90 Workplace Wellness Statistics, Facts, and Quotes

The COVID-19 induced pandemic has spread awareness about our physical and mental well-being and this trend is here to stay for long. Employee wellness in the workplace is also a priority now. So much so that it is much likely to become a critical element for the companies from now on.

2020 has surely been a year of unmatched changes and the effects must have shown up at your workplace too. Like other companies, your workplace might also seem a bit different regardless of whether you went for remote work, re-opened the office, or did something else to cope with the pandemic.

Now that 2020 is over, we are looking into all the workplace wellness trends and the changes undergone on this front in the last year. Whether you are looking forward to improving workplace wellness at your office or just tweaking it a little bit, we have got you covered. Here are more than 75 workplace wellness stats and quotes to help you cope better with the changing times.

These stats shed light on a lot of aspects regarding workplace health and overall well-being. You will also find several stats that tell you how the workplace wellness stats are going to be in 2021. Scroll along!

Table of Content

• Need For Workplace Wellness
• Financial Stress And Workplace Wellness
• Employees’ Thoughts on Workplace Wellness
• Employer’s Initiative To Improvise Workplace Wellness Scenario
• Additional Workplace Wellness Stats
• Workplace Wellness Quotes

Need For Workplace Wellness

Why do we need workplace wellness at all? Here are all the stats that will tell you why:

1. Highly engaged workplace teams report 21% more profitability. The most engaged teams show a 41% reduction in absenteeism and 59% less when it comes to turnover (Gallup).
2.  61% of employees get burned out at the workplace job and 31% report very high levels of stress at the workplace (CareerBuilder, 2017)
3. Workplace wellness programs along with senior leadership support yield positive employee growth. 89% of employees would recommend that their company is a great place to work and 91% would become more motivated to perform better on the job.
4. The Corporate Wellness Market is supposed to be valued at $66.2 billion by 2027.
5. Only 21% of organizations could say that their well-being strategy was good enough and the work module was structured around well-being and the workforce experience. (Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human Capital Trends Survey)
6. Fatigue affects both remote employees as well (43%) and those working in the physical workplace (43%) (UKG, 2020)
7. As per a survey by Virgin HealthMiles/Workforce, about 87% of employees consider a company’s healthcare and wellness offerings while choosing to work for them.
8. For remote workers, loneliness can become a major health threat. Research from the Perspectives on Psychological Science says that isolation can result in an increase in mortality by 26%.
9. More than 50% of millennials have considered leaving their current jobs due to workplace stress (Welltok)
10. 53% of employees reported that stress interferes hugely with their work.
11. Companies with effective wellness programs have realized an overall 28% reduction in sick days and 26% in health costs. (ITA Group)
12. A KFF Health Tracking Poll from back in July 2020 found that a lot of working adults have been reporting negative impacts on their mental health and overall well-being in the pandemic. About 4 in 10 adults have reported symptoms of depression or anxiety during the pandemic.
13. As per a survey by NHIS, 11% of working adults reported anxiety and depression symptoms from Jan to Jun 2019. But, that figure rose to 41.1% in January 2021 as per a survey by Household Pulse.
14. A 2020 TELUS Health Report suggests that young workers are more likely to suffer from high levels of stress. 
15. 25% of employees have been diagnosed with depression and 40% of these people take an average of 10 days off each year as a result. (American Psychiatric Association)
16. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in mid-July 2020, over 50% of working adults in the US stated that their mental health had been severely impacted.

Financial Stress And Workplace Wellness

Can financial stress affect your workplace wellness? Read on to find out!

17. The top source of stress for 39% of employees are their personal finances (2020 Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey)
18. Workers who are more worried about their finances miss twice as many days every year as compared to their colleagues who are worry-free.
19. An SHRM report suggests that financial stress leads to a 34% increase in absenteeism and tardiness.
20. A report from February 2020 by the Bank of America suggested that more than half of employees were stressed about finances and that interfered with their work.
21. A whopping 83% of employees reported that financial benefits are much needed to ensure financial security and reduce money-induced workplace stress.
22. 70% of Americans state that the economy and workplace are their two main reasons for stress.

Employees’ Thoughts on Workplace Wellness

Given below are the stats that will give us an idea of the changes that the employees need for their better well-being. It also lets us know about the drawbacks of the current workplace wellness structure of companies.

