In 2021, the average number of hours worked by Spanish employees was 1,724 hours. If we take into account that forecasts indicate that a person’s working life is approximately 36 years, employees dedicate 62,064 hours to work. An accumulation of time that is high enough to consider the need to take care of the workplace wellbeing.
What is workplace wellness?
According to the WHO:
“A healthy work environment is one in which workers and managers collaborate in a process of continuous improvement to promote and protect the health, safety, and well-being of workers and the sustainability of the work environment“.
In this sense, a company that cares about the well-being of its workers ensures that its teams are satisfied and motivated while performing their duties.
To achieve this, organizations use two fundamental resources:
- Through the care of physical and mental health derived from the application of protection and safety measures, which reduce the risks of accidents and occupational diseases.
- Ensuring a pleasant and positive work environment, which implies knowing how to recognize the value of all the contributions of employees, teamwork, and effective leadership.
What benefits does the well-being of workers bring to the company?
Nowadays, thinking about the comfort of workers goes far beyond promoting health and avoiding work accidents.
Especially now in a post-pandemic era, managers and team leaders are more aware than ever of the need to keep employees in a state of emotional well-being that makes people feel happy to be where they are.
So, workplace well-being is a key factor for teams to be more productive and more motivated, and committed to the company at a level that is difficult to reach by other means.
A company that takes care of its workers also takes care of itself:
- Happy employees are less absent from work.
- Happiness at work reduces stress levels.
- Workers become more productive and motivated, which increases the outcomes.
- Employees have a higher ability to solve problems with creative and innovative solutions, as a result of the development of personal skills in a positive environment.
- There is an increment in employee loyalty and a reduction in talent turnover.
- Collaborators in a good mood have better interpersonal relationships, also influencing much more efficient teamwork.
And, to prove that the well-being of workers is actually beneficial for companies, a large number of studies, surveys and investigations have been carried out that all said before is true.
Down below we bring you some of their results.
What do the statistics say about workplace well-being?
Employee wellness increases sales by 37%
According to the results of a study stated by Harvard University in collaboration with MIT, the best strategy to lead the markets based on good results is to have a happy and engaged team.
The authors spent a decade of research and found that employee well-being:
- Increases sales by 37%.
- Improves productivity by 31%.
- Reduces production errors by 19%
- Increases team creativity by 55%
All this, without taking into account all the positive impacts that work well-being has on the quality of life of employees:
- They get sick 2 times less a year.
- The probability of being absent is 6 times lower.
- They are 9 times more loyal than less happy employees.
Work well-being reduces absences by 25%
This figure is reported by the Chapman Institute, an entity specialized in granting wellness certificates to those companies that take care of their employees.
According to the study, wellness programs reduce the rate of absenteeism by 25%. This decrease in absences translates into an increase in revenue.
The study also highlights that those employees who work in a hostile environment that poses serious risks to their health also need a higher investment in terms of workers’ compensation.
Specifically, people in an environment that does not care for the safety and well-being of its workers represent an expense 20 times higher per year than those teams without risk factors.
43% of employees associate workplace well-being with motivation
This is one of the figures that Actineo Quality of Life at Work Observatory highlighted in one of its annual reports.
But not only that, the study also points out that:
- 48% of employees believe that workplace climate plays a key role in their well-being at work.
- 50% consider that the work environment has a significant impact on their health.
- 41% associate well-being at work with their levels of effectiveness.
Dissatisfied employees cost companies €14,580 a year
Yes, almost €15.00 per year. The amount was calculated by the IBET 2019, the Index of Well-being at Work, developed by the social protection group Apicil and the firm Mozart Consulting.
This statement is consistent with another report by Gallup. According to this study: disgruntled workers cost the US economy between 450 and 550 billion dollars a year in production losses.
In short, the success of an organization is closely linked to the well-being of its workers. Salary has long gone into the background, and if we want teams to be more efficient and productive, we must provide them with a workspace in optimal conditions, ensuring their physical and mental safety.
If you care about the happiness of your collaborators, Team Insights helps you improve your company’s workspace to make it the best place to work. Why don’t you start now? It’s free!
