How Focusing on Employee Wellbeing Can Improve Business Performance

Only 20% of Canadian employees say they’re truly thriving at work.¹ More than a statistic, the figure is a clear warning sign. When work wellbeing declines, stress increases, people leave, and performance suffers.

However, the inverse is also true: When organizations prioritize work wellbeing, they unlock higher performance, stronger retention, and greater adaptability to change — including new technologies like AI.

A new report from Indeed reveals insights to help employers understand the impact of work wellbeing on both employees and business. It also points to solutions for fostering creativity, innovation, and AI adaptability to help everyone thrive.

Why wellbeing is essential for employees and businesses

Despite the current market favoring employers in some areas, job seekers and employees continue to prioritize wellbeing on the job. Workplaces that don’t do the same risk creating tension and fueling trends like “quiet cracking.”

Unlike burnout, quiet cracking doesn’t always show up as exhaustion. And unlike quiet quitting, it doesn’t immediately appear in performance metrics. But it’s equally insidious. The phenomenon describes a persistent feeling of workplace unhappiness that can lead to disengagement, poor performance, and an increased desire to quit. As an example, more than half of American employees suffer symptoms of quiet cracking, creating a silent drain on productivity and morale.²

“Workplace happiness is no longer just a nice-to-have,” said Kyle M.K., senior talent strategy advisor at Indeed. “It’s an actual driver of productivity and fuels a business’s ability to innovate.”

Data gathered for Indeed’s latest wellbeing report points to solutions, starting with quantifying the problem.

The work stress challenge

The data reveals a workforce in distress. Just one in five Canadian survey respondents is thriving at work, leaving 80% of employees experiencing low happiness, high stress, low satisfaction, or a lack of purpose. It’s a global phenomenon, affecting workers across seven nations analyzed, with Canada being under international levels.³

Employees with lower work wellbeing are nearly seven times more likely to regularly experience stress at work compared to their higher-wellbeing counterparts, according to the data. Only 4% of Canadians reporting high wellbeing regularly experience stress at work. In contrast, 40% of those with low wellbeing scores regularly face stress.⁴

Work has become the number one stressor for people, with 50% identifying it as a top life stressor, surpassing even economic and political concerns (37%). And the stress doesn’t stay at the office. Nine in ten (88%) workers report that their level of happiness at work has a direct impact on how they feel at home.⁵

“It’s easy to underestimate the value of wellbeing,” M.K. said. “But we finally have data and evidence to show why feelings matter, and that when the employee’s expectations are met, the business’s expectations are met, too.”

Making the case for wellbeing

When asked what drives work wellbeing, people often point to flexibility and fair pay. But there’s more to the story. Three drivers emerge as the most powerful predictors of workplace wellbeing: Being energized by your work, feeling like you’re part of something bigger than yourself, and feeling included and respected, according to Indeed’s report.

However, nearly half (47%) of Canadian workers surveyed don’t feel energized. More than a third (43%) feel a lack of belonging at work. And 32% don’t feel like their workplace is inclusive and respectful of all people. Addressing these gaps helps organizations as much as employees.

Employees with a high sense of wellbeing accomplish work goals at 1.5 times the rate of those without it. They’re also more likely to contribute to business improvements and innovation.⁶ The business case for addressing wellbeing in the workplace extends to AI readiness as well. People with higher wellbeing scores are more likely to feel motivated to learn AI tools.

Researchers at Oxford University working with Indeed’s data on employee sentiment — the world’s largest such dataset — found a direct correlation between higher employee wellbeing and company valuation and profits. It all adds up to enhanced bottom lines.

The good news is that merely measuring workplace wellbeing helps organizations bridge any gaps, according to the Indeed report.

Measuring wellbeing for workplace success

Indeed’s Work Wellbeing Score measures how people feel at work and why. Developed in partnership with Oxford and expressed as a number up to 100, the score encapsulates four key measures of employee wellbeing: happiness, purpose, satisfaction, and stress.

The score appears on the pages that Indeed maintains on individual companies once it collects at least 10 responses for each of the four wellbeing indicators. Indeed also reports on the drivers of the indicators, such as feelings of accomplishment, appreciation, belonging, energy, fair pay, flexibility, trust, and more.

For job seekers, the score has become a significant factor in their decision-making. Most Canadians (96%) now want to see wellbeing data when evaluating companies, and half (49%) say it’s the most critical factor in deciding where to apply to any given job. For employers, the metrics provide actionable insights for where to focus improvement efforts.

“The most successful companies understand that wellbeing isn’t just about making people happy for happiness’ sake,” M.K. said. “It’s about creating the conditions where people can do their best work, thrive, and achieve.”

Learn more about the Indeed Work Wellbeing Score at Indeed.com.

This post was created by Insider Studios with Indeed.

¹“2025 Report: How Work Wellbeing Fuels Performance,” Indeed

²“‘Quiet cracking’ at work is less visible than ‘quiet quitting,’ but it’s ‘just as dangerous,’ report finds,” CNBC

³2025 Report

⁴Ibid.

⁵Ibid.

⁶Ibid.