Well-being in the company? For 54% of Italian CEOs it is a strategic factor

54% of Italian CEOs believe that the wellbeing of their employees is a strategic factor for financial success and 47% are aware that it is considered as important as salary. 76% of them report a positive ROI (Return on Investment) linked to corporate employee health programmes, and 95% are personally involved in approving budgets for wellness initiatives. These are the findings of the international 'Return on Wellbeing 2025' survey by Wellhub, a platform for holistic corporate wellness services, which surveyed over 1,500 CEOs in ten countries and corporate executives worldwide.

"Non-European countries lead the ranking of those most sensitive to the importance of corporate programmes dedicated to this theme," comments Claudia Cipolla, Wellhub's Head of Italy. "Among the European countries, England and Romania emerge for the highest percentage of ceos convinced of the strategic incidence of corporate wellbeing tools, 58% and 56% respectively, and with a positive perception of ROI of 76% and 75%. Equally significant is the perceived positive impact of employee wellbeing initiatives on productivity, which is expressed by 47% of British and 41% of Romanian ceos. Within the countries of the Old Continent, Italy is at the top of the ranking: it emerges a good propensity of the ceo's to invest in employee wellbeing paths. 54% of the top executives interviewed consider it strategic and 51% invest in corporate health, with 35% noting an actual increase in productivity. Equally strong is the perception of the positive ROI generated by improvements in employee health, with 74% of CEOs agreeing".

Less awareness of the strategic relevance of wellbeing as an intangible asset to improve competitiveness is expressed, on the other hand, by the German and Spanish CEOs, only 50% of whom share this conviction. In the two European countries, however, the Roi of wellbeing in the company reaches important values: 73% in Germany and 80% in Spain respectively.

The survey highlights the concern of administrators regarding the active involvement of employees in promoted activities. Thirty per cent of respondents believe that low participation in wellbeing programmes is the main obstacle to the success of initiatives, considering it even more critical than cost (29 per cent) or Roi justification (24 per cent). "Structured and continuous wellbeing programmes are fundamental for motivating and involving employees, transforming the ceo's commitment to promoting a culture of wellbeing in the company into tangible results for the workers," Cipolla explains. Recent data have shown us how important the domino effect generated by word of mouth is, which can increase the rate of adherence to initiatives to improve employees' psycho-physical fitness by up to 25 per cent. Flexible, holistic programmes that are deeply integrated into the corporate strategy promote higher productivity, reduce absenteeism and significantly cut costs. Management commitment, supported by transparent wellbeing ROI data, directly linking employee wellbeing to business metrics such as engagement, retention and cost reduction, is essential'.

78% of CEOs consider wellness not an expense but a smart investment, and 80% of executives are actively increasing investment in this area. In addition, CEOs tend to allocate larger budgets when wellness is identified as a preventive health tool, rather than simply an element of job attractiveness: this increases its perceived legitimacy and unlocks more funding opportunities.