Evidence suggests that improvements in people management practices, especially work time/location flexibility and the development of supportive managers, contribute to increased work-life balance.
Work-life and well-being programs have been demonstrated to have an impact on employees in terms of recruitment, retention/turnover, commitment and satisfaction, absenteeism, productivity and accident rates.
- Saves money: healthcare and work comp cost savings
- Decreases turnover
- Increases employee engagement
- Improves employee health, morale, job satisfaction, performance/productivity
- Decreases stress
- Builds strength in work teams/units
- Less absenteeism and presenteeism
Well-being by the Numbers:
The Business Case
- Studies have shown that employees with risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity can cost employers billions of dollars in excess healthcare costs. 1-3
- The CDC states that employers spend up to $93 billion dollars per year on health insurance claims as a result of obesity and related chronic diseases. 4
- There is evidence that modifiable health risks and health conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, can impair job output and quality of work. 5-7
- A meta-analysis of 42 workplaces that initiated health promotion programs measured a 28% reduction in sick leave absenteeism, 26% reduction in health care costs, and 30% reduction in workers’ compensation and disability management claims. 8
- 40% of employees report that their co-workers as the top reason they love their company. (Virgin Pulse The Business of Healthy Employees 2015)
- 66% of employees indicate that their relationship with colleagues positively impacts their focus or productivity at work. (Virgin Pulse The Business of Healthy Employees 2015)
Physical Well-being
- 87% of employees state that wellness programs have a positive impact on work culture (Virgin Pulse The Business of Healthy Employees 2014)
- 64% of employees with employee wellness programs report having more energy, and 61% indicate that they generally feel happier as a result of participation in wellness activities (Virgin Pulse The Business of Healthy Employees 2014)
- Research finds a 70% anxiety reduction in study participants trained in meditation (The Nurse Practitioner)
- Organizations with very supportive leadership were almost 4 times more likely to report substantial improvement in employee health risk and 2.5 times more likely to report substantial improvement in medical cost trend. (Review of the Knowledge Base on Healthy Worksite Culture)
- Research finds a 23% productivity increase from mid-day exercise (Int’l Journal of Workplace Health Management)
- 20 minutes : The amount of time needed on a walk to reduce anxiety (NYT article)
Social/Mental Well-Being
- Employees who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged and are thriving in their careers, nearly 50 percent more than their less-socially connected counterparts. (The Business Case for Well-Being, Gallup Business Journal, 2010)
- 60% of survey respondents said their relationship with the employer positively impacts their focus or productivity at work, with 44% saying it positively impacts their stress levels. (Virgin Pulse The Business of Healthy Employees 2015)
- 44% of survey respondents indicated flexible work arrangements as the #1 benefit they would like at their company. (Virgin Pulse The Business of Healthy Employees 2015)
- Supporting worklife was named as the #1 way companies can show employees they care. (Virgin Pulse “Labor of Love What Employees Love about Work and Ways to Keep the Spark Alive” 2015)
- Workplace stress — such as long hours, job insecurity and lack of work-life balance — contributes to at least 120,000 deaths each year and accounts for up to $190 billion in health care costs, (Stanford Business Insights 2015)
- Employees who reported that their work demands prevented them from meeting their family obligations or vice versa were 90% more likely to self-report poor physical health, the researchers note. (Stanford Business Insights 2015)
- Employees who perceive their workplaces as being unfair are about 50% more likely to develop a physician-diagnosed condition.(Stanford Business Insights 2015)