23. Employees who feel that their opinion matters and they are listened to in the workplace are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered and deliver their best (Salesforce)
24. A recent study suggests that 96% of employees think that being empathetic is important to retain workers. 
25. Only 46% of employees reported that their company supports physical and emotional health. (IBM, 2020)
26. 61% of employees have reported that their lifestyle has become healthier due to the company’s wellness program (Aflac)
27. According to a survey commissioned by Zapier, 91% of Gen Z and 85% of Millennial employees said that employers need to have a mental health work policy in place
28. 48% of employees have reported that company-sponsored training helps them the most when it comes to stress management (Udemy, 2017)
29. 29% of employees expressed wanted their employers to be more empathetic at the workplace.
30. 70% of employees enrolled in wellness programs report higher job satisfaction than those not enrolled (Aflac, 2019)
31. A MetLife survey showed that around 60% of employees who deal with mental health issues believe that their employer does not provide the necessary programs to meet their needs. Also, they have reported that the programs offered are difficult to understand or access.
32. As per a survey by Entrepreuner.com, 74% of employees who hadn’t been praised for their accomplishments said that they were much likely to leave the job.
33. 23% of remote workers commented that they would rather try finding another job than return to a workplace that doesn’t employ the required safety measures.
34. 80% of employees would be motivated to participate more if the workplace delivered personalized wellness programs (Welltok)
35. About 70% of the employees agreed that they require their employer’s help to ensure that they are healthy and financially secure. (EBRI)
36. About 2/3rds of employees in the US alone said that they stay stressed for all or most of the time when at work.
37. 56% think that the employers will offer more childcare services or subsidize them. 
38. 66% of people believe that their employers will offer flexible spending accounts for dependent care-taking
39. 89% of brokers believe that the employers will continue offering flexible work schedules to benefit all the caregiver employees even after the pandemic subsides. (WellAble)
40. 94% of brokers expect their employers to expand their virtual wellness services for better accessibility by the employees. (WellAble)
41. 16% of the employees have difficulty sleeping due to their work situation
42. 30% of employees mostly start their workdays already feeling tired or with low energy level.
43. 20 to 30% of the employees feel stressed, anxious, frustrated, or annoyed almost every day or at least for a few days every week
44. 25% of employees have reported feeling frequently drained or exhausted after a day’s work.
45. Employees who interact daily or hourly with customers are much likely to feel frequently emotionally and physically drained after their working hours.
46. A survey by Virgin HealthMiles/Workforce suggests that around 77% of employees think that employee wellness programs positively impact the company culture.

Employer’s Initiative To Improvise Workplace Wellness Scenario

The stats given below will shed some light on what the employers are doing to inculcate better well being of the employers at the workplace:

47. Over 68% of employers give importance to well-being as if it were a business objective. (Shortlister, 2019)
48. 88% of the employers have increased investment in mental health programs in 2021 as per the 4th Annual Report of Wellable.
49. Companies have realized that wellness needs to be a part of every aspect of their organization. 70% of employers have changed and improvised their physical environments to inculcate healthy workplace behaviors (Willis Towers Watson)
50. 66% more companies desire mobile-first or native mobile app programs for their employees
51. 75% of healthcare spending goes forward to treating chronic diseases, most of these can be resolved via a change in diet.
52. 60% of employers are willing to eliminate communal food in the office kitchen to curb the spread of COVID
53. Increase in the use of technology has increased over 70% by employees to oversee/support their health conditions (Welltok)
54. 84% of employers are likely to provide on-demand access to live counselors, nurses, or some other healthcare provider.
55. 83% of employers will provide access to self-care subscription services like meditation, mindfulness, and so on
56. 76% of employers need manager training to help in identifying and supporting employees who suffer from mental health challenges.
57. Over 53% of employers wish to plan-in the on-demand fitness classes and self-care subscriptions.
58. 77% of employers are keen on reducing the facility capacity and keeping smaller or fewer capacities.
59. Employers are expecting to invest less in health fairs (60%), biometric screenings (53%), on-site fitness classes (48%), healthy food (54%), etc.
60. 42% of employers plan to invest the same amount in 2021 into wellness programs, but 37% plan to invest more into health and wellness strategies.
61. In 2021, 88% of employers have been investing more in mental health
62. The employers now have a heightened sense of awareness about health concerns and around 92% of brokers believe that the safety measures, social distancing guidelines, and other sanitary practices established in the pandemic shall stay to some degree even after the pandemic goes by.
63. Millennials are quickly becoming a major part of the workforce and so more employees are likely to deal with student loans and related debts. As per the Employee Benefits Survey from SHRM, the number of companies offering student debt repayment help increased from 3% to 8% in 4 years only. (SHRM, 2019)
64. Almost half of the employers make investments in health and well-being that form an integral part of their workforce strategy. In addition to that 65% of employers plan to expand their workplace well-being programs in 2021. (WebMD Health Services)

