Employee Wellbeing- a valid investment with proven returns
"Research found considerable evidence that health and wellbeing programmes produced considerable economic benefits across all sectors and sizes of business: in other words that good health is good business" Dame Carol Black, UK Government Director for Health and Work, 2008Organisations in the UK, from the public sector giants such as the NHS to third sector cooperatives and from local family businesses to giants like Unilever and Nestle are realising that investment in employee wellbeing is a sound business decision. Wellness programmes can pay for themselves in terms of reduced sickness absence alone, meaning that a wealth of other benefits come for free.
- Parcelforce Worldwide's Healtheir Workforce programme contributed towards a 12.5% increase in productivity, and a 50% improvement in customer service yielding a direct return of £6m on an investment of just £2.3m
- US corporate wellness initiatives showed a positive return on investment values of up to $8.81 per dollar spent on the corporate health promotion program (source Lambton Health Services)
- The Economic and Social Research Council reports ROI of at least £3.50 in the pound spent on employee wellbeing. thse figures are backed up in a study by Price Waterhouse Coopers undertaken for the government. They also suggest looking after your staff can bring about a reduction in sickness absence of 12-15%
Effective wellbeing strategy results in: -
- Improved employer brand and employee relations - making it easier to recruit and retain key staff
- Increased productivity and staff engagement
- Better employee health, both physical and mental
- Decreased exposure to risk of litigation for psychological and physical injury
- Lower staff turnover
- Lower direct and indirect costs of sickness absence
