• Current students
      • Student centre
        Enrol on a course/exam
        My enrolments
        Exam results
        Mock Exams 2020/21
        CAP1 essential documents
        CAP2 essential documents
        FAE essential documents
      • Course information
        Students FAQs
        Student induction
        Course enrolment information
        Key dates
        Book distribution
        Timetables
        FAE Elective Information
      • Exams
        Exam Info: CAP1
        E-assessment information
        Exam info: CAP2
        Exam info: FAE
        Reasonable accommodation and extenuating circumstances
        Timetables for exams & interim assessments
        Interim assessments past papers & E-Assessment mock solutions
        Main examination past papers
        Information and appeals scheme
        JIEB: NI Insolvency Qualification
      • CA Diary resources
        Mentors: Getting started on the CA Diary
        CA Diary for Flexible Route FAQs
      • Admission to membership
        Joining as a reciprocal member
        Conferring dates
        Admissions FAQs
      • Support & services
        Audit Qualification requirements
        Recruitment to and transferring of training contracts
        CASSI
        Student supports and wellbeing
        Learning Hub data privacy policy
    • Students

      View all the services available for students of the Institute

      Read More
  • Becoming a student
      • About Chartered Accountancy
        The Chartered difference
        What do Chartered Accountants do?
        5 Reasons to become a Chartered Accountant
        Student benefits
        School Bootcamp
        Chartered Connect
        Study in Northern Ireland
        Events
        Blogs
        Testimonials of Flexible route
      • Entry routes
        College
        Working
        Accounting Technicians
        School leavers
        Member of another body
        International student
        Flexible Route
        Training Contract
      • Course description
        CAP1
        CAP2
        FAE
        New education offering
      • Apply
        How to apply
        Exemptions guide
        Fees & payment options
        External students
      • Training vacancies
        Training vacancies search
        Training firms list
        Large training firms
        Milkround
        Training firms update details
        Recruitment to and transferring of training contract
        Interview preparation and advice
        The rewards on qualification
        Tailoring your CV for each application
        Securing a trainee Chartered Accountant role
      • Support & services
        Becoming a student FAQs
        Who to contact for employers
        Register for a school visit
    • Becoming a
      student

      Study with us

      Read More
  • Members
      • Members Hub
        My account
        Annual subscription fees
        Annual returns
        Application forms
        CPD/events
        Member services A-Z
        District societies
        Professional Standards
        Young Professionals
        Advocacy
        Careers development
      • In practice
        Going into practice
        Practice Matters
        Practice toolkits
        Members in practice committee
        Practice networks
        Helpsheets
        Compliance support
        Members' complaints adviser
        Free services
        Our approach
        Workshops and professional training with a difference
        Abhaile Scheme
        Practice News webinars
        GDPR resources for practices
      • Overseas members
        Working abroad
        Working in Australia
        Overseas members news
        Tax for returning Irish members
      • In business
        Networking and special interest groups
        Articles
      • Public sector
        Public sector news
        Public sector presentations
      • Support & services
        Letters of good standing form
        FAQs for Chartered Accountants
        AML confidential disclosure form
        CHARIOT/Institute Technical content
        TaxSource
        Pocket diaries
    • Members

      View member services

      Read More
  • Employers
      • Training organisations
        Authorise to train
        Training in business
        Course enrolment information for firms
        Manage my students
        Incentive Scheme
        Recruitment to and transferring of training contracts
        Securing and retaining the best talent
        Tips on writing a job specification
      • Training
        In-house training
        Training tickets
      • Recruitment services
        Hire a qualified Chartered Accountant
        Hire a trainee student
      • Non executive directors recruitment service
      • Support & services
        Hire members: log a job vacancy
        Firm/employers FAQs
        Training ticket FAQs
        Authorisations
        Hire a room
        Who to contact for employers
    • Employers

      Services to support your business

      Read More
☰
  • The Institute
☰
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Students
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Archive
  • Podcasts
  • Contact us
Search
View Cart 0 Item
  • Home/
  • Accountancy Ireland/
  • Articles/
  • News/
  • Latest News

Lastest news

The real maths behind wellness in the workplace

Jul 28, 2019
Wellness in the workplace programmes get a lot of hype, but are they getting the real attention they need from organisations? Susan HayesCulleton helps you make a business case for wellness initiatives and has the maths to back it up.

