Why employee wellbeing should head up the 2025 HR to-do list

9 January 2025

The start of a new year is the perfect time to set goals that can make a real difference to your workforce – and employee wellbeing should be top of the list. An increasing awareness of mental health, coupled with mounting pressures in the workplace, means putting your people first must be your top priority. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s a smart business strategy too.

Workplace wellbeing interventions can deliver significant ROI

Focusing on wellbeing doesn’t just help employees, it drives real business results too. Research by Deloitte shows that, “Organisations can save £4.70 on every £1 invested in wellbeing.”

A healthier, happier workforce is often more collaborative and innovative too – impacting customer satisfaction as well as team morale. Add to that the positive impact on employee engagement, retention and advocacy, and surely implementing a strong wellbeing programme is a no-brainer?

How happy are your employees, really?

A recent survey found over half of us (54%) cite heavy or increasing workloads as the cause of stress or burnout – and it’s only getting worse. This is negatively impacting our economy: poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year, largely through absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover.

Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports, “12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity.”

Clearly, being aware of individual and organisational wellbeing – and knowing what action to take if they’re not in great shape – should be a priority for HR managers. But what can you do?

Creating a wellbeing initiative that actually works

To make sure your wellbeing programme delivers real results, aim to include some or all of the following elements:

• Physical activity: we all know exercise is a proven stress-buster and mood booster! Giving employees gym memberships can be a great incentive, but often falls outside budget. A great alternative is online classes. These can be more convenient – easier to squeeze in between work or personal commitments – so may be a more successful initiative than gym memberships anyway. Just make sure they cover everything from gentle stretching to high intensity training, so everyone’s needs are catered for. You might also want to consider making walking meetings company policy: as well as getting us away from our desks, they can also spark creativity (although you might get more buy-in when it’s a bit warmer…)
• Mindfulness or meditation: offering access to simple mindfulness or meditation practices can help your workforce manage stress and anxiety, improve focus, increase energy and even sleep better. On-demand classes may be more effective than in-person workshops, as they give people the freedom to explore this type of activity in the privacy and comfort of their own homes.
• Professional coaching programmes: giving all employees (not just the leadership team) the opportunity to sign up for 1:1 coaching programmes can significantly boost staff wellbeing and positively impact retention, engagement, growth and financial performance. This doesn’t need to be cost-prohibitive either: SME-budget-friendly options include partnering with local coaching firms or independent coaches, or even upskilling some of your own team.
• In-house management and leadership training: as an HR manager, you can’t be expected to have constant visibility over everyone in the company – that’s why ensuring team leaders are equipped with the skills to recognise and address wellbeing issues can make all the difference. Consider making mental health awareness part of your mandatory training.
• Flexible hours and/or hybrid working: while employees now have the right to request flexible working, it’s not always the best solution for the role or the business. While requests must be considered on a case-by-case basis, it’s worth knowing it can offer multiple benefits: if employees can better balance their personal and professional lives, this will reduce stress, improve job satisfaction and increase morale.
• Mental health support services: providing access to confidential counselling services or Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) can deliver critical support when it really matters.

By putting wellbeing at the heart of your HR strategy, you’re not just helping individuals thrive, you’ll be setting your company up for long-term success.

How will you make 2025 your company’s happiest, healthiest year yet?

Staff Skills academy+ has just launched its new Wellbeing hub. Clients can now access a library of movement classes from fitness industry leader Les Mills, and mindfulness and meditation classes from mental health platform, MindLabs. Alongside our 700+ CPD and RoSPA-certified courses, covering everything from mandatory training programmes to industry-specific knowledge, and an extensive suite of soft skills courses to boost employee performance, clients now have everything they need to upskill and retain their staff. Could we be the right fit for your business? Why not have a look and see what we do, or book a call with one of our team today.