10 Employee wellbeing metrics every HR team should track

A company’s greatest assets are its team and culture. 

When employees feel good at work, they’re more productive, motivated, and loyal. 

But creating that kind of environment doesn’t happen by accident. To truly support their teams, HR leaders need to research and understand how employees feel and function on a daily basis. 

When you focus on the right metrics, it’s easier to improve employee wellbeing and build a workplace where people thrive.

In this guide, we’ll share 10 essential employee wellness metrics every company should track, as well as tips to boost workplace wellness by using smart tools and meaningful activities.

What is employee wellbeing?

Employee wellbeing means how someone feels at work: physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. It’s about feeling supported, safe, and motivated in the workplace. Experts often look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to explain it.

This model starts with basic needs like food, rest, and safety, and goes up to things like achievement, purpose, and belonging. A great company helps employees meet needs at every level, not just the bottom. 

Another way to look at it is through the pillars of wellbeing, which include:

• Physical health (energy, sleep, fitness)
• Mental health (stress, focus, emotional balance)
• Social connection (strong relationships at work)
• Financial stability (feeling secure with money)
• Purpose and growth (feeling valued and moving forward)

When these pillars are strong, employees are more likely to stay healthy, engaged, and happy at work.

10 metrics that reflect real employee wellbeing

While performance management is essential, to truly support your teams, you need to track how employees feel, function, and thrive. 

These employee wellness metrics can help you understand what’s working and what needs improvement.

Here’s a table showing how each one connects directly to employee wellbeing.

1. Participation in wellness programs

This shows many employees are joining your wellbeing activities, such as step challenges, mental health sessions, yoga classes, or nutrition webinars. High participation means employees are interested, feel supported, and trust the program.

Low participation could signal poor communication, low energy, or lack of relevance. All signs of wellbeing issues.

2. Awareness and communication measure

This measures how well employees understand what wellness options are available. You can track this through email open rates, survey responses, or direct feedback. If your employees don’t know about your workplace wellness offerings, they can’t benefit from them.

Low awareness often means communication gaps, which can lead to frustration, confusion, or feelings of neglect.

3. Wellbeing satisfaction scores

Short, anonymous pulse surveys can help you understand how people feel at work. Ask about stress, energy levels, happiness, or satisfaction with wellness support. These surveys give you direct insight into employee emotions and experiences.

They reflect real-time wellbeing and help catch issues early, like rising burnout or low morale.

4. Employee turnover trends

Check on the number of employees voluntarily leaving the company. High turnover can be a sign of burnout, poor company culture, or a lack of support.

If people are staying longer after a wellness program launch, it’s a clear sign your efforts are helping to improve employee wellbeing.

5. Absenteeism & health related costs

Track absences and healthcare expenses before and after introducing wellness programs. A decrease in sick days or medical costs often reflects better physical and mental health.

Fewer absences show employees feel healthier and more balanced at work.

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6. Financial ROI of wellbeing

Run a cost-benefit analysis to compare the money spent on wellness programs with savings from improved productivity, reduced turnover, and fewer sick days.

If you’re seeing a return on investment, it means your wellness efforts are improving team health and engagement in measurable ways.

7. Demographic reach

Analyze who is using your wellness resources. Break it down to age, role, department, or even location. If only certain groups are participating, others may feel excluded or unsupported.

Tracking this employee wellness metric ensures their wellbeing is inclusive and equitable.

8. Progress on mental & physical health

Use data from private check-ins, self-reporting tools, or coaching sessions that can identify issues like stress, anxiety, or energy levels over time.

Real improvements in these areas are strong proof that your wellness strategies are working. It’s one of the clearest ways to measure progress in employee wellness metrics.

9. Time to support

Determine how long it takes for an employee to get help after asking for wellness services such as therapy, ergonomic gear, or HR assistance.

Slow response time can worsen stress and harm trust. Fast, reliable support shows employees they are cared for, which directly improves wellbeing.

10. Engagement in peer or team-based challenges

Track the number of employees joining social wellness events like walking challenges, hydration contests, or mindfulness games.

These fun, low-pressure activities build social connection, reduce isolation, and boost morale. Tracking participation shows how wellness is influencing teamwork and mood.

3 Ideas to Improve Employee Wellbeing at Work

 A company does not need a huge budget to make a big impact. Small, smart changes can go a long way when it comes to boosting employee wellbeing. 

Here are three ideas you can put into action. They are perfect for on-site, remote, or hybrid teams.

1. Use the Teamupp app to boost connection and wellbeing

Teamupp’s employee wellness app is an all-in-one platform designed to strengthen workplace relationships and boost health even in hybrid and remote settings. It improves the quality of work life (QWL) by helping employees connect through wellness challenges, team games, and group activities.

For example, employees can track their steps, start a gratitude challenge, or organize a fun competition. The platform makes these wellness activities meaningful by bringing people together. Additionally, it works across locations, so no one feels left out.

It’s perfect for modern workplaces focused on health, culture, and inclusion.

• All-in-one wellness platform to boost employee connection and health
• Includes step tracking, health challenges, and team games to drive engagement
• Inclusive and accessible for employees across different locations,  even in hybrid or remote environments
• Improves Quality of Work Life (QWL) through meaningful group activities
• Ideal for modern workplaces focused on health, good causes, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

2. Offer flexible work options

Let employees choose when and where they work as long as it fits team goals. Flexibility lowers stress, builds trust, and helps people to manage their mental health better. It supports parents, caregivers and those with different energy peaks throughout the day.

This could be a huge win for workplace wellness.

