the realities faced by every worker, from the c-suite to the frontlines, that we can make work life better for all.