Prevention vs. Cure: Employee Wellness

Employee-Wellness

At first glance, employee and executive goals may seem divergent. Executives are focused on the bottom line, while employees are focused on their career outcomes. However, engaged employees drive increased company performance, with the opposite also being true. With wellness being critical to employee engagement, companies should commit to integrating it into their day-to-day operations from the beginning – rather than resorting to the familiar struggle of trying to deal with the fallout from employee burnout, stress, and disengagement.

Wellbeing: An Investment, Not An Expense

Wellness has been the subject of much recent research and scrutiny. Studies have linked employee wellbeing with engagement, performance, productivity, and job satisfaction. Engaged employees are more likely to perform well and remain in their job. Those who aren’t are more likely to take days off or leave the company altogether. Engaged employees also lift the overall workplace culture, while disengaged employees do the opposite, creating a domino effect that can be hugely expensive for companies to correct. Companies that emphasize wellness are also likely to see reduced healthcare costs, with employees in such environments experiencing improved overall health and lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Unfortunately, most companies fail to address employee wellness adequately. An incredible 61 percent of workers report experiencing burnout, while 31 percent report extremely high-stress levels. The economic impact of this is substantial, with anxiety and depression accounting for $1 trillion in global productivity losses. The implications are clear: companies that ignore employees’ health and wellbeing will see shrinking revenue. Not only that, but they’ll have to deal with issues of absenteeism, retention, and turnover, all of which are costly to remedy.

The Ultimate Performance Bonus

The vast majority of companies invest in their employees’ skills and knowledge with training sessions and seminars, while others use incentive structures such as performance bonuses to get more from their workers. But an investment in wellness can deliver comparable results at a fraction of the cost. According to one productivity expert, a mere $300-400 spent on wellness per employee can deliver impressive ROI. Simple changes such as flexible workspaces, indoor plants, and access to amenities such as fitness facilities, meditation rooms, and communal lounges can make a tremendous difference to employee wellbeing. 

It’s not the price tag that matters. Today’s employees want to see that the company takes their wellness seriously. This recognition of the importance of employees’ mental, physical, and personal wellbeing is an incredibly powerful way to foster engagement, which in turn engenders workplace loyalty, belonging, and performance.

However, wellness mustn’t be used as a band-aid solution. Rather than merely paying lip service to the issue, companies should ensure that wellbeing is threaded through their entire approach. Optimum Coworking understands the value and return of investing in wellbeing, which is why our every moment has been thoughtfully crafted to foreground wellness – and, therefore, productivity and performance.

To explore the difference, a wellbeing-oriented working environment can make, contact us to arrange a tour of our best-in-class coworking space.