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The science behind well-being

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For years, workplace well-being was seen as a “nice-to-have”. Today, the evidence tells a different story. International well-being economist and Oxford professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve demonstrates with robust data that well-being is a strategic business driver with a direct impact on productivity, profitability and competitiveness.

The real question is no longer whether your organisation invests in well-being.

The question is: are you doing so in a targeted, measured and sustainable way?

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Subjective by nature, objective in impact

Over fifteen years of research show that subjective well-being (how employees feel and think about their work) directly drives objective performance. “Happier employees perform better, are less absent and stay longer,” says Professor De Neve. “What once seemed intuitive is now firmly backed by data.”

 

The business case

  • A large-scale study at British Telecom found a 12% increase in sales productivity when employees felt better.
  • In roles requiring high emotional intelligence, productivity gains can reach 20%.

From intuition to data

Many organisations take action on well-being, but without data-driven direction. The result: fragmented initiatives and limited impact. Professor De Neve advocates a clear methodology: measure well-being and its drivers, analyse the results, and invest where the greatest leverage lies.

  • Step 1: measure well-being indicators

Assess how employees feel using short, validated questions on satisfaction, stress, happiness and purpose.

  • Step 2: map the drivers

Understand what shapes those feelings: belonging, autonomy, leadership, work-life balance, flexibility, pay and career prospects.

  • Step 3: analyse with precision

Compare results across business units, roles (e.g. sales vs operations), working models (on-site vs hybrid) and demographics. This reveals where tailored action is needed.

  • Step 4: prove the business case

Link well-being data to performance metrics such as productivity, sales and retention to uncover causal relationships and guide action.

Low effort – high impact: what truly works

Prof. De Neve shares several practical actions your organisation can implement today to boost well-being:

  • Peer recognition: enable employees to acknowledge exceptional contributions, for example through a simple points system, with or without a reward, benefiting both giver and receiver
  • Job crafting: allow small, flexible adjustments to roles or schedules, boosting autonomy and satisfaction without compromising productivity
  • Link management incentives to team well-being: making well-being a shared responsibility rather than an HR initiative

From science to practice: AG as your strategic partner

AG helps translate these insights into tangible solutions — preventive, curative and supportive.

Our strength lies in combining the following elements:

Protection that strengthens mental well-being

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman showed that people are twice as sensitive to loss as to gain. AG’s insurance products provide a buffer precisely at that point. The psychological comfort of security — knowing that “if something goes wrong, I won’t be left on my own” — increases mental stability and well-being.

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Mental support within reach

With My Mind by AG, your employees gain access to targeted mental support starting with a BAT screening. Based on this, they receive personalised modules, exercises, coaching and, where needed, rapid access to professional psychological care. Not “fluffy” workshops, but a data-driven system that delivers the right intervention at the right time.

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Sustainable return-to-work programmes

As the market leader in professional reintegration since 2017, AG offers a complete solution for employees on long-term psychological leave. Included in the income protection insurance, Return to Work by AG provides a holistic, personalised pathway guided by expert coaches, psychologists, occupational therapists or sophrologists, in collaboration with five carefully selected partners — ensuring a truly sustainable return to work.

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An embedded well-being policy that works

If you want to implement a full well-being strategy, Waldon — AG’s subsidiary — helps you do it smartly and backed by evidence. No assumptions, but clear insights. Waldon maps your employees’ well-being and real needs, then works with experts to build a concrete, achievable action plan that creates a lasting well-being culture.

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Ready to make well-being a strategic priority?

Contact
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is a Belgian expert in well-being economics at the University of Oxford, where he serves as Director of the Well-being Research Centre. His research focuses on the economics of well-being, job satisfaction and happiness, and has a significant impact both academically and in policymaking. He currently leads the world’s largest study on workplace well-being, with more than 25 million completed company assessments to date. He is co-author of the annual World Happiness Report and has advised organisations including the United Nations, the OECD and several national governments. His work bridges economics, psychology and public policy.