The Value of Employee Wellbeing

By Doris Walczyk

Employee Wellbeing Bottom Line

• Increased productivity• Lower healthcare costs• Increased engagement• Better collaboration• Happier customers

An Organizational Win-Win

Objectives:1. Increase productivity through a focus on wellbeing2. Impart skills that will help people minimize stress and help

them thrive

The State of Poor Health

• Behaviors contribute 50% to our health status and our environment 20% to our health

• Heart disease, cancer, stroke, COPD, and diabetes are considered “diseases of lifestyle”

• These “diseases of lifestyle” result in over $610 billion in medical costs

• Obesity diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure alone cost the US $120 billion per year

• Results in poor health, absenteeism and leading a less productive life

Data on Performance*

Employees that “thrive”:• Demonstrate 16% better overall performance (as reported by

managers)• Report 125% less burnout than their peers• Are 32% more committed to the organization• Are 46% more satisfied with their job

*Harvard Business Review, 2012 January/February, “Creating Sustainable Performance” by Gretchen Spreitzer and Christine Porath

More Data on Performance* • Employees who score low in “life satisfaction” - a rigorously tested

and widely accepted metric - stay home an average of 1.25 more days a month (2008 Gallup Healthways study). That translates into a decrease in productivity of 15 days a year.

• In a study of service departments, Jennifer George and Kenneth Bettenhausen found that employees who score high in life satisfaction are significantly more likely to receive high ratings from customers.

• Researchers at Gallup found that retail stores that scored higher on employee life satisfaction generated $21 more in earnings per square foot of space than the other stores - adding $32 million in additional profits for the whole chain.

*Harvard Business Review, 2012 January/February, Positive Intelligence” by Shawn Achor

Wellbeing OutcomesObjective Criteria & Outcomes Higher levels of wellbeing have been found to improve output, achievement, productivity and profitabilityAssessments & Ratings Employees with higher levels of wellbeing are more highly rated by managers, supervisors, colleagues and customersCorporate Citizenship Employees with high levels of wellbeing are also regarded as more helpful, constructive, engaged and popular by colleagues and customersDirect & Indirect Costs When it comes to costs, employees with higher levels of wellbeing have predictably lower levels of illness, absence, withdrawal, disputes, conflicts and accidents

Role of the Organization

• Companies becoming more proactive with employee wellness• Employers can not only help promote proper health

management and behaviors, but can help employees access new research and new tools in overall wellbeing

• Mental wellness becoming equally important as physical wellness– Depression is the number one obstacle to productivity

• By helping to promote not only better health but overall wellbeing in the organization, employers further increase their ability to affect productivity and therefore the bottom line