The Business Case for an Employee Wellbeing Strategy
by Thrive
A robust employee wellbeing programme offers a real return on investment for any business and we want to put that know-how into your hands, so we have written The Business Case for an Employee Wellbeing Strategy.
This business case uses insights from the most quantified research and reporting from the last couple of years to help you to shape the business case for your organisation and get the backing you need to implement your strategy.
Reports
Recent reporting from trusted national and international academic, social and commercial sources. Click on each report to read:
The 2025 UK Wellbeing Report
The World Wellbeing Movement (WWM)
Health and wellbeing at work Survey Report 2023
CIPD & SimplyHealth
State of the Global Workplace Report 2025
Gallup
5 Workplace Culture Trends 2025
O.C. Tanner
Mental Health and Employers 2024
Deloitte
Workforce State of Mind 2025
Headspace
Global Wellbeing Survey Report 2023
Aon
Research Publications
Wellbeing Research Centre - University of Oxford
Employee Wellbeing Defined
The employee wellbeing field is an emerging specialism, whatever your role in business, be equipped to engage with employee wellbeing using the below definitions.
Employee Wellbeing
Employee wellbeing refers to the holistic health and wellbeing of an individual and team in the context of their employment. It is often looked at under a framework of areas such as physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing. It can encompass engagement, the satisfaction people feel with their job, benefits and the company culture overall, as well as mitigating risks to physical and mental health posed by being in that employment. Employee wellbeing is measured using relevant data and interventions or programmes are implemented to contribute to improving it. Empirical data shows direct correlations between employee wellbeing and business performance. Poor employee wellbeing is currently estimated to cost the UK economy £120 billion annually. On average, businesses see a 5x return on investment from money spent on wellbeing.
Wellbeing Strategy
Like any other business strategy, it is a plan that outlines how you will achieve the long-term employee wellbeing objectives. It often focuses on preventative measures and initiatives to help people thrive in their roles and work environments. Strategic management will then look after the process of implementing, monitoring, and revising the strategy. Aligning your wellbeing strategy to overarching business objectives and integrating culture, leadership and people management will ensure wellbeing is embedded throughout the organisation for maximum reach.
Wellbeing Programme
A wellbeing programme is the sum of activities and resources invested in by the business to support and improve employee wellbeing. This can range from an EAP or discount schemes, to health insurance or training line managers for wellbeing conversations. Employee benefits provided for wellbeing form part of a wellbeing programme. When monitored against success measures and engagement, this programme can be adjusted for maximum returns on investment.
Occupational Health
Occupational health is an area of work in public health to promote and maintain highest degree of physical, mental and social wellbeing of workers in all occupations. An Occupational Health Service (OHS) provided by an employer is in-house or outsourced medical examinations and healthcare advice to support colleagues in assessing safety and fitness to work and in return-to-work adjustments after ill health. An OHS is also responsible for ensuring the organisation meets legal and regulatory standards for occupational health.
Psychological Safety
Psychological safety exists in a culture where individuals feel accepted and respected, allowing them to take interpersonal risks without the fear of negative repercussions. This can include the freedom to contribute, ask questions, share ideas, surface concerns and own mistakes through functional channels. The four layers of psychological safety are Inclusion Safety, Learner Safety, Contributor Safety and Challenger Safety. Low psychological safety can lead to disengagement and a higher turnover. Psychological safety has become a more significant discussion due to the increased necessity for innovation to support mental health at work.
Psychosocial Risk
Psychosocial risk is the potential for harm to a person’s mental health due to work or social factors, usually centring around stress factors. Aspects of job design, management and the social and environmental context of work culture can have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm. Addressing psychosocial risks is a key part of ensuring a healthy and safe working environment.
Employee Engagement
Employee engagement, commonly thought of as how happy employees are in their roles, can be defined as a culmination of job satisfaction, motivation to perform, sense of belonging, intent to stay and emotional commitment to the organisation and its goals. More recently they have included elements assessing the wellbeing of teams and relationships. Employee engagement surveys measure these factors to provide the insights needed to inform actions taken to enhance employee engagement and consequent improvements in organisational performance.
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
An EAP is an employer-paid scheme that gives employees access to confidential short-term counselling to help them deal with personal and work related problems that are impacting their mental wellbeing at work. An EAP usually comes with a site providing articles on topics and advisory services ranging from guidance through bereavement to financial issues and other areas of mental health to inform and educate users as well.
Wellbeing Champion
A wellbeing champion is a member of an organisation who supports the wellbeing of their colleagues and the organisations culture by increasing the engagement of their team with the wellbeing initiatives that form part of the wellbeing programme. Employers may offer formal training to wellbeing champions as part of their duty of care, this may include Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training which teaches people how to recognise the warning signs of mental ill health and conduct a supportive conversation to guide someone to the appropriate support such as an EAP or Safeguarding.
Health & Safety (HSE)
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers are required by law to prevent physical and mental ill health of employees and the public that may occur as a result of business activities. A risk assessment informs what actions you need to take to do this. If you have five or more employees you must have a written health and safety policy. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the national regulator for workplace health and safety in Britain who enforces health and safety procedures and regulations for employers.
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