Too many organisations still view wellbeing as a collection of disconnected perks – fruit bowls, yoga classes or mindfulness apps – deployed in isolation and without strategic coherence. This needs to change.
In 2025, forward-thinking companies are reframing wellbeing as a core business imperative, deeply intertwined with performance, engagement and retention.
We are at a Tipping Point
Despite years of conversation around wellbeing, the data in 2025 paints a stark picture: burnout is soaring, engagement is falling, and organisations are paying the price in lost productivity, turnover and reputational risk.
According to Gallup’s 2025 global survey, only 21% of employees say they are engaged at work – a two-year decline – and manager engagement has slipped even further. Simultaneously, research by Reed shows that 85% of employees report experiencing burnout or exhaustion, with almost half taking mental-health-related leave in the past year. Younger employees, in particular, are disproportionately affected, yet many don’t feel safe disclosing wellbeing challenges to employers.
The commercial implications are serious. Deloitte estimates poor mental health now costs UK employers up to £56 billion annually due to absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover. Globally, Gallup calculates that lost productivity linked to disengagement stands for a staggering $9.6 trillion hole in the world economy. This is not simply a HR concern; it is a business-critical issue touching every aspect of performance, growth and competition.
At the same time, expectations are shifting.
Employees increasingly view wellbeing as non-negotiable, not as a personal luxury but as a fundamental employer responsibility. They want meaningful action that moves beyond tokenistic rewards towards cultures that actively enable psychological safety, flexibility, growth and sustainable performance.
In today’s volatile climate – shaped by economic uncertainty, geopolitical threat, hybrid working challenges, generational shifts and talent shortages – organisations who embed wellbeing into their core operating model stand to gain resilience, loyalty and competitive advantage. Those who do not act risk falling rapidly behind.
The Business Benefits of Wellbeing
When organisations elevate wellbeing from a peripheral initiative to a core business imperative, the results are tangible and far-reaching. Companies that embed wellbeing see significantly improved retention. We can see reported by the Global Wellness Institute, that companies with strong wellness programmes evidence up to 22% lower turnover rates. Employees who feel supported are more likely to stay, reducing the excessive costs of recruitment, onboarding and lost expertise.
Productivity gains are equally clear. Globally, Gallup’s 2025 data estimates that disengagement costs the world economy nearly $9.6 trillion annually in lost output. In contrast, the World Economic Forum states that companies prioritising employee wellbeing report up to 20 % higher productivity. Absenteeism also falls sharply; McKinsey Health Institute tells us that organisations implementing proactive wellbeing measures see sick days drop, as issues are addressed before they escalate into long-term absence.
The financial case for investment is strong. Deloitte’s research consistently shows that for every £1 invested in employee wellbeing, organisations can expect an average return of £5 through improved productivity, reduced absenteeism and lower staff turnover. In an era where talent attraction and retention are fierce battlegrounds, companies who get wellbeing right enjoy reputational advantages too, strengthening their employer brand and becoming magnets for top talent seeking workplaces that genuinely support human flourishing.
These aren’t vague aspirations – they’re tangible economic outcomes.
A Strategic Shift in Perspective
To pivot successfully, organisations must fundamentally rethink their approach to wellbeing – not as a standalone initiative but as a systemic enabler of sustained performance and growth. This requires moving through four essential transitions:
- From Perks to Purposeful Culture
Wellbeing thrives in cultures where people feel respected, psychologically safe and included, not just “treated” every now and then. Audit your culture against hallmarks of wellbeing: trust, clarity, autonomy and connection.
- Measure psychological safety within teams using brief pulse surveys.
- Train leaders to model vulnerability and balance, creating space for open dialogue.
- Integrate wellbeing into leadership KPIs and performance reviews to encourage progress.
- From HR Perimeter to Business Core
Wellbeing must be embedded across functions, not siloed in HR. Successful companies position it alongside metrics like employee productivity, tenure, retention as well as external customer satisfaction.
- Include wellbeing indicators (e.g., burnout rates, wellbeing survey scores, mental-health leave) in executive dashboards for full organisational visibility.
- Engage Finance and Business leaders in defining economic outcomes tied to wellbeing to prove that action is needed, and progress is having an impact.
- Link wellbeing efforts to strategic horizons, which is especially relevant amid current economic volatility.
- From Reactive Support to Proactive Design
Wellbeing shouldn’t only kick in when people struggle, it must be built into roles, systems and processes as a way of preventing their struggles. Prevention is more cost-effective for a business than management and treatment.
- Conduct well‑designed job audits, so you can adjust workloads, clarify roles and embed recovery cycles.
- Discuss flexible working (e.g., hybrid, flexible, asynchronous schedules) with employees, so wellbeing is built into their work and home lives.
- Offer mental-health days under personal or annual time off, recognise mental sickness in the same way as physical sickness, offering subsidised therapy.
- From Individual Responsibility to Shared Accountability
It’s too common to frame wellbeing as the employee’s problem: “take the programme, manage your stress, ring the helpline“. Leading organisations view it as a shared duty, part employee responsibility, but also part employer responsibility.
- Set wellbeing goals at a team level, track regular check‑in frequency, time-off utilisation and early stress signals.
- Hold management accountable by including wellbeing metrics in manager scorecards and performance reviews – most importantly, in conjunction with formal training.
- Encourage peer support by training employees to notice distress cues in one another and let them know how to signpost to help.
Seize the Moment
In 2025, wellbeing is still one of the most urgent challenges – and opportunities – for business leaders. Employees are burned out and disengaged; productivity erodes daily. But organisations that act decisively, embedding wellbeing into culture, leadership, jobs and strategy, are capturing performance gains, boosting retention and creating resilient workforces.
Your perspective matters: step beyond wellbeing as a reward and reframe it as a strategic, purpose-driven priority. Lead with culture, empower managers and build systems designed for humans. The payoff is tangible: better engagement, improved retention and stronger financial results – and a resilient, healthy and happy workforce ready for whatever comes next.
Louise Whitfield is a Strategic Consultant at McCann Synergy, a leading employee experience agency, improving the world of work, creatively. She has worked in the field of employee experience, culture change, brand, and communications for over a decade, partnering with several global organisations for success.