Clarifications

APPLICABILITY

Indicator metrics apply to all of the following groups (see definition in General Clarifications):

• Employees
• Contract workers
• Interns (employee well-being program and survey only)
  

Paid vacation and sick time as well as paid bereavement leave must be provided on a prorated basis to part-time employees who work at least 20 hours per week.

BEREAVEMENT

The loss of a loved one and the accompanying grief period are not quantifiable; however, organizations have the opportunity to show support for employees who are going through these difficult seasons by providing paid leave and other accommodations. For transparency, an organization’s bereavement leave policy should include specifications of what situations qualify employees to access bereavement leave. An organization’s approach to bereavement leave should take into account the time needed to travel nationally or internationally. Living Future encourages organizations to consider a range of circumstances, including the loss of immediate and extended family members, miscarriages, and the loss of companion animals. Additionally, Living Future encourages organizations to consider extending flexible work arrangements to instances of bereavement.

BEST PLACES TO WORK AWARDS

There are a variety of Best Places to Work certifications globally. For the purposes of Just, the award does not need to come from any particular program, but it must be conferred by a credible third party, such as Top Employers Institute or Great Place to Work, and include an employee survey.

COMPREHENSIVE WELL-BEING PROGRAM

For the purposes of Just, a comprehensive well-being program includes components that address each of the following aspects of employee well-being: emotional, social, and spiritual.⁶⁵

Emotional: The awareness of everyday feelings and emotions, both positive and negative, and learning to cope with the challenges life brings.

Social: The development and maintenance of positive relationships with friends, family, coworkers, and the larger community.

Spiritual: The values, principles, morals, and beliefs that guide our actions, bring tranquility and focus, and lead to finding meaning.⁶⁶

The following list includes some examples of well-being program components. Organizations may identify different components that are equally applicable. Living Future encourages organizations to provide well-being program components that are responsive to employee needs.

1. Emotional Well-Being
   • Flexible work arrangements;
   • Financial education;
   • Counseling programs;
   • Access to an employee assistance program (EAP); and
   • Company-wide time off.
2. Social Well-Being
   • Employee resource groups;
   • Organization-wide rhythms to provide opportunities for voluntary social interaction;
   • Designated space for both coworking, group work, and quiet/focus work;
   • Organization-wide rhythms and/or platforms to celebrate and recognize colleagues; and
   • Planned social and/or volunteer opportunities.
3. Spiritual Well-Being
   • Mindfulness training;
   • Designated space for meditation, prayer, and/or quiet reflection;
   • Access to nature or green space for employee use; and
   • Organization-wide rhythms to promote mindfulness and gratitude.

ORGANIZATIONS WITH 10 OR FEWER EMPLOYEES

Since preserving survey respondent anonymity can be especially difficult in a smaller respondent pool, organizations with 10 or fewer employees are limited in their performance levels for this Indicator. The organization’s label will indicate that the higher performance levels are not applicable.

Single-member organizations and organizations with two to 10 employees are limited to Level 3 if they choose to use the Single-Member and Small Organizations alternative compliance path. Organizations with two to 10 employees that can demonstrate the use of a third-party surveying approach are exempt from this limitation and can follow the general compliance path.

Organizations with 11 to 25 employees may opt to follow the Small Organizations alternative compliance path.

PAID VACATION AND SICK TIME

Living Future encourages organizations to have separate provisions for paid vacation and sick time; however, for the purposes of Just, these may be combined. Additionally, sick time should be available to use at the employee’s discretion for both physical and mental health needs of their own and their family members. For the purposes of Just, paid holidays do not count toward the metric thresholds unless they are specifically designated as floating holidays (i.e., paid days off that employees can self-determine when to take).

UNLIMITED PAID TIME OFF

Organizations that offer unlimited paid time off can use this to account for paid vacation and sick time; however, bereavement leave must be addressed as a separate form of leave.

WELL-BEING SURVEY

Survey Questions

See general clarification on Surveys for additional information on surveys.

The survey metric score for the Well-Being Indicator is based on responses to the six statements below.⁶⁷ Organizations can conduct a survey that contains additional questions or statements, but the six statements below must be included, and the relevant scores must be tabulated separately to show the organization’s performance.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

• I have access to relevant, high-quality resources that address stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
• I feel that I can take time away from work when I need to.
• I feel that my organization is a positive place to work.
• I have a reasonable workload.
• My workload and work schedule leave me enough time to pursue hobbies, recreational activities, and/or career development.
• I feel that my organization supports my overall well-being.
  

Additionally, the survey should include an open-ended question that invites feedback to inform the comprehensive well-being program:

• What workplace initiatives, programs, or policies would help improve your well-being?
  

A survey template is available in Resources. See Calculations for more information regarding the response scale and score calculation.

Survey Participation

The entire workforce should be given an opportunity to respond to the Well-Being Survey. In order to be valid for submission, results must reflect a minimum response rate of 80%.⁶⁸ Due to scaled expectations for larger workforces, organizations with 100 or more employees may submit results reflecting a minimum response rate of 70%. Employees must be paid their usual full wage for the time it takes them to participate.

Survey Recency

Survey results must be from within 12 months of the documentation submission date. For the purposes of Just, Living Future encourages organizations to conduct any employee surveys as close to the documentation submission date as possible.

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⁶⁵ University of Southern California WorkWell Center. (n.d.). Well-Being Domains. Retrieved December 18, 2023, from https://workwell.usc.edu/services/health-and-well-being/well-being-domains-2/.

⁶⁶ Sternberg, E. (2023). Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace. Little, Brown Spark.

⁶⁷ Rollet, J. (2023, June 2). Employee Wellness Surveys: Questions, Templates, and More. Workleap. Retrieved September 25, 2023, from https://workleap.com/blog/employee-wellness-survey/.

⁶⁸ Ibid McPherson, J.