3. Create micro-wellness moments during the day

Encourage quick, meaningful breaks to help employees recharge. This can look like:

• A 5-minute guided stretch session
• Daily water reminders
• Quiet zones for mindfulness or deep focus
• Drop-in virtual yoga or desk workouts

Even short wellness habits can boost focus, reduce burnout, and improve overall health, especially when done consistently.

What happens when you prioritize employee wellbeing?

When you invest in employee wellbeing, the results go far beyond good energy. It drives real change. Employees feel better. Teams work better. And businesses grow stronger

Here are six benefits for both employers and employees:

Benefits for employees

• Better Physical and mental health: Regular wellness activities can lower stress, boost energy and support overall health both in and outside work
• Higher motivation and engagement: When people feel supported, they’re more likely to care about their work and take pride in what they do.
• Stronger social connections: Social wellness tools help employees feel connected, even if they work remotely.
• Work-life balance: Flexible hours, mental health days, and wellbeing activities help employees manage personal needs alongside work.
• Increased job satisfaction: Feeling safe, respected and supported makes employees happier with their role and company.
• More opportunities for personal growth: Programs that focus on mental fitness, emotional health and skill building support long term development.

Benefits for employers

• Higher productivity: Healthy, happy employees get more done and stay focused longer.
• Lower turnover: When people feel cared for, they’re more likely to stay with the company.
• Stronger culture: Prioritizing wellbeing builds a more positive, trusting, and team-focused workplace.
• Reduced costs: Fewer sick days, fewer resignations, and better performance mean real savings over time.
• Better reputation as an employer: Companies known for workplace wellness attract top talent and build a stronger employer brand
• Higher ROI on people programs: When wellness efforts succeed, the returns are clear, from performance to cost savings and beyond.

Putting workplace wellness at the center of your HR strategy is good for business.

The employee wellness metrics Q&A

Looking to better understand the numbers behind employee wellbeing? Here are common questions HR teams and managers ask when building strategies and tracking results.

What is the employee wellness score?

The employee wellness score is a way to measure how healthy, happy, and supported workers feel at work. It usually combines several wellness metrics, such as:

• Satisfaction with mental and physical health
• Participation in wellbeing activities
• Stress or burnout levels
• Survey responses about energy focus and happiness

Companies often use a scale (like 0-100 or 1-5) to summarize results from surveys and feedback. A higher score means employees feel better overall.

This score helps HR teams improve employee wellbeing by identifying what’s working and what needs attention.

What is the 5-point scale for employee evaluation?

This is a simple tool to rate employee performance in a fair and structured way. Each number reflects a level of achievement or behavior:

• 5 – Outstanding: The employee goes above and beyond, showing leadership, high quality, and consistency
• 4 – Exceeds Expectations: The worker often performs above job requirements with minimal supervision.
• 3 – Meets Expectations: The employee does the job well and meets all key responsibilities
• 2 – Needs Improvement: The worker struggles to meet goals or needs extra support.
• 1 – Unacceptable: The employee’s work is below standard and requires immediate change.

While the scale focuses on performance, it can connect with workplace wellness. For example, a drop in performance may be a sign of burnout or lack of support, things that wellness data can help identify early.

What are the 8 wellbeing indicators?

These indicators are often based on the SHANARRI framework, which stands for Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, Involved:

1. Safe 

Employees feel safe and physically and emotionally protected at work. You can determine this by monitoring reports of workplace accidents, harassment claims, or psychological safety concerns through HR data or anonymous surveys.

2. Healthy 

Being in good physical and mental health. Wellness surveys, sick days data can be great tools to understand how employees rate their stress levels, energy, sleep, and overall health.

3. Achieving

Making progress and meeting goals. Review performance check-ins and ask if employees feel challenged in a good way and supported in their growth.

4. Nurtured 

Feeling cared for and supported by others. Use pulse survey to gauge emotional support, recognition frequency satisfaction with manager relationships.

5. Active 

Taking part in physical movement or regular activity. Monitor participation in wellness challenges and check 

if breaks and activity are encouraged in daily routines.

6. Respected

Being treated with fairness and dignity. Use diversity and inclusion feedback to determine how employees feel when it comes to fairness and respect in the workplace.

7. Responsible

Being trusted to make decisions and manage tasks. Be on the lookout for micromanagement patterns, engagement in goal setting, and how comfortable employees are making decisions.

8. Involved 

Feeling part of the group or organization. Look at coloration metrics and feedback about involvement in company updates or initiatives.

It was originally created for child development. But these indicators are now being adapted by HR professionals to guide workplace wellness and emotional support programs. 

They help create a more complete picture of employee wellbeing, going beyond physical health to include safety, belonging, and personal growth.

Are there other wellness metrics worth tracking?

Yes! While the SHANARRI indicators and wellness score are great starting points, companies can also look at:

• Work-life balance satisfaction
• Sleep and energy self-ratings
• Social connection at work
• Access to wellness resources
• Recognition and appreciation feedback

Combining these real data, like support response times and absenteeism, gives you a well-rounded view of how your team is really doing.

Tracking the right employee wellness metrics is one of the smartest things an HR team can do. When you know how your people feel and what they need, it’s easier to build a workplace that supports their health, happiness, and success.

Remember, wellbeing is a strategy, and data is there to guide you. Ready to improve employee wellbeing and boost your workplace wellness? Start with a free Teamupp demo, the smart, easy-to-use platform that helps your team feel better, connect deeper, and thrive together.

Are you interested in contributing to employees’ daily wellbeing?

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