Employees are overworked, under-rested, and mentally exhausted. They often struggle to stay healthy with the limitations of traditional workplace wellness initiatives. Often, this translates into negative health effects: lack of motivation, lack of movement, stress - all symptoms that contribute to burnout. With employees not prioritizing their health, employer healthcare costs rise, affecting companies in more ways than one.
Employee burnout is eating away at companies’ budgets. How can we solve these challenges?
First, we have to understand the problem: Burnout. According to the World Health Organization, burnout results from ongoing, unmanaged stress at work. Burnt-out employees often feel exhausted, low on energy, and distant from their jobs. They’re more likely to leave their current positions, take more sick days, and be less productive when at work. Even worse, they’re more likely to experience long-term physical and mental health issues.
The Costly Consequences of Employee Burnout
The consequences of burnout are hurting companies’ bottom lines:
- Turnover of just one employee can cost 1.5-2 times their salary
- Lost productivity to depression and anxiety disorders costs the global economy $1 trillion every year
- Employer-sponsored healthcare costs continue to rise, increasing 9.7% between 2019 and 2021, from approximately $13,209 to $14,542 per employee
- For those with chronic conditions, costs are even more significant. Employers spend 2.5x more on employees with one chronic condition (an increase from $3,603 to $8,921 per person) and over 5x more for those with two or more chronic conditions ($20,257 per person)
Can corporate wellness programs really make a difference in workplace health?
An analysis by the CDC showed that implementing effective health programs can lead to a 25% savings on both absenteeism and healthcare costs. Effective programs keep lower-risk employees healthy by encouraging them to maintain their habits and help higher-risk employees learn more sustainable ways to improve their health, effectively reducing healthcare costs.
Furthermore, researchers from Harvard found that absenteeism costs are reduced by about $2.73 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and medical costs are reduced by about $3.27 for every dollar spent. When considering these savings against the 150 million employed people in the U.S, it’s easy to see how wellness programs can significantly influence an organization’s financial performance.
The Corporate Wellness Alternative
From meditation apps to virtual counseling to wellness stipends, there are countless employee health offerings on the market. While these wellness initiatives can be beneficial, employees aren’t always motivated to use them, and it’s difficult to measure their impact. Most options put the onus on the employee to improve their health and resilience. They are left without the education and support they need to use these tools effectively.
Employers need to stop investing in one-off benefits and start investing in holistic solutions.
What WHOOP Unite Does Differently
Long-term change requires data-driven insights personalized to individuals’ needs. WHOOP Unite offers a 24/7 wearable, app, and education program that solves this issue. By coaching employees towards improved stress management, higher quality sleep, and better health, WHOOP Unite supports businesses in driving healthy behavior change organization-wide.
Not only does the wearable track key health metrics like sleep, daily activity, and recovery, WHOOP technology provides real-time feedback and coaching within the app to encourage holistic wellness and measurable behavior change.
The WHOOP Unite solution supports businesses in building a culture of engagement and care, improving employee health, and optimizing performance. By giving organizations the tools to shape, run, and scale programming across teams, WHOOP Unite enables leaders to make better-informed decisions to improve health, reduce burnout, and improve financial success.
