The link between family wellness benefits and employee productivity

For every $100 that one company spent on its wellness programs, it earned $176 in employee productivity—a return on investment of 76.3%.

That’s the latest data from a recent study published in the journal Management Science that proves that wellness benefits can save companies money and may even boost company performance by increasing employee productivity, reducing absenteeism, and lowering health insurance costs.  

Let’s unpack that further.

Why are more employers focusing on wellness?

It goes without saying that healthier employees are not only less expensive and less absent, but are also more productive. Wellness benefits include offerings not covered by traditional health packages like coaches or guidance related to overall physical and emotional health and well-being. The authors of this new study conclude that wellness programs can drive outcomes in two ways:

1. By increasing employees’ job satisfaction: Employees feel more satisfied in their jobs—and are therefore more motivated to work harder—when they believe that their employers genuinely care about their overall quality of life and well-being.
2. By increasing their capability: By improving overall physical and emotional health, the wellness program appears to have improved average worker productivity by over 4%—approximately equal to adding an additional day of productive work per month for each employee.

Why wellness is a key piece of a holistic family benefits solution

For individuals starting families or beginning to navigate a path to parenthood, wellness is a key piece of their healthcare and any holistic family benefits solution should include access to wellness.

Here are just a few reasons why wellness is core to Maven’s family benefits solution:  

• Nutrition is especially important for pregnant women, and has also been proven to improve fertility for both men and women. (National Center for Biotechnology Information)
• Access to mental health providers and relationship coaches can be critical to reducing stress, as adoption or fertility struggles can increase depression and anxiety, and negatively impact relationships. (Medical News Today)
• Consulting with specialists including career or sleep coaches and lactation experts can directly impact a new parent’s return to work, improving their productivity, performance, and overall satisfaction.  

“For individuals starting families or beginning to navigate a path to parenthood, wellness is a key piece of their healthcare and any holistic family benefits solution should include access to wellness.”

Bridging the gap with clinical healthcare plus wellness, in one

Maven is bridging these gaps by providing a holistic, end-to-end family benefits platform with over 1,400 high-quality providers that span 20+ specialties including:

• Wellness specialists: think career coaches, nutritionists, and sleep coaches;
• Behavioral experts like maternal mental health providers; and
• Clinical practitioners like OB-GYNs, reproductive endocrinologists, pediatricians, physical therapists, and more.

Maven’s care advocates are the core of our human approach, providing 1:1 guidance and customized support at each stage of an individual’s path, ensuring coordinated care to address their health and wellness needs.

The Bottom Line

With one family benefits platform like Maven, employers can demonstrate their commitment to employees’ overall health and well-being, while driving satisfaction and productivity, improving health outcomes, and lowering costs.