Employee health and wellbeing: How can business owners support it?

Health and wellbeing support from employers is important to employees, particularly among younger generations. As a business owner, reviewing your workplace culture and the benefits you provide could lead to happier staff and improved operations.

According to an article in Cover Magazine (13 July 2026), 80% of young workers aged between 18 and 24 believe it’s important that employers provide access to physical and mental health support.

As a business owner, you want to support your staff as much as possible, and there could be business benefits to doing so.

Employees who feel supported are likely to be happier, which could improve staff retention and help you attract a wider pool of talent when you’re hiring. In addition, making employee wellbeing part of your culture could have a positive effect on productivity.

Indeed, the Cover Magazine article notes that 62% of young workers said some of their sick leave could have been avoided with “better” or “faster” employer health support.

Building a supportive workplace culture

Improving employee wellbeing may start by assessing your workplace culture.

Employees who feel listened to and supported by the leadership team are more likely to approach you when they have problems, allowing you to take a proactive approach.

Simple steps might include encouraging employees to take time off when they’re ill, which could reduce presenteeism.

Other healthy working practices, such as taking regular screen breaks and avoiding working through lunch, may also diminish stress and could be modelled by the leadership team. Encouraging employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance and setting clear expectations around working hours could prevent workloads from becoming overwhelming.

Remember, improving wellbeing isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Being flexible could help you give each employee the support they need to do their best work. Keep in mind that the support an employee needs might change over time. Making wellbeing part of reviews and appraisals could be a useful way to identify evolving needs.

Finally, monitoring the wellbeing of your employees could help you identify potential issues early.

You might do this by regularly reviewing company data, such as absence rates and employee turnover. On a more personal level, feedback forms or employee pulse surveys could help you determine when employees might benefit from additional support.

Importantly, employees should see that their feedback is taken seriously and leads to meaningful action where possible. If employees feel as though their feedback is being ignored, they could become disengaged and disincentivised from raising potential challenges in the future.

Your benefits package could support employee wellbeing

Alongside establishing a positive culture, the benefits you provide employees could support them too.

For example, flexible working patterns could help your staff achieve a better work-life balance, which could improve their overall wellbeing. It may also enable them to attend health appointments, so their concerns are addressed sooner.

In addition, you might want to provide access to preventative health support, mental health professionals, or health insurance. These benefits could offer peace of mind as well as vital support when it’s needed.

Improving financial wellbeing could reduce employee stress

As part of a review of your employee benefits, you might also want to consider their financial wellbeing.

Research into workplace stress carried out by PwC (14 April 2026) assessed survey thousands of US workers. It found that financially stressed employees are five times more likely to be distracted at work, which could harm operations.

Improving financial wellbeing doesn’t necessarily mean raising salaries. It could also involve helping employees understand how they could use their income and other assets to reach their goals. Speaking to a financial planner may help employees feel more confident about their short- and long-term finances.

If you’d like to discuss how we could provide financial wellbeing support to your employees, please get in touch.

Please note: This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate employee benefits.