An Economic Model to Assess the Costs and Benefits of Workplace Mental Wellbeing Interventions: A Flexible Tool for Employers and Decision Makers

OBJECTIVES: Poor mental wellbeing is one of the leading causes of long-term sickness absence from work despite conditions, such as stress and anxiety, being treatable and often preventable. The aim of this analysis was to conduct economic modelling and provide data on costs and benefits to employers who are considering implementing a workplace intervention to improve wellbeing. Additionally, the analysis was used to assess any changes in employee outcomes (e.g. productivity and staff turnover).

METHODS: A cost-consequence model with a one-year time horizon was developed to assess the impact of workplace mental wellbeing interventions. Because all workplaces are different, it is not useful to present one single base case. Instead, the model generates a series of hypothetical case studies, with varying levels of absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover, as well as different levels of productivity and staff replacement costs. Several mental wellbeing interventions were compared with ‘no intervention’ (current practice) to calculate the total incremental costs and incremental cost per employee.

RESULTS: In the hypothetical case study with 50 employees and an intervention cost of £100, the intervention had a net cost saving of £3,395 per employee. Savings were due to reductions in absenteeism and presenteeism. Sensitivity analysis assessed the impact of varying each input, to reflect that the inputs will vary substantially for each individual organization and setting. The intervention is more likely to be cost saving when the baseline level of absenteeism and staff turnover are high, and the level of presenteeism and intervention cost are low.

CONCLUSIONS: Mental wellbeing interventions may influence a range of outcomes but outcomes demonstrating a mental wellbeing benefit to employees may be challenging to translate into monetary value. The model can be used by decision makers and employers to understand the potential economic and wellbeing implications of implementing a mental wellbeing intervention in the workplace.