Organisations are spending more on employee wellbeing than ever before. Gym memberships, wellness apps, mindfulness classes, free fruit. But the evidence suggests that most of this investment is landing wide of the mark.
Employees are not valuing what HR teams think they are valuing. And the gap between what organisations are spending and what is actually making a difference is significant.
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The research
WHAT THE RESEARCH FOUND
Investors in People partnered with YouGov to survey 1,002 employees and 500 HR decision-makers in July 2024 to understand what wellbeing initiatives organisations are offering, what employees actually value, and where the gaps are.
The findings reveal a significant and costly disconnect.
83% of employees say flexible working is effective in improving their overall wellbeing - far ahead of any other initiative
Only 25% of employees say stress management workshops are effective. Only 27% say the same about health and wellness apps
80% of HR decision-makers think stress management workshops are valuable to their employees. Only 32% of employees agree
72% of HR decision-makers think gym memberships are valuable. Only 41% of employees agree
59% of employees say they never use gym memberships or fitness classes. 49% say they never use stress management workshops
The three things employees say would most improve their wellbeing at work: flexible working (61%), supportive management (55%) and rewards and recognition (44%)
At the bottom: stress management workshops (5%), office nutrition programmes (8%) and fitness memberships and health screenings (12%)
86% of employees say supportive management is the most important driver of job satisfaction. It ranked above all explicit wellbeing initiatives
Source: Investors in People and YouGov Survey, March 2024.
Inside the report
WHAT IS INSIDE THE REPORT
When the Perks Don't Work goes beyond the data to examine why wellbeing investment is missing the mark, what employees actually need, and how organisations can build a culture of wellbeing that genuinely makes a difference.
The report covers:
- Why the most common wellness interventions - apps, gym memberships, mindfulness classes - consistently underperform against what employees actually value
- The awareness gap: why employees often do not know the wellbeing benefits their employer offers, making the investment doubly wasted
- Why flexible working is the single most powerful wellbeing lever available to employers, and what it signals about culture
- How supportive management outranks every traditional wellbeing initiative as a driver of job satisfaction
- Expert insight from Gethin Nadin, award-winning psychologist and Chief Innovation Officer at Benefex, on what an effective wellbeing strategy actually looks like
- Practical recommendations for building and embedding a genuine culture of wellbeing and not just a list of initiatives, but a shift in how organisations operate
Methodology
ABOUT THIS RESEARCH
When the Perks Don't Work was researched by YouGov for Investors in People, surveying 1,002 employees and 500 HR decision-makers in July 2024. Expert contributors include Gethin Nadin, award-winning psychologist and Chief Innovation Officer at Benefex.
Investors in People has been independently assessing how organisations lead, support and develop their people for over 35 years, working with more than 59,000 organisations worldwide.
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