What employee wellbeing statistics say about your benefits
Business leaders are realising that making sure their employees feel looked after is vital if they wish to thrive in the modern working world.
This is evidenced by trends like an increasing number of companies appointing Chief Wellbeing Officers and the growing market size of the workplace wellness industry, valued at $49.81bn in 2019 and projected to reach $66.20bn by 2027.
In other words, in 2023, supporting employee wellbeing is not only a compassionate choice but a business imperative.
Here are some facts and figures that highlight why.
Wellbeing is central to recruitment and retention
Since the Covid-19 pandemic and the ‘Great Resignation’, businesses have struggled to attract and retain the best talent.
Despite the lay-offs now happening, vacancies remain near a historic high in the UK, with around 1.02 million unfilled positions, according to Statista.com.
That means employees who aren’t happy in their jobs no longer have to just put up with it – and they’re taking advantage of the situation. According to a survey by YuLife conducted in partnership with YouGov, almost 40% of UK working adults have either started or have been looking for a new job in the past year.
Even more telling is that one in three employees intend to change jobs within the next 12 months. So anyone making assumptions about their workforce’s loyalty needs to think long and hard about whether that’s really the case: it’s neither easy nor cheap to replace good employees.
The costs of high turnover can be devastating
The financial toll of attrition to companies cannot be overstated. The Society for Human Resource Management estimates that replacing an employee costs a firm between six to nine months of that employee’s salary.
Apart from the costs of recruitment, there’s typically a lengthy period where the company is short staffed, leading to inefficiency, low productivity and extra pressure on remaining colleagues due to the additional workload.
It is unsurprising, then, that in YuLife’s latest survey, 89% of employees and 97% of HR professionals agreed that high employee turnover can negatively affect productivity and morale at work.
Salary increases have traditionally been the go-to solution for persuading your best staff to stay. But it seems this becoming less and less effective.
Salary rises aren’t everything
In YuLife's survey, just 28% of working adults indicated that a higher salary would be enough to persuade them to stay in their current jobs. And a much larger number of respondents pointed to other factors.
For example, 60% said that flexible working conditions were an important factor when choosing an employer. Additionally, 59% said the benefits available to employees were important, while 45% cited company culture.
In this light, wellness benefits can be seen as not just a ‘nice-to-have’, but a crucial tool in retaining and attracting the best workers, not to mention getting the most from them,
The case for wellbeing
These statistics provide a compelling argument for businesses to prioritise employee wellbeing. While a competitive salary is important, it’s not the sole driver of job satisfaction and retention.
Companies that invest in employee benefits, mental health support and physical wellbeing programmes stand to benefit not only from improved employee morale but also from financial returns and a more stable and engaged workforce.
In the evolving landscape of employee expectations, wellbeing is proving to be a game-changer for businesses seeking to attract and retain top talent.
In partnership with YuLife
YuLife is the first digital life insurance provider on a mission to inspire life.
