Workplace wellness programs aren’t new. Johnson & Johnson launched a program called Live for Life in 1979, focusing on fitness, nutrition, and stress management in the workplace. It served as an example for other companies looking to introduce wellness programs.
According to Gallup, 75% of medical costs are due to preventable conditions, and between 15 to 20% of involuntary payroll turnover is due to burnout. Globally, poor well-being costs $322 billion in turnover and lost productivity.
That investment is more critical than ever. Research conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Human Capital Development Lab in partnership with Great Place To Work® reveals that employee well-being has declined to pre-pandemic levels.
The return on investment (ROI) on workplace wellness programs goes beyond calculating the number of sick days employees take. Great workplaces take a more holistic view of supporting employee well-being.
Many of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® continue to invest in employee well-being. They’ve built cultures that are driving remarkable performance — 3.5 times higher stock market performance8.5 times higher revenue per employee.
The best companies demonstrate that high well-being and strong business results can coexist.
Comprehensive benefits of workplace wellness programs
The decline in employee well-being in recent years underscores the importance of investing in workplace wellness programs. Top workplaces understand that supporting their employees’ well-being goes beyond a 10-minute chair massage in the office or healthy snacks in the vending machine.
Instead, these organizations invest in a multifaceted well-being program that supports employees’ physical, mental, financial, and emotional health. Focusing on the whole person means providing people with the means to access a family lawyer, an expert to help with personal finance, or support for women going through menopause. Giving employees access to tailored resources like these helps play a role in creating a thriving company culture.
Wellness programs save companies on healthcare costs — after all, employees who are physically or mentally unwell can’t bring their best to the workplace. However, other tangible benefits contribute to wellness programs’ positive ROI:
Reduced absenteeism and increased productivity
It is relatively easy to understand that if team members are frequently ill, absenteeism will increase. It’s relatively easy to quantify absent employees as lower productivity for the business.
What is harder to understand is the impact of presenteeism, where employees show up to work even when they are sick, injured, or under stress, so they are not fully engaged. Presenteeism can also have a substantial impact on productivity. An unwell team member is not as likely to show up giving 100 percent.
Whether unwell employees are absent or at work, the impact on productivity comes with a cost: every hour of “unproductive labor” costs a company $15,000, according to McKinsey. On the flip side, when employees have access to wellness programs, they’re more likely to be productive.
Enhanced employee engagement and satisfaction
Wellness programs play a role in fostering an engaged and supportive work environment. When people are satisfied, they’re also more likely to collaborate. The stats back that up: almost half of employees at Great Place To Work Certified™ companies give extra effort in the workplace.
Improved talent attraction and retention
More and more candidates are seeking employers that support them both in the workplace and outside of it. A robust wellness program can be a differentiator in recruiting and retaining talent.
Show applicants that your workplace is an ideal fit by highlighting how it supports the mental and physical well-being of your people.
When companies invest in employee well-being, employees are twice as likely to want to stay on the job and three times more likely to recommend their workplace to others.
Measuring the ROI of workplace wellness programs
Historically, measuring the ROI of any workplace wellness program is relatively straightforward. However, running numbers doesn’t tell the whole story of the true ROI for an organization.
Traditional ROI calculation
Measuring the ROI for employee wellness programs traditionally involves savings minus costs.
These savings come from factors like reduced absenteeism and increased productivity, while costs should include anything spent to implement, promote, and run a wellness program.
The ROI can be expressed in a dollar amount. For example, Johnson & Johnson realized an ROI of $2.71 for every $1 spent on their wellness program from 2002 to 2008.
Beyond financial metrics: Holistic impact assessment
While it’s possible to put a dollar amount on the ROI of wellness programs, their positive impact goes beyond a numeric value.
Workplaces that invest in wellness programs are contributing to a positive workplace culture by demonstrating they care for their people and their well-being. The positive effects of building a high-trust culture radiate beyond a traditional ROI cost analysis.
In high-trust cultures, employees can show up as their authentic selves. Employees also report being proud of where they work, having respect for leadership, and feeling a sense of purpose.
At Accenture, No. 7 on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list, well-being is an essential indicator of overall business success. Leaders believe that when employees are healthy, with meaningful work and strong connections to colleagues, they are more productive.
At the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, employees say they are willing to give more at work, compared to a typical U.S. workplace. However, productivity doesn’t come at the cost of their mental health. Rather, 60% of employees say their workplace is psychologically and emotionally healthy. 1
Culture not only drives performance, it also drives profit. Companies with high-trust cultures are more profitable and have higher stock market returns. According to research from FTSE Russell, companies that make the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list outperform the market by a factor of 3.68.
Tools like the Trust Index™ Survey help companies measure the intangible benefits and provide valuable feedback on the effectiveness of wellness programs.
Case studies: Successful workplace wellness programs
At Hackensack Meridian Health, nurturing the health and well-being of team members is paramount. This commitment is embodied in the organization’s unique “Feel, Live, and Work Better” framework. This framework for well-being is designed around four pillars: eat better, sleep better, move better, and cope better.
