Why Are Wellness Benefits Important for Business Success?

Picture this: Your team is juggling back-to-back meetings, deadlines, and a constant stream of alerts and notifications—another busy day in the office. Amid all the hustle, it’s easy for them to skip breaks and turn to sugary processed snacks for fuel. But those choices will hurt their performance in the long run, which is why wellness benefits are so important. They can guide your team toward healthier habits. 

In the post-COVID era, many companies have expanded their workplace wellness programs to incorporate mental health resources, burnout prevention strategies, healthy snacks, financial education, caregiver support, and more. Benefits like these can help you build a healthier, more engaged workforce and drive real business results. 

From reducing absenteeism and healthcare costs to improving morale, retention, and productivity, the return on investment (ROI) of wellness is both measurable and meaningful. Let’s dive into what the latest research says about why wellness benefits matter—and how they can support your company’s success.

Why Are Wellness Benefits Important for Business Success?

Wellness benefits can lead to a more productive workforce and even help reduce your health insurance costs over time. Here are a few of the key outcomes you might see from a comprehensive wellness program.  

1. Decreased Absenteeism and Presenteeism

Poor health among employees can lead to significant productivity losses. Absenteeism (days missed at work) is one clear metric, but the impact of presenteeism (where employees are physically at work but not performing their best due to low energy or mental fatigue) is also significant. Experts suggest that the costs of presenteeism can actually outweigh those of absenteeism. 

The Integrated Benefits Institute found that 61 cents of every dollar spent on healthcare goes toward covering illnesses and injuries. By promoting healthier lifestyles and preventive care, wellness programs can help reduce these costs by minimizing the frequency and duration of employee absences and improving on-the-job performance.

2. Enhanced Employee Attraction, Engagement, and Retention

Wellness programs also play a crucial role in attracting and retaining talent. An analysis of the International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans’ Workplace Wellness and Financial Education Programs: 2022 Survey Report noted that 80% of employers said their wellness programs helped them stand out to potential employees (a quality called “attraction”). Seventy-eight percent saw benefits to engagement, and 76% reported increased retention.

3. Increased Productivity

Productivity isn’t typically the focus of wellness program studies, but a small one of 111 workers yielded impressive results. It found that participating in a wellness program increased productivity for both sick and healthy employees by more than 4%—an additional workday’s worth of productivity per month for each worker. Employees whose overall health improved during the study saw an even larger increase of about 10%. And those who began to exercise more and eat a healthier diet saw the biggest productivity boost.

4. Reduced Healthcare Costs

Some studies have linked comprehensive wellness programs with substantial reductions in healthcare expenses. In 2010, researchers from Harvard University found that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent. And In 2013, RAND Health’s Workplace Wellness Programs Study reported that in a survey of employers, 61% said their wellness programs reduced healthcare costs, 78% said they decreased absenteeism, and 80% said they increased productivity. More recently, 28% of employers surveyed in the International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans’ Workplace Wellness and Financial Education Programs: 2025 Survey Report said they offered a wellness program to control or reduce health-related costs. We’re looking forward to seeing more data and research in this area.  

5. Added Economic Value

In a January 2025 report, the McKinsey Health Institute estimated that investing in holistic employee health could produce economic value equivalent to $1,100 to $3,500 per worker. This estimate includes the impact of reduced attrition (employees who opt to leave), absenteeism, and presenteeism, as well as improved employee productivity, attraction, and retention. 

If you’re weighing the potential value of a wellness program, these are the kinds of numbers that really make the case. 

Now that we’ve looked at why wellness benefits are important overall, let’s dig into the impact of one particularly key category: benefits that encourage healthy eating in the workplace. 

A Researcher Weighs In 

In the fall of 2023, Oregon State University Clinical Associate Professor and Nutrition Program Director Neilann Horner designed and oversaw a program that her graduate student James Shepherd dubbed “ROI: Return on Ingestion.” For six weeks, a group of about thirty employees at Oregon State Credit Union’s (OSCU) corporate office in Corvallis enjoyed extra wellness benefits, including a nutrition education presentation, healthy recipe demonstrations and tastings, and an interactive website with blogs, videos, and discussion boards where they could chat about healthy eating. Horner’s goal? To help employees improve their self-care, take advantage of preventive nutrition services covered by insurance, and reduce healthcare costs associated with chronic, preventable illnesses. 

Although the program was small in scale, Horner told The FruitGuys that it offered promising results—like a rise in healthy eating habits. At the start of the program, her team found that participants were averaging under two servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Simply reminding them of the recommended “five-a-day” basic guidance was impactful.

“We saw statistically significant increases in [consumption of] both fruits and vegetables, which is our litmus test in terms of going for a nutrient-dense diet,” she said. 

Wellness Programs Likely Boost Wellbeing, Engagement, and Revenue

Eating more fruits and vegetables is one of the simplest and most effective ways to boost your overall health. According to the CDC, only 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. gets enough fruits and veggies in their diet—but increasing your intake can support a healthier immune system, better digestion, and even improved energy levels. A healthy diet increases longevity and reduces the risk of serious health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. 

Horner noted that wellness programs can also do more than promote healthy eating. They can boost employee engagement, retention, and social connection at work. 

“There’s a team-building component,” she said. ”I think you could build a lot of community that people are lacking, and get some conversations started.” 

Horner added that employees who see their workplace investing in their wellness “want to come to work. They see work as something that they’re a part of and that they have ownership of, rather than looking for just a $2 an hour raise.” 

Get These Benefits in Your Workplace

Ultimately, a wellness program isn’t a quick fix or a shortcut to healthcare savings, but it can be a long-term investment in your workforce. Even with a limited budget, you can take meaningful steps to enhance workplace wellness. Ordering fresh fruit and healthy snacks for your team and tracking your own “return on ingestion” is a great place to start.