Anything you pay for that doesn’t produce results is expensive, no matter how small the outlay.
Anything that provides you with positive ROI is value for money, regardless of how much it costs.
When it comes to workplace wellbeing, there are a tonne of different options, and every workplace views these options differently.
Some are free (some of the best interventions, in fact), like workplace challenges, introducing individual flex agreements, increased communication, regular check-ins around wellbeing, personal workload capacity indicators, and creating wellbeing communities amongst your staff.
Some are cheap, like fruit bowls in the breakroom, yoga and exercise classes, monthly massage sessions, lunch and learn talks, company-branded exercise gear and adding more plants to the office.
And some cost more, like EAPs, gym memberships, unlimited leave, mental health and resilience training and support, bringing in workplace wellbeing specialists, or transitioning to a 4 day work week (which is labour and cost intensive to begin with, but studies have shown it will reduce costs and increase wellbeing while maintaining productivity. But more on that another time).
The trick is to look not just at the cost but at the impact of the initiative.
We tend to understand this when it comes to other business activities (i.e. you get what you pay for) but not when it comes to wellbeing.
One of the reasons for this is because most organisations are still oblivious to the actual ROI of wellbeing initiatives and so are looking for what they can introduce without spending too much money.
This is why fruit boxes and yoga classes have dominated the wellbeing space, because they cost very little but are technically still initiatives that companies can point to as evidence of a wellbeing program.
The issue is that as low-cost as they are, they’re not moving the needle on the wellbeing of staff, which in reality makes them expensive.
The costlier interventions – as well as the technically free but difficult to implement ones – however, have proven time and time again to have a real impact on wellbeing, which in turn reduces staffing costs, decreases absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover and burnout, and improves productivity.
These are tangible benefits with real world, positive ROI that can be measured and proven, and Value on Investment (VOI) that can be seen and felt (whose $ benefit is almost impossible to quantify but is estimated to be many times higher than what can be quantified) which makes them excellent value for money.
When it comes to wellbeing options, it’s time to look beyond the initial price tag and instead look at what the overall cost-benefit analysis tells us, like we would with any other investment, and evaluate our budget and commitment accordingly.
Once we start to view it in these terms, investing heavily in the wellbeing of staff goes from being a scary looking up-front cost to an absolute no-brainer, which is where everybody wins.
For more info on this and to look at what you can get, not just what you’ll spend, for a wellbeing program, get in touch here or send us an email at [email protected].
Want more info? Book in for a free chat here or send us an email at [email protected].
Question
Will the cheapest option make an impact or will it require a little more to move the needle and see a return?
