Why employee wellbeing is now a business performance issue

By Felix Sexton, Wellbeing Lead at Benifex 

For a long time, workplace wellbeing was treated primarily as an employee experience issue. Employers invested in it because they wanted their people to feel healthier, happier and better supported. 

That still matters. But wellbeing is also fundamental to how well people, and therefore organizations, can perform. 

When employees are struggling with their physical, mental or financial health, the effects do not stop at the workplace door. They influence people’s energy, concentration, confidence and ability to cope with pressure and change. 

The important questions that employers are asking now are:  “Can our people access and use the right support when they need it—and is it making a meaningful difference?” 

The connection between wellbeing and performance is increasingly clear 

Our latest global research survey found that 85% of HR and Reward leaders believe their investment in employee wellbeing is contributing positively to business performance, including financial outcomes. 

Employees can feel the impact too. Nearly three-quarters (72%) say the benefits they receive from their employer have improved their quality of life, while 67% say they have improved their productivity. 

These findings should help move the wellbeing conversation beyond a choice between supporting people and delivering business results. In fact, the two are closely connected. 

When employees are healthier, more financially secure and better equipped to manage pressure, they are more likely to be able to focus and perform. When they feel supported by their employer, that can also influence engagement, trust and retention. 

Employers are already seeing measurable results. Among the HR leaders surveyed in the research, wellbeing and benefits provision had contributed to improved employee engagement or sentiment, productivity and retention over the previous 12 months. Many had also seen lower levels of burnout, stress or mental health-related issues and reductions in sickness absence. 

Provision alone is not enough 

The challenge is that having support available does not mean employees can, or will, use it. 

According to the research, more than half (51%) of employees globally say it is difficult to access and understand the full value of their rewards and benefits. 

This is a significant barrier. An employer may have invested in excellent mental health, financial wellbeing or preventative healthcare support, but its impact will be limited if employees do not know it exists, cannot find it or are unsure whether it is relevant to them. 

It is also easy to underestimate what accessible support can mean to an individual. 

In our Little Book of Employee Benefits Stories, one employee describes experiencing severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder that made everyday tasks increasingly difficult. A medical referral in the UK’s National Health Service would have meant waiting months for support, but their employee assistance programme enabled them to be assessed and begin therapy within a week. 

That is the real value of a wellbeing benefit: not its presence on a benefits list, but what happens when somebody can reach it at the point they need help. 

Wellbeing needs are rarely neatly separated 

Employees do not experience physical, mental and financial wellbeing as isolated issues. 

Physical illness can affect mental health. Financial concerns can lead to anxiety and poor sleep. Caring responsibilities can affect energy and concentration. Stress at work can make it harder to make healthy decisions outside it. 

Another story comes from an employee who became seriously ill and was later diagnosed with Long Covid. Alongside concerns about their physical and mental health, they were worried about what would happen financially if they could not return to work. Access to group income protection provided financial reassurance, while the provider worked with their employer and healthcare professionals to support their return. 

Another employee, Tony, describes how worries about his finances were affecting his mental health. Getting support to regain control of his finances helped him avoid what he felt could have become a much more serious situation. 

These stories show why employers need to look at wellbeing as a connected experience. Employees should not have to understand the boundaries between different benefits providers or navigate several disconnected systems before they can find help. 

Move from crisis support to earlier intervention 

Employers will always need services that support people facing serious or complex health challenges. But workplace wellbeing cannot focus only on employees who have already reached crisis point. 

There is an opportunity to help the wider workforce build healthier habits and manage pressure earlier. 

This does not always require a large-scale program. Short, evidence-based interventions—such as movement, breathing exercises, mindfulness and better-quality breaks—can help people manage stress, improve focus and build resilience when they are easy to fit into everyday life. 

The employer’s role is not to take responsibility for every aspect of an employee’s health. It is to create an environment in which positive behaviors are easier, and support is visible before somebody reaches breaking point. 

That means thinking about the whole experience: 

• Is support easy to find and access? 

• Do communications help employees recognize when a benefit might be relevant? 

• Can employees access support wherever and however they work? 

• Are managers equipped to signpost help appropriately? 

• Is the organization measuring outcomes, rather than simply the number of benefits offered? 

Listen to individual stories as well as the data 

Data is essential if HR and Reward teams are to understand whether wellbeing investment is working. Engagement, utilization, absence, retention and employee sentiment all help build the picture. 

But it’s important to note that data alone cannot show the full impact. Behind every utilization figure is a person who may have received therapy sooner, felt more financially secure, returned to work after an illness or found support during a difficult period in their life. 

The most effective wellbeing strategies combine both perspectives. They use data to identify patterns and make better investment decisions, while continuing to listen to the experiences of individual employees. 

That is how organizations move from offering wellbeing initiatives to creating support that people can genuinely use and value. 

Make wellbeing part of how the organization performs 

Workplace wellbeing should not sit at the edge of the employee experience as a collection of optional initiatives. It should form part of the infrastructure that helps people remain healthy, resilient and able to perform. 

This requires employers to look beyond what is offered and focus on whether support is relevant, accessible and delivering meaningful outcomes. 

Benifex’s global research report, Energizing Reward and Benefits, explores how organizations can connect wellbeing and benefits investment with employee experience, productivity and business performance. 

Download the report to explore the evidence and learn how HR, Reward and Benefits leaders can respond to the biggest workforce challenges facing organizations today.