We spend up to a third of our lives at work on average, so healthy, safe, and thriving workplaces can have a profoundly positive impact on South Australia’s people and economy.

You can read more about the advantages of a healthy workplace in Step 1, but workplaces should invest in becoming healthy, safe and thriving because it’s:

  • the right thing to do – people deserve to work in a place where their health and wellbeing matter
  • the smart thing to do – it can save money and there is a cost of doing nothing
  • the legal thing to do – workplaces must comply with relevant legislation and regulatory requirements
  • the safe thing to do – it reduces workplace injuries and keep workers safe and healthy.

Research continues to show that improved workplace safety, health and wellbeing can:

  • improve health and wellbeing
  • increase productivity
  • reduce injuries and illness
  • enhance engagement
  • and job satisfaction
  • lower absenteeism rates
  • build a stronger sense of community1.

You can find more detailed information on why we should create healthy workplaces in Build a business case.

Creating a healthy workplace makes good business sense – it benefits both businesses and people.

Costs of an unhealthy workplace: 4x more likely to lose talented workers; 7x more costly workers compensation claims; 9x more sick days taken per year. Benefits of a healthy workplace: 3 x more productive; 50% less injuries; 5x more engaged workers.

The cost of not investing in health and wellbeing can have a bigger impact on your workplace than you may think.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that 96% of working-age Australians have at least one chronic disease risk factor, while 72% have more than one risk factor.2

$11 billion

The estimated impact of employees’ mental health conditions on productivity, participation and compensation claims on Australian businesses equate to around $11 billion per year.3

$44 billion

The combined cost of annually due to absenteeism and presenteeism. Broken down that’s $578 per worker per sick day, or $3,608 per worker per year.4

$5 billion

The estimated cost of work-related injury and illness is $5 billion per year in South Australia.5

$4 billion

The estimated cost of alcohol on Australian workplaces is $4 billion, with an estimated $3.6 billion due to absenteeism.6

$6.4 billion

The health impact of obesity through reduced work productivity represents a large component of indirect costs, and is caused by absenteeism (time off work due to ill health), presenteeism (reduced productivity while at work), and reduced workforce participation. It is estimated at $6.4 billion in lost productivity in Australia per year.7

66 per cent

Employees with unhealthy diets were 66 per cent more likely to report having a loss in productivity.8

Low physical activity levels

There are higher rates of absenteeism amongst employees who have low physical activity levels, and for employees, increased sedentary time is associated with decreased productivity and lower job satisfaction.9

$6-36 billion

The estimated cost of workplace bullying every year is between $6-36 billion, when hidden and lost opportunity costs are considered.10

The state of South Australian workers’ health11

Almost 1 in 6 are smokers. Almost 2 in 3 are overweight or obese. Over 90% do not eat enough vegetables. 1 in 4 experience a mental health condition. Nearly 1 in 8 do NO exercise. Almost a third drink alcohol at risky levels. 44% have at least one chronic disease.

The state of South Australian workers compensation claims12

12,610 claims from workers were received and accepted by ReturntoWorkSA during the 2022 financial year.

Average claim costs by injury type:

  • $71K psychological disorders
  • $46K musculoskeletal diseases
  • $34K fractures
  • $23K joint/ligament and muscle/tendon
  • $7.8K wounds/lacerations and amputations

1 The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Fundamentals of total worker health approaches: essential elements for advancing worker safety, health, and well-being, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention [website], n.d., accessed October 2022; A Grimani, E Aboagye, L Kwak, The effectiveness of workplace nutrition and physical activity interventions in improving productivity, work performance and workability: a systematic review, BMC Public Health, 2019, 19:1676; Curtin University, Thrive at work business case, Curtin University, n.d., accessed 2020. thriveatwork.org.au/resources/business-case/compliance/; S Bevan, The Business Case for Employee Health and Wellbeing: a report prepared for Investors in People, Investors in people, 2010.

2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), National health survey: first results, 2017–18, ABS, 2018, catalogue number 4364.0.55.001.

3 Price Waterhouse Coopers, Creating a mentally healthy workplace, return on investment analysis. Price Waterhouse Coopers, 2014.

4 HR advance, Absenteeism in Australian workplaces, Australian Business Consulting and Solutions, 2018.

Safe Work Australia (SWA), Cost of injury and illness by state and territory 2012-13, SWA, 2013.

6 S Whetton, RJ Tait, W Gilmore, T Dey et al., Examining the social and economic costs of alcohol use in Australia: 2017/18, National Drug Research Institute Curtin University, 2021.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Chronic disease and participation in work, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009.

8 RM Merrill, SG Aldana, JE Pope, DR Anderson et al., Presenteeism according to healthy behaviors, physical health, and work environment, Population Health Management, 2012, 15:5, 293-301.

9 E Losina, HY Yang, BR Deshpande et al., Physical activity and unplanned illness-related work absenteeism: Data from an employee wellness program, PLoS One, 2017, 12(5); SK Rosenkranz, EL Mailey, E Umansky et al., Workplace sedentary behavior and productivity: a cross-sectional study, Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020, 17(18).

10 Australian Human Rights Commission, Good practice, good business Eliminating discrimination and harassment from your workplace, AHRC, n.d., accessed 2022.

11 Source: Government of South Australia, Wellbeing SA. Tailored data from the South Australian Population health Survey 2020. 1 Smokers include those who report smoking either daily, weekly or less than weekly. 2 Increasing risk of injury by drinking five or more drinks on a single occasion at least once in the last month. 3 Mental health condition includes anxiety, depression, stress related problem, and other mental health condition in the last 12 months.. 4 Chronic disease includes diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), arthritis and cancer.

12 Source: ReturnToWorkSA - Insurer Statistics FY2022 public.tableau.com/app/profile/rtwsa/viz/ReturnToWorkSA-InsurerStatisticsFY2022/ReturnToWorkSA-InsurerStatistics?publish=yes