9 Workplace Wellness Statistics That Will Shock You
1. 35% of Canadians are reporting feeling burned out.
Let’s face it, coming out of the past few years and the unprecedented impacts of
living (and working) through a global pandemic have left people burnt out. While
the national average is sitting around 35%, with over a third of Canadians reporting
burnout, certain industries have been hit even harder. Health and patient care is
reported at 53%, transportation at 40%, finance, legal & insurance at 39%,
Education and childcare at 38% and first responders at 36%. The highest number may
not be surprising to you though, with nurses reporting that 66% are experiencing
symptoms of burnout at work.
2. Increase in stress leave means that over 30% of disability claims are mental health related.
Mental health has always made up a significant percentage of disability claims, but
over the past few years, this number is on the rise. With more workers reporting
high stress, burnout and lack of resources to cope, more employees are taking a
stress leave from work and filing a disability claim. This has massive impacts on the
company, tasked with not only supporting their employee in returning to work, but
also ensuring their role and responsibilities will be covered while they’re off.
3. Absenteeism costs employers $16.6 billion annually.
Following up on the statistic above that over 30% of disability claims are mental
health related, the financial impact of this on employers is staggering. Canadian
employers are losing about $16.6 billion annually due to employee absenteeism.
This massive cost is related to not only supporting the employee while they are off
work (which could be for an extended period of time), but also ensuring their
responsibilities will be taken care of. Think hiring a temp or a new employee, on
boarding and training this extra person, planning for the return of the employee and
re-integration upon their return. The costs add up, fast.
4. Currently, approximately 60% of employers are offering some kind of workplace wellness solution.
With more than half of companies offering some kind of workplace wellness
solution, there is a broad acknowledgement that workplace wellness programs need
to be a priority to support workers. While these programs range in their offerings,
Employee Assistance Programs, or EAP have been the most common. This programs
can offer a wide range of services from counselling to legal and financial advice, but
are often limited in their accessibility for longer term support. What this means is
they are often reactive, rather than proactive, workplace wellness programs. By
investing in programs that support employees overall health and wellbeing,
companies can begin to get ahead of the problem rather than always reacting to it.
5. The most popular workplace wellness programs are smoking cessation, physical activities and weight management.
As explained above, EAP has been historically the most wide-spread workplace
wellness program. Smoking cessation, physical activities and weight management
are often programs included in an EAP package. While these services are incredibly
useful to some employees, what they fail to address is the mental health aspect of
health and wellness. Having strong mental health services as a part of workplace
wellness programs can engage employees in preventative services and reduce the
costs to the company later on.
6. Almost 90% of employees report that they will consider workplace wellness services when considering an employer.
In case you haven’t noticed the health and wellness culture is changing! People care
about their health and are getting invested in diverse ways to take care of
themselves. A big component of that is looking to employers to offer strong health
and wellness packages and services for employees. This not only increases access to
services for employees but demonstrates that companies are invested in their
employees’ health and wellness too.
7. 56% of participants in wellness programs are reporting fewer sick days.
In a recent study, the results demonstrated that preventative workplace wellness
programs have a big impact. When employees are connected to and utilizing strong
workplace wellness programs, they are going to notice the impacts of this in their
daily life, overall health and engagement at work. Having access to great workplace
wellness programs has the ability to reduce absenteeism by almost 20%. That is a
great return on investment for companies.
8. Companies with health and wellness programs report that 91 percent of their employees say they feel motivated to do their best (vs. 38 percent of those without).
Workplace wellness offerings and services can be a really clear reflection of a
company’s values and culture. By offering high-quality wellness services, employees
feel cared for, supported and that they are being invested in. This is in turn
increases motivation and their investment back into the company. With a staggering
91% of employees with access to wellness programs reporting commitment to their
best, compared to only 38% of those without, the impact is clear.
9. Companies with highly effective health and wellness plans are 40% more likely to report better financial performance than low-effectiveness companies.
At the end of the day, a lot of decisions around increasing access to workplace
wellness programs come down to the bottom line. This statistic speaks for itself –
invest in employee wellness and you are investing in your company’s future.
For custom workplace wellness solutions and preventative mental health
workshops, get in touch with us! We can create the perfect solution for your unique
company or organization.
Looking for a mental health wellness program?
Check out Scott Sheere Wellness and book a preventative mental health workshop for your team today. We cover topics including:
Preventing and managing burnout
Stress Management
Building mental health resiliency through skills practice
Custom Workshops Available!
References:
1. https://wsmh-cms.mediresource.com/wsmh/assets/rdtffdtyswgcogcg
2. Sunlife, 2022
4. https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/pages/2017-employee-benefits.aspx
7. https://www.benefitnews.com/news/wellness-programs-cut-sick-days-improves-productivity
8. Raymond Fabius et al., “The Link Between Workforce Health and Safety and the Health of the Bottom Line: Tracking Market Performance of Companies That Nurture a ‘Culture of Health,’” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 55 (9) (2013): 993–1,000.