Firms focusing on wellness, like The Breakers, can earn 10 per cent more on the stock market / photo: The Breakers Palm Beach
Investing in the wellness of staff isn’t just the right thing to do – it also boosts business performance, according to a study claiming to be the world’s largest dataset about workplace wellbeing. The Global Work Wellbeing Report 2024 looks at details from more than 25 million international respondents gathered by jobs platform Indeed between October 2019 and December 2023.
Business imperative Analysts at the UK’s Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre (OWRC) confirmed what most of us already believe – that happier employees are linked to increased productivity and improved workforce retention and attraction. “Employee wellbeing is no longer nice to have. It’s a business imperative,” reads the report.
New research from McKinsey echoes these findings, emphasising that workplace wellness is a non-negotiable investment (see www.spabusiness.com/workwell).
On top of this, however, OWRC researchers also concluded in a sub-study, Workplace Wellbeing and Firm Performance, that businesses with top wellbeing ratings have higher valuations, stronger profits and better returns on assets.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, OWRC director and professor of Economics at Saïd Business School explains that these companies don’t just thrive – they outperform the market.
“This is something we’ve now shown to be the case in both hard financial metrics as well as stock market performance,” he says, adding that employee satisfaction and wellbeing levels can serve as a predictor of a company’s success.
Stock market Off the back of the research, Indeed created an index of the top public companies for work wellbeing. Over a 3.5 year period Work Wellbeing 100 companies performed better in the stock market than those in major indexes like the S&P 500, NASDAQ Composite and Russell 3000. It observed that an annualised return from the wellbeing portfolio increased by 53.3 per cent, compared to 47.9 per cent (S&P), 40.8 per cent (NASDAQ) and 40.1 per cent (Russell).
OWRC’s report also reveals that the state of work wellbeing has declined since the pandemic. This presents a huge opportunity for the wellness industry to step in.
De Neve and his colleague George Walker explore the financial power of corporate wellness further in their newly-launched book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters.
photo: GWS
"Employee wellbeing is no longer nice to have. It’s a business imperative" - Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2025 issue 1
Editor's letter: Auto spas
Fully automated, self-service spas are set to enter the market, presenting a disruptive opportunity for investors and operators
Spa People: Christian Louboutin
The fashion designer teams up with his personal trainer to create a Brain Edit retreat at his hotel in Portugal
Spa People: Julien Alfred
Exercise, endurance and resilience are the focus of a programme being led by Olympic 100m winner Julien Alfred at BodyHoliday in St Lucia
News report: Emerging economies
Two fresh GWI reports highlight the potential of the wellness markets in the Maldives and Saudi Arabia
Interview: Paul Hawco
Katie Barnes talks to the man heading up wellbeing at Banyan Group as it prepares to open its 100th resort and reports a 16 per cent rise in revenue
Wellness design: Design of the times
Sixteen experts share their insights on how wellness design can be used to create more impactful and profitable spas in a new white paper by Accor
Opinion: High leverage learning
What three skills do people need to master to future-proof their spa careers? Jeremy McCarthy reports
Spa tourism: Hot on the trail
A famous pilgrimage route and natural hot springs are being combined in an innovative tourism package in Spain
Opinion: Beacons of light
As cities in the US start to hire chief wellness officers, Mia Kyricos reveals what this means for our sector
Sponsored: 111SKIN - Winning formulation
111SKIN’s spa/clinic concept is making waves globally – backed by a combination of medical expertise, intuitive partner support and potent products
Product focus: AI and robot massage
Spas around the world are starting to offer AI massage. We highlight the different types of equipment coming to market
Menu engineering: At your service
A dedicated brain health facility at Kamalaya and a menopause package by actor Naomi Watts feature in our programming pages this issue
Finishing touch: Big business
Companies investing in workers’ happiness outperform other portfolios in major global stock markets, according to new research
Firms focusing on wellness, like The Breakers, can earn 10 per cent more on the stock market / photo: The Breakers Palm Beach
Investing in the wellness of staff isn’t just the right thing to do – it also boosts business performance, according to a study claiming to be the world’s largest dataset about workplace wellbeing. The Global Work Wellbeing Report 2024 looks at details from more than 25 million international respondents gathered by jobs platform Indeed between October 2019 and December 2023.