At HMH, well-being benefits are designed to support the total well-being of the team — because when the team thrives, so does the company. Last year, it focused on mental health and brought together a team of clinicians, leaders, and frontline team members to design COPE Better. This proactive, stigma-free approach to supporting mental health is designed to empower team members to thrive, offering accessible, proactive tools to support stress reduction and emotional health.
HMH is also equipping leaders with the tools to recognize and respond to their own needs and those of their teams. This fosters a culture rooted in trust, open communication, and shared responsibility for well-being.
The initiative was guided by the people who know what’s needed most: MHM’s team members. In 2024, MHM saw a 40% jump in participation in their wellness initiative, with nearly 8,000 team members embracing healthier habits and meeting program goals.
Power Home Remodeling invests in its people’s mental and financial wellness through its Employee Assistance Services program. As well as access to mental health professionals, financial advisors, and legal services, employees can also take up to forty hours for doctors’ appointments, therapy, or simply take a personal day — all without eating into vacation days.
The result: A 33% increase in employees making use of wellness time to focus on wellness.
With 98% of employees agreeing that people at care about each other, and 95% of employees saying it’s a great place to work, it isn’t surprising that Power Home Remodeling made the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® List in 2025.
How to overcome common challenges with wellness
Challenge: Low employee participation
If you’ve rolled out a wellness program and employee uptake is low, your organization isn’t alone. The Harvard Business Review reports that when it comes to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), engagement rates have remained around 5-10% since the 1980s.
Solution: Involve your people
If employees aren’t participating in wellness programs, start by listening. Listening is one of nine high-trust behaviors that can positively impact company culture.
Ask questions and set aside your own assumptions about what your people want or need. Not sure where to start? Employee resource groups (ERGs) are important sources of information and can be helpful in rolling out new initiatives.
Employee well-being can be especially challenging for people working in health care. This was the case for leaders at Baptist Health South Florida. They met the challenge by establishing a dedicated well-being team. The hospital’s Pastoral Care team offers counseling, crisis intervention, and grief support. The organization also manages a fund which offers interest-free loans and gifts to employees facing financial hardships.
Another powerful tool for listening to employees is pulse surveys. Pulse surveys are short, focused surveys that can lead to clear, actionable results.
Challenge: Budget constraints
With competing financial priorities, it can be challenging for organizations to justify the cost of implementing a workplace wellness program. Smaller businesses, especially, may have limited resources to invest. As well as the cost of paying for health-related services, organizations also need money to invest in communicating and rolling out their wellness initiative.
Solution: Look for cost-effective ways to invest in wellness
One antidote to a limited budget is for companies to focus on cost-effective ways to invest in well-being. Focus on digital platforms, such as a one-year paid subscription to a mindfulness app; leverage local partnerships and provide discounted gym membership to employees; or simply provide healthy snacks in the workplace.
Scripps Health turned to its employees to create peer support programs, a cost-effective approach to supporting employees when they need extra help. Their HOPE Fund (Helping Our Peers in Emergencies) helps staff offer their own PTO or other financial assistance to employees in need.
Over the course of a year, 25 employees received more than $45,000, and 26 employees received 1,788 hours of PTO through the program.
Challenge: Lack of leadership buy-in
Success starts from the top, and senior leaders are integral to the success of workplace wellness programs. As well as approving budget for the costs involved in wellness programs, your leaders are also uniquely positioned to champion employee buy-in and encourage engagement. However, when leadership can’t see a clearly defined ROI on investing in workplace wellness, it can make buy-in difficult.
Solution: Position wellness as a strategic investment
Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, understands why wellness matters more than ever. “If you want to succeed in a tight labor market, well-being has to be an important priority for your company,” she said.3 To gain leadership support, present a business case linking wellness programs with organizational goals, such as retention. Replacing talent costs the business in time, money, and organizational knowledge.
However, employees are four times more committed to their company when leaders display on of the nine behaviors according to Great Place To Work’s Employee Retention Report.
Caring is another of those nine behaviors. Investing in well-being shows you care about employees both inside and outside of work. When they feel managers care about their lives, employees are 1.5 times more likely to want to stay with the company long-term.4
Innovation is another key goal for organizations. A culture of innovation encourages questions, conversations, and new ideas — from everyone. But this can be a challenge when employees feel stressed or burned out.
Investing in everyone’s growth is one practice that cultivates an inclusive, innovative environment. Organizations that prioritize a culture of innovation see increased revenue and higher employee engagement.
Senior leadership at Accenture stepped up to the challenge of prioritizing wellness and has become a prominent voice in normalizing mental health as a priority in the workplace.
Maximize the impact of your wellness program
Employee well-being means looking beyond people’s physical health and the type of work they do. It requires a holistic approach that focuses on supporting the “whole person” in each employee. The ROI of workplace wellness extends beyond an organization’s bottom line — to increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, employee engagement, and retention.
Measure the effectiveness of your company’s wellness programs and take a pulse check on workplace culture with Great Place To Work’s Employee Survey Solutions.
