Return on prevention: is investing in wellbeing worth it?

More and more companies are investing in the wellbeing of their employees. After all, healthy and happy employees perform better and are absent less often. How can you be sure of the results? How will you know if and how your investments in prevention are paying off?  

2 preventieadviseurs overlopen de maatregelen om het risico op legionellabacterie te verminderen of te elimineren

How can you calculate the impact of prevention at your company?

This is a tricky question and one many companies would like to see answered. IDEWE is happy to do so. We aim to provide a comprehensive, scientifically substantiated calculation of your return on prevention. 

To achieve this, we use data analytics at our Creative Connect Centre. This helps to convert the data for your organisation into specific insights into costs, impact and potential returns.

By way of illustration, we will provide concrete insights in two specific areas: 

  • Psychosocial wellbeing 
  • Ergonomics 

Want to ensure that prevention is paying off at your company? 
Contact us

Why is investing in ergonomics worth it? 

Musculoskeletal disorders, such as back and neck pain, are a major cause of both short-term and long-term absenteeism. Plenty of reason to work out an ergonomics policy. IDEWE can provide the data to support that, too: 

  • According to a scientific study by Gorasso et al. musculoskeletal disorders cost an average of EUR 1,519 per person per year in direct health costs, rising to as much as EUR 3,247 if you include absenteeism. 
  • A real-life example for a customer in retail logistics illustrates how an ergonomics policy and reduced costs can go hand in hand. Over a period of eight years, this company invested extensively in ergonomic equipment, prevention campaigns and medical monitoring. During that same time period, there was a noticeable decrease in absences due to musculoskeletal disorders among the company’s 4,000 employees. If absenteeism due to musculoskeletal disorders had remained unchanged, the costs to society and the employer would have been EUR 1.6 million higher. 

Want to know which ergonomic interventions could have the biggest payback for you?  
Contact our experts

Is investing in psychosocial wellbeing worth it? 

In our research report "Wellbeing in figures: the payback on psychosocial investment", we examined data for 37 Belgian employers based on their actual investment in psychosocial support. 

The results are clear. 

  • Employees at organisations that invest in psychosocial support have better scores for satisfaction, engagement, aggression, burnout risk and absenteeism. 
  • Interestingly, even small investments yield high returns. 

Conclusion: every euro spent on psychosocial prevention pays off at the human level. 

Prevention pays and we can support this with data  

There is more and more empirical evidence that investing in medical and psychosocial prevention is worth it. Together with our clients, we are continuing to improve the scientific basis for this return on prevention. 

Do you, too, want to invest in smart prevention that pays? 
Request a tailored analysis through our Creative Connect Centre.