Additional Workplace Wellness Stats

Some more statistics to show the current workplace wellness framework in the country:

65. Gen X employees are the most interested group in learning about weight control (WellRight, 2020)
66. Baby boomers are 66% less interested in participating in challenges that need a fundamental change to their routine
67. Millennials participate in social challenges 48% more than 40-plus age groups.
68. Women of all ages participate 38% more than men in wellness programs (WellRight, 2020)
69. Research suggests that 67% of employees tend to become more active if their partner becomes more active. So, a worker’s family generally has a big effect on their wellness and overall health.
70. As per a recent study, 68% of employees don’t feel safe working in their employer’s buildings. In this regard, the number is even higher in remote workers (75%).
71. As per a report from Ginger, 81% of employees reported that the symptoms of workplace stress could range from fatigue and anxiety to physical ailments which in turn, caused them to miss work.
72. The emotional milestone experiences at work make employees 81% happier and they feel 71% more value.
73. After the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, 72% of employers are much likely to maintain the social distancing norms, reconfigurable dividers at the workplace, and maintain panel systems
74. The telemedicine programs have experienced the most drastic increases in popularity out of all wellness benefits. It has increased by 87% that is a complete 25 points higher than that in the previous year.
75. As per certain research, employees who are friends do better at their jobs than those who aren’t.

Workplace Wellness Quotes

Here are some quotes that will summarize all the workplace wellness stats mentioned above:

76. “Good health is good business” (Paul Drechsler)
77. “Building wellness programs that actually meet employee needs can be difficult in the most reliable of times, but following what could only be described as the most volatile year in recent history, this task has become exponentially more complicated” (Brighid Courtney, the Director of Wellable Labs)
78. “If health is the essence of your brand, it all starts with taking the health of your workforce very seriously” (Marnix Eikenboom)
79. “Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied.” (Charles Caleb Colton)
80. “We are embedding health and well-being at the heart of our business strategy because our people are our greatest asset, and we recognize that a healthy, happy, and committed workforce is vital to our business success.” (Alex Gourlay)
81. “Improving the health and well-being of our employees makes good business sense. As a leading provider of workplace health services, we see every day the difference it can make to a company’s bottom line and the impact it can have on employee morale and motivation. It offers a ”win-win” all around. Employees benefit from better support for their health. Companies benefit from less absence and improved productivity. And society benefits from improved public health.” (Steve Flanagan)
82. “There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it.” (Jack Welch)
83. “Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.” (Anne M. Mulachy)
84. “Your number 1 customers are your employees. Look after your people first and then customers after.” (Life By Design)
85. “We are embedding health & wellbeing at the heart of our business strategy because our people are our greatest asset, and we recognize that a healthy, happy, and committed workforce is vital to our business success.” (Alex Gourlay)
86. “43% of millennials expect to leave their jobs in two years. It’s not about keeping people and keeping them motivated.” (Dr. Christina Candido)
87. “Health is a relationship between you and your body.” ~Terri Guillemets
88. “The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel, and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.” (Anthony Robbins)
89. “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” (Jim Rohn)
90. “The groundwork of all happiness is health.” (Leigh Hunt)

Bottom Line

It goes without saying, COVID-19 has wrecked our world upside down. Due to the same reason, the focus on the wellness of employees in 2020 has been exemplary. In this blog, we have rounded up what the workplace wellness stats say about the same.

While many companies have re-started working at the physical workplace, others have still stuck to remote working structures. The aforementioned trends and changes will surely help us tackle the current workplace wellness situation better and improvise the scenario to achieve the ideal needs.

However, employers and employees need to commit to and keep pace with these changes. And hopefully, the health conditions and overall wellbeing stats of employees will improve in the nick of time.