Business imperative Analysts at the UK’s Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre (OWRC) confirmed what most of us already believe – that happier employees are linked to increased productivity and improved workforce retention and attraction. “Employee wellbeing is no longer nice to have. It’s a business imperative,” reads the report.
New research from McKinsey echoes these findings, emphasising that workplace wellness is a non-negotiable investment (see www.spabusiness.com/workwell).
On top of this, however, OWRC researchers also concluded in a sub-study, Workplace Wellbeing and Firm Performance, that businesses with top wellbeing ratings have higher valuations, stronger profits and better returns on assets.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, OWRC director and professor of Economics at Saïd Business School explains that these companies don’t just thrive – they outperform the market.
“This is something we’ve now shown to be the case in both hard financial metrics as well as stock market performance,” he says, adding that employee satisfaction and wellbeing levels can serve as a predictor of a company’s success.
Stock market Off the back of the research, Indeed created an index of the top public companies for work wellbeing. Over a 3.5 year period Work Wellbeing 100 companies performed better in the stock market than those in major indexes like the S&P 500, NASDAQ Composite and Russell 3000. It observed that an annualised return from the wellbeing portfolio increased by 53.3 per cent, compared to 47.9 per cent (S&P), 40.8 per cent (NASDAQ) and 40.1 per cent (Russell).
OWRC’s report also reveals that the state of work wellbeing has declined since the pandemic. This presents a huge opportunity for the wellness industry to step in.
De Neve and his colleague George Walker explore the financial power of corporate wellness further in their newly-launched book Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters.
photo: GWS
"Employee wellbeing is no longer nice to have. It’s a business imperative" - Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2025 issue 1
Editor's letter: Auto spas
Fully automated, self-service spas are set to enter the market, presenting a disruptive opportunity for investors and operators
Spa People: Christian Louboutin
The fashion designer teams up with his personal trainer to create a Brain Edit retreat at his hotel in Portugal
Spa People: Julien Alfred
Exercise, endurance and resilience are the focus of a programme being led by Olympic 100m winner Julien Alfred at BodyHoliday in St Lucia
News report: Emerging economies
Two fresh GWI reports highlight the potential of the wellness markets in the Maldives and Saudi Arabia
Interview: Paul Hawco
Katie Barnes talks to the man heading up wellbeing at Banyan Group as it prepares to open its 100th resort and reports a 16 per cent rise in revenue
Wellness design: Design of the times
Sixteen experts share their insights on how wellness design can be used to create more impactful and profitable spas in a new white paper by Accor
Opinion: High leverage learning
What three skills do people need to master to future-proof their spa careers? Jeremy McCarthy reports
Spa tourism: Hot on the trail
A famous pilgrimage route and natural hot springs are being combined in an innovative tourism package in Spain
Opinion: Beacons of light
As cities in the US start to hire chief wellness officers, Mia Kyricos reveals what this means for our sector
Sponsored: 111SKIN - Winning formulation
111SKIN’s spa/clinic concept is making waves globally – backed by a combination of medical expertise, intuitive partner support and potent products
Product focus: AI and robot massage
Spas around the world are starting to offer AI massage. We highlight the different types of equipment coming to market
Menu engineering: At your service
A dedicated brain health facility at Kamalaya and a menopause package by actor Naomi Watts feature in our programming pages this issue
Finishing touch: Big business
Companies investing in workers’ happiness outperform other portfolios in major global stock markets, according to new research
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barth, on the northeast coast of Saint Barthélemy in the French
West Indies, is offering a programme of ocean-inspired yoga classes between 8-14 June to
celebrate Global Wellness Day (GWD).
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi, in Malaysia, has revealed a schedule for Global Wellness Day
(GWD) that includes guided rainforest walks, mindful movement and guided coastal meditation
experiences.
