Redefining workplace wellness

Improved talent attraction and retention

Positive organizational cultures attract and retain talent, and workplace wellness programs play an important role. The American Psychological Association reports that over 80 percent of employees will look for companies that support psychological employee wellness in future job searches. Many companies are addressing this by providing individual mental health support and making organizational changes.

Employee retention is strongly linked with workplace well-being. Burnout and poor work-life balance are recipes for high turnover. When people feel supported and valued at work they’re less likely to seek other job opportunities. In fact, one survey found that better work-life balance is the top reason people want to change careers. Lack of career advancement opportunities is another factor in employee turnover, which is why employee wellness programs should include professional development.

Better work performance

Training is a vital  part of an employee wellness plan. Research shows that employee training boosts productivity and work quality, as well as employee morale, job satisfaction, and workers’ self-reported well-being.

Decreased burnout

Work-related burnout and stress are the second most common factors affecting workforce mental health after financial stress, according to Lyra Health’s 2024 State of Workforce Mental Health survey. Workplace wellness programs that assess aspects of work design that impact employee mental health can reduce burnout by helping managers streamline processes, correct inefficiencies, and implement strategies that support work-life integration.

Heightened productivity

Research shows that toxic workplaces decrease employee productivity and effectiveness. When people feel supported and cared for, they’re more likely to commit to their jobs and do good work. Offering workplace wellness programs has positive effects on productivity. Additional research showed that 70 percent of members who sought care with Lyra showed improved productivity levels on the Work Limitations Questionnaire—an objective measure of health conditions that interfere with job performance and productivity. And in another study, 86 percent of people treated for depression reported higher levels of work performance and job satisfaction.

Better morale

Employee morale plays a big role in engagement at work. Positive morale helps attract and retain talent, gives employees a sense of pride in their work, and increases employee productivity. Studies show that employees’ intrinsic motivation increases when they work in a supportive environment and feel valued by their managers. When workplace wellness initiatives are reimagined as giving managers the skills to support their team with effective communication, efficient processes, and expectations that allow for healthy work-life balance, employees may feel better about their jobs and their organization.

Healthy company culture

Some research finds that a healthy workplace culture is more important than salary for many employees. Organizations that promote a culture of wellness—for example, by talking openly about mental health and encouraging employees to use employee wellness resources available to them—may have healthier employees who are at lower risk for mental health conditions.

Increased profits and sustainability

Organizations that support mental health see a return of $4 for every dollar they invest in wellness at the workplace. In one survey, HR leaders reported that employee mental health resources helped attract talent, boost employee retention, and increase ROI. Employers recognize the need for employee well-being programs, with 90 percent increasing their investment in this area.

Collect data

Effective workplace wellness programs begin with gathering data on work stressors. “Organization and benefits leaders can approach this through psychosocial risk assessments,” said Wasserman. “For example, Lyra has an organizational health evaluation to uncover indicators that interventions are needed to support employee wellness from an organizational perspective.” Lyra’s organizational health evaluation starts with tailored employee wellness surveys that provide a heat map of what’s happening across the company.

Evaluate hotspot stressors

Once you’ve compiled the data, add context through conversations with team members and other analysis tools. Psychosocial risk assessments help identify training opportunities, where action plans are needed, and ways to fix broken systems and ineffective processes.

Put solutions in place

The next step in building well-being in the workplace is partnering with learning and development teams or consultants. These teams are measured by their ability to improve workplace performance. They’ll provide specific recommendations on additional training or improved processes and systems so that there’s a clear path to better performance.

An organization like Lyra can make data-backed recommendations on interventions on the individual, team, and leadership levels to guide decision-making on programs, training, and other initiatives. For example, one team may struggle with work overload and benefit from new prioritization processes. At the leadership level, recommendations could include examining cross-functional collaboration and identifying opportunities to streamline priorities so work is distributed in a balanced way.

“Another situation we’ve seen come up a lot is when organizations have recently gone through a lot of restructuring, there’s a need for more role clarity because employees are feeling confused,” said Wasserman. “They don’t know which aspects of their job are still considered in scope, and so defining roles and clarifying reporting structures is an example of potential interventions.”

This more holistic workplace wellness approach doesn’t mean there’s no longer a need for individualized support like mental health benefits. The difference is that the new approach ensures workplace wellness initiatives are chosen with a clear understanding of what supports organizational well-being as a whole. It focuses on the impacts to employees at work in terms of a distress and performance standpoint, then determines which types of programs and interventions would be most supportive.

Assess effectiveness

The last step is building a system that continually assesses data and training needs and helps workers take action. Organizations need to reevaluate workplace wellness strategies on a regular basis to create a continuous improvement process.