Just like an indulgent daily latte or those impulse purchases at the check-out line of the grocery store, hidden expenses have a way of stealing your money from right under your nose and can leave us scratching your heads when it’s time to balance your company’s budget each month. Even when it seems like you’re doing everything right, the numbers just aren’t adding up. What’s going on?
It could be that the problem you’re facing isn’t one you’ll easily find on a spreadsheet. Sometimes, hidden expenses aren’t so quantifiable. Some expenses require more creative solutions than simply cutting an expense here and there. In this blog post, we’re going to examine one expense in particular: Employee well-being.
The Hidden Expense of Unhappy Employees
I know I just said hidden expenses are about more than just numbers, but let’s look at some numbers for a moment.
First: 200 million. That’s the number of sick days employees take per year due to treatable mental health issues like anxiety and depression. For each of those sick days, many employees will simply stay home. But others will use company health insurance to seek treatment, which can be costly.
And what is one of the top causes of acute mental distress in the United States? Work-related stress.
But employee stress does more than increase sick days and insurance claims. Unhappy employees also have a harder time concentrating, which means they produce less and take longer to do it. They’re also more likely to make mistakes. Depending on the nature of the job, can lead to an increased risk of workplace injury. In fact, according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Center for Workplace Mental Health, workplace stress is costing employers nearly $190 billion in healthcare costs every year.
Finally, unhappy employees do one more expensive thing: They quit. Employee turnover is at an all-time high at 30 percent and only seems to be growing. It can cost anywhere from 50-100 percent of your previous employee’s salary to hire and train someone new, not to mention the time and energy spent recruiting and training. Meanwhile, you’re short a valuable set of hands.
The twists and turns of fate are sometimes unavoidable. Employees will get sick, hurt, or decide to leave their jobs. But employers have the power to drastically reduce these figures with a little foresight and care. And the best part? Doing so won’t just save you money. It’ll also supercharge your employees’ productivity and make them happier, healthier, and more loyal to their workplace.
A Simple Solution: Invest in Your Employees’ Well-Being
Imagine if your employees were all at the peak of their health. They wake up every morning feeling refreshed and excited to come to work. At meetings, everyone is energized, cooperative, and full of creative ideas. Everyone tackles their work with laser-like focus. And projects gets done ahead of time, under budget, and even better than originally planned.
That’s probably not how your workplace actually looks, right? It’s okay, that’s quite a rosy picture painted up there. But when people are happy and healthy, it’s much easier for them to be productive. They’re less likely to be moody, which makes them easier to work with. When workers aren’t trapped in the tyranny of the moment—be it stress from a toxic coworker, a too-heavy workload, or some other crisis—they can breathe, focus, and, well, work!
The question is not whether to invest in your employees’ health and well-being, but how to do it.
Life coaches, dieticians, and personal trainers can all get very expensive quickly, and they can also be inconvenient for your employees, who all have individual schedules and needs. An ideal solution would be that’s:
- Holistic. Our physical health is important, but so is our mental health, our social health, and our spiritual health. A wellness program should touch on all of these.
- Flexible. No two people have the same wellness needs.
- Effective. Not only should it work, there should be proof that it works.
- Inexpensive. It won’t do much good solving your hidden expenses problem to replace it with a not-so-hidden expense!
Now, what if I told you that there’s a wellness program you can download to your phone, that uses the latest behavioral science to teach users how to build healthy habits, and that costs far less than a personal trainer?
Wipe Hidden Expenses From Your Ledger With Fabulous for Work
Fabulous for Work is designed to help your employees set and meet their personal and professional goals. Through incremental behavior changes, routine building, and a little friendly competition between coworkers, your workforce can transform their habits in just eight weeks.
Fabulous users learn what we call keystone habits, habits that are fundamental to health and happiness. Think: exercising regularly and staying hydrated. 80 percent of Fabulous users end with a solid daily routine full of positive habits that make them healthier, happier, and better-equipped to deal with the everyday stresses of life, including problems faced at work.
And if you’re thinking this sounds like a lot of extra work for you, don’t worry. We’re here to help every step of the way. Fabulous has customized marketing, regular check-ins, and detailed reports to show you how your employees are growing on their wellness journeys.
According to the World Health Organization, the United States loses $300 billion in productivity to workplace stress. Investing in your workers’ health not only spares your pocketbook some strain, you’ll also find that your company becomes a happier, more creative, and more connected place than ever before.
So, what are you waiting for? To find out more or start your own Fabulous journey, go to thefabulous.co/work and get in touch with us today!
