How to Make Your Well-Being Data Impossible for Executives to Ignore

7 Nov

Executives can be known to roll their eyes when watching Well-Being presentations, preferring to focus on numbers that really mattered.

Yet one study stands out for me about the ROI of Well-Being: for every £1 spent on mental health support, organisations get nearly £5 back.

That gets attention.

The Business Case is Simpler Than You Think

Deloitte's research tracking workplace mental health since 2017 found something remarkable: organisations get an average £4.70 return for every £1 invested in mental health support.

That is a 5:1 return. Most executives would approve any business investment with those numbers.

The data is compelling:

Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion annually
Presenteeism alone accounts for £24 billion of that (people at work but not productive)
Meanwhile, well-being interventions pay for themselves multiple times over

When I present well-being this way, as a £51 billion problem with a tangible and coherent solution, the conversation changes. This was not an HR nice-to-have. This is risk management.

But Here is The Part Most People Miss

Executives often respond: "Right, we need well-being programmes. Let us get an EAP and some mental health awareness training."

And that is when I explain the insight that matters most: not all interventions work equally.

This is where Deloitte's research becomes critical. They analysed which types of interventions deliver which returns:

Cultural change programmes: £5.60 return for every £1 invested
Proactive early interventions: £5.10 return for every £1 invested
Reactive support (after crisis): £3.40 return for every £1 invested

Look at that gap. If you wait until someone is already struggling, your return drops by 40%.

The hard part is not convincing executives to invest in well-being. The hard part is making sure you invest in the right interventions which actually deliver the desired results.

What This Means in Practice

Most organisations default to reactive support. Someone is struggling, so we refer them to the EAP. Someone is burnt out, so we offer therapy.

These interventions help. But they deliver the lowest return.

Compare this to proactive interventions: training managers to spot early warning signs in themselves and therefore better equip them to spot it in their teams, creating psychological safety in teams, addressing workload and job responsibilities before people break.

Or cultural change: making well-being part of how the organisation operates, not just something we bolt on when there is a crisis.

These approaches prevent the crisis in the first place. That is why they deliver higher returns.

The hidden Cost No One Talks About

Presenteeism costs 10 times more than absenteeism.

Presenteeism is when people show up to work but are not really there. They are burnt out, distracted, unwell, or overwhelmed. Research shows employees are absent an average of four days per year, but unproductive for 57.5 days per year.

In the UK, presenteeism costs £25 billion versus £3.7 billion for absenteeism.

Most organisations measure sick days religiously. But they ignore the 57 days of lost productivity happening right in front of them.

When I explain this to executives, they get it immediately. They have felt it themselves, coming to work exhausted, struggling to focus, going through the motions. They know what presenteeism looks like because they have experienced it.

This is not complicated. It is common sense.

What Actually Works

Deloitte's research also showed the highest ROI, up to £11 for every £1 spent, comes from targeted interventions rather than generic programmes.

This makes sense. A one-size-fits-all approach assumes everyone struggles in the same way. They do not.

Financial stress affects people differently than caring responsibilities. Younger employees face different pressures than those nearing retirement. Remote workers have different needs than those in the office.

The organisations getting the best returns are the ones paying attention to what their people actually need, not what a generic programme assumes they need.

The conversation that changes everything

When I present well-being data now, I focus on three simple points:

First, the cost of inaction: £51 billion annually in the UK alone. This is not theoretical. This is lost productivity, turnover, and presenteeism happening right now.
Second, the return on investment: £4.70 back for every £1 spent. But only if you choose the right interventions.
Third, the strategic choice: Reactive support delivers £3.40 return. Proactive intervention delivers £5.10. Cultural change delivers £5.60. Which approach do we want to take?

When executives understand these three points, well-being stops being an HR programme and becomes a business decision.

The question is no longer "should we invest in well-being?" The question becomes "which interventions will deliver the best return?"

Your Self-Science

• If you could prevent a £51 billion problem with interventions that pay for themselves 5:1, would that change how you think about well-being investment?

• What would it take in your organisation to shift from reactive support (£3.40 return) to proactive intervention (£5.10 return)?

• Who in your leadership team has personally experienced presenteeism—and might be your strongest advocate for change?

Your practice starts here. The evidence for well-being investment is overwhelming. The hard part is choosing interventions that actually work. Start there, and the rest follows.

If you are ready to build well-being strategies that deliver measurable returns, follow me on LinkedIn, and visit The Self-Science Lab to start a conversation.

Lauren Cartigny, Leadership Trainer, Executive Coach and Mindfulness Practitioner

Following a successful international corporate career in Sales for leading Tech firms, Lauren faced an unexpected burnout, life and health crisis. After re-building her life, transforming her career, and healing her body, heart and mind, Lauren has created transformative coaching and training programs to teach High-Performance from a place of Well-Being to prevent burnout, and employee churn in organisations.

Lauren Cartigny