South: Work-life balance improves earnings by over a quarter, finds Morgan Redwood study

Businesses that help staff to achieve a good work-life balance earn 27% more per year from each employee, according to a newly-released study.

The research, conducted by Morgan Redwood, a leading expert in leadership development, is based on responses from the heads of human resource departments or board director-level staff from over 250 businesses.  These have been drawn from across the UK and from a mix of sectors and a range of company sizes, with two thirds employing over 250 people, and none fewer than 50.

The findings of Morgan Redwood’s study revealed average net annual earnings per employee of £31,640 but this figure rose to £43,125 in companies that considered helping staff to consider wellbeing and achieve a better work-life balance to be an HR priority, which makes it 27% more than the average.

Despite this financial benefit, the results also revealed that businesses that considered improving work-life balance to be a key HR focus were in the minority, as only 6% regarded it as a priority for their HR departments.

Janice Haddon, managing director of Morgan Redwood, commented: “The fact that company earnings per employee are higher for those with a greater focus on wellbeing and work-life balance isn’t surprising for us. What is surprising is that so many companies fail to allocate it sufficient importance. A good work-life balance is an essential part of a person’s wellbeing, the results of which can have extremely positive effects on productivity and performance, which is something that’s evidenced in the findings of our study.”

Despite the associated benefits of a good work-life balance, only 25.6% of businesses believed that staff wellbeing was very closely connected to business performance. Morgan Redwood conducted a similar study in 2009, which indicated that 58% of the businesses questioned at the time considered it to be an integral part of business success, suggesting a fall of more than half in the latest findings.

Haddon said: “Considering that both our 2015 report findings and our 2009 research indicate that placing an emphasis on improving staff wellbeing leads to greater earnings per employee, the difference in attitude is perplexing. Why has there been such a shift?”

The latest study established 17 key HR priorities from the companies questioned, out of which only three served to improve earnings per employee better than those with an HR focus on work-life balance. The number one HR priority for improving earnings was ‘measuring staff performance’, which saw an average of £47,000 earned per employee, followed by ‘getting the board to see employees as a corporate asset rather than just a cost’ at £44,166 and those who looked to ‘improve staff wellbeing’ with an average of £43,750.

The HR priority that corresponded with the lowest average earnings was ‘reducing staff costs’, at a figure of £29,802 per employee.

Haddon said: “It certainly looks like those businesses that regard their employees in a positive light earn more per head as a result. Seeing employees as a corporate asset is undoubtedly a positive sentiment, as is looking to improve staff wellbeing. Do the results suggest that those employers who take care of their workforce enjoy a greater return? We certainly think so.”

She concluded: “With our results indicating a clear financial benefit, we hope to see more companies taking a positive approach towards the work-life balance and wellbeing of their staff. Looking after staff makes sense if you want to get the best out of your business.”