Wellness in the workplace initiatives have gained a lot of attention, and many large companies are now participating in such initiatives… aren’t they?

For example, take activity trackers. According to Bloomberg, “Corporate services are one of Fitbit’s fastest growing market” with American retail giant Target offering the activity trackers to its 350,000 employees. However, according to the Global Wellness Institute, only “9% of the world’s 3.2 billion workers potentially have access to any kind of workplace wellness program or services.”

So, while the trend is gathering momentum, others are not sure employers should intervene in the private lives of their employees and monitor behaviours that are, ultimately, personal. However, the impact of wellness on productivity and sick days is such that employers would do well to accept they have a serious stake in their employees' wellbeing.

I could quote many studies that make an effort to correlate the benefits of a wellness initiative with every dollar invested (the American Heart Association puts the figure at $3 return for every $1 invested), but I think it is far more fruitful to give you some real mathematical equations to compute the impact at your organisation. These equations are a clear, stark way of making the case for wellness in the workplace to obtain support from finance or buy-in from senior management.

Number of days saved * average daily employee salary

If the company could decrease the number of days spent out of the office by just one, how much would that save the company in terms of lost payroll? People are out of the office for a number of reasons relating to sickness, from the common cold when the seasons change, to burnout and exhaustion, anxiety-related diseases, workplace accidents among others.

% reduction in turnover * costs of turnover

According to Eremedia, the cost of turnover averages at 40% of an employee’s salary, when considering the cost of redundancy, advertising the position, interviewing, training, opportunity cost of the work that is left undone and the induction period while the new recruit learns to navigate the job and environment. A wellness initiative that can reduce turnover by some percentage can translate into a very significant saving.

Cost of injury + cost of claim

According to a recent Health and Safety Executive (UK) report, there are over 600,000 workers injured in workplace accidents annually in Britain. The cost of workplace injury in 2013/14 was £4.9 billion and equivalent to £7500 per non-fatal injury. If a company can prevent this from happening, then it doesn’t save just money, it avoids the negative impact on the life and lifestyle of the employee, the disruption to the workplace contribution of that employee, the reputational damage for a court case and the tension arising from all of the above.

% increase in productivity * total cost of payroll

Let’s say that, as a result of a wellness initiative in your workplace, staff improve their productivity by 2%. What impact would that have on the company? There are a number of ways to compute this. The assumption in every company is that staff generate more return to the company than the cost of their collective payroll. You can compare the actual cost of payroll now, and the increased value of that payroll if the same number of employees were more productive by 2%, giving your business a more impressive return than expected.

External reputational benefit + internal morale

In a detailed study, MIT identified that for employees with an MBA, the reputation of the company recruiting them accounts for 16.3% of the value of the contract; for non-MBA employees, reputation in total represents 11.1% of the value of the contract; and for the under/unemployed workers, reputation has a total importance of 11.4% of the value of the contract.

External reputation can have a huge bearing on the recruitment and retention of talent. If the company can improve its reputation as a good employer (particularly now with workplace peer reviews on Glassdoor.com), through engaging staff in meaningful CSR initiatives or by taking an active role in improving employees’ health, for example, then this long-term investment can yield dividends year after year.

Naturally, improving internal morale achieves every single one of these benefits and underscores all efforts.

These equations can help you make the case on paper, with facts-led arguments. However, convincing the head is one thing, but convincing the heart is another. Large-scale change is difficult in any organisation, but leading by example and showing others how caring for the wellness of staff can lead to better results for the company will make a big impact on all stakeholders.

Susan HayesCulleton is Managing Director of HayesCulleton Group and Founder of The Positive Economist.

The latest news to your inbox

Useful links

  • Current students
  • Becoming a student
  • Knowledge centre
  • Shop
  • District societies

Get in touch

Dublin HQ

Chartered Accountants
House, 47-49 Pearse St,
Dublin 2, Ireland

TEL: +353 1 637 7200
Belfast HQ

The Linenhall
32-38 Linenhall Street, Belfast
Antrim BT2 8BG, United Kingdom.

TEL: +44 28 9043 5840

Connect with us

CAW Footer Logo-min
GAA Footer Logo-min
CARB Footer Logo-min
CCAB-I Footer Logo-min

© Copyright Chartered Accountants Ireland 2020. All Rights Reserved.

☰
  • Terms & conditions
  • Privacy statement
  • Event privacy notice
LOADING...

Please wait while the page loads.