Workplace health interventions: From potential to practical

At a glance

Employers increasingly recognize that employee health and well-being are core to performance—but many still struggle to take action to capture the up to $11.7 trillion in annual global economic value.
Drawing on evidence from more than 100 interventions, this McKinsey Health Institute publication helps organizations move from potential improvement to practical impact, showing what works, where it works, and how to make it stick.
The strongest approaches fit naturally into daily work, are easy to adopt, and drive measurable outcomes across multiple health dimensions. With the right data and design, employers can pinpoint challenges, pilot what works, and scale solutions that sustain both well-being and performance.

The potential: Employers see the value in employee health and well-being but don’t know where to start

A healthier workforce performs better—and the economic potential is substantial. Improving global employee health and well-being could spur up to $11.7 trillion in annual economic value, with the largest potential gains coming from improved productivity and reduced presenteeism, which together account for up to an estimated 77 percent of the total opportunity.

At the same time, employers are facing rapidly rising health-related costs, which are projected to be 62 percent higher in 2026 than in 2017 (with brain health and metabolic health conditions driving a growing share of these burdens).¹

For employers, investing in workforce health delivers both upside and reduced pressures, strengthening organizational resilience and capacity for sustained performance in an increasingly uncertain environment. Employees with stronger health report higher performance, innovative behaviors, and work–life balance, sustaining impact over time. McKinsey Health Institute’s (MHI) previous research has shown this pattern across health domains, demographics, and life stages.

The case for action is clear, but many employers still ask, “Where do we start?” With a crowded field of solutions, it can be hard to know which ones truly work. This publication aims to bridge that gap, translating global academic evidence into practical guidance for building a portfolio of interventions that improve health, strengthen performance, and sustain that performance over time.

The patterns and proof: What the evidence reveals about what works

To move from commitment to impact, the McKinsey Health Institute analyzed 115 evidence-based workplace interventions across four dimensions of health: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. (Jump to tool) The goal was to understand what works and where the biggest opportunities lie based on the current evidence. The analysis shows that effective workforce interventions exist and can improve both employee health and organizational outcomes.

Inside the DNA of ‘no regret’ interventions

Where should employers start? The highest-rated interventions don’t just fix what’s broken; they focus on simple, effective ways to make work itself healthier. Across geographies, industries, and workforce types, a set of consistent themes emerges, highlighting the critical design features that distinguish higher-impact, more feasible interventions. MHI highlights five typical characteristics of these ‘no-regret’ interventions:

Strengthen workplace enablers: Successful interventions reinforce foundational enablers—such as coworker support, adaptability, job autonomy, and leadership commitment—that are proven to help employees thrive, reducing burnout and improving all four dimensions of health.
Embed in the flow of work: Rather than relying on stand-alone programs, effective interventions are seamlessly integrated into daily routines. Embedding well-being in the rhythm of work increases participation and ensures the impact lasts beyond the initial implementation. One example—digital hourly-break nudges—provides short, timed prompts throughout the workday to encourage short breaks and physical activity, helping employees sustain energy and focus.
Use low-friction delivery: Interventions that are accessible, scalable, and minimally dependent on specialist expertise see greater adoption and lasting results. Digital models—such as digital mental health programs with self-monitoring and tailored guidance—lower barriers and enable scale. They also hold strong potential to integrate with emerging artificial intelligence use cases such as individual-specific tailoring.
Target multiple health dimensions simultaneously: Successful interventions often work across health dimensions to deliver compounding benefits. Example interventions include group-based “active rest” breaks, which combine physical and social elements to strengthen coworker connections and promote physical activity, or group tai chi classes, which use mind–body exercises shown to enhance physical, emotional, and spiritual health.²
Define clear outcomes: The strongest interventions measure both health and business outcomes—such as stress and productivity—building credibility and sustained leadership support through clear, demonstrable impact. For example, a self-help cognitive behavior therapy manual for menopause not only improved symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats but also reduced work impairment from menopause-related presenteeism.

Beyond the basics: Where the evidence can go further

McKinsey Health Institute’s analysis of an indicative pool of evidence-based workplace interventions (see supplemental methods) shows progress—and opportunities to strengthen impact. Example areas include the following:

Emphasize whole health

Address gaps in research on social and spiritual health interventions. Researchers have focused heavily on physical and mental health, while social connection and purpose remain understudied.¹Liao, Y., Huang, M., Gu, Z. et al. Associations between perceived stress profiles, social connection and work engagement in clinical registered nurses: a mediation analysis and generalized additive models. BMC Nurs 24, 1096 (2025); Spiritual health interventions (for example, purpose or meaning at work) are underrepresented, as these outcomes are less often the focus of workplace studies and are difficult to measure consistently. While some interventions indirectly touched on these elements, they typically appeared as secondary effects rather than the primary outcomes reported. Yet these dimensions drive engagement and retention—lonely employees miss nearly six more workdays a year.² In particular, the lack of spiritual health interventions has practical implications for employers, as factors such as mission-driven work matter to respondents across all generations when considering a future employer. The authors encourage employers and researchers to design and measure interventions intended to improve belonging, inclusion, social connectivity, and shared purpose, as well as physical and mental health.
Build brain skills such as adaptability and resilience. The next decade will test cognitive and emotional agility as workforces are reshaped by technological disruption, geopolitical shifts, and an increasingly complex “poly crisis” environment. By 2030, an estimated 59 percent of employees will require additional training, as AI and automation redefine roles and workflows.³ Additionally, McKinsey Health Institute research shows that role ambiguity is one of the strongest predictors of burnout symptoms. Together, these forces make so-called “brain skills,” such as adaptability and emotional resilience, core performance capabilities rather than optional ones. Interventions such as nudge-based digital mental health programs and stress management and resilience training are already some of the most effective and easiest actions to take. The next frontier for employers is to leverage emerging neuroscience innovation to help embed these skills into leadership systems and day-to-day work, establishing adaptability as a core organizational muscle rather than an individual trait.
Harness metabolic health. Metabolic health—linked to energy, focus, and cognitive performance—remains a largely untapped driver of productivity. In this analysis, metabolic health interventions rank among the highest in measured impact, improving participation and biomarkers such as blood glucose and lipids, yet few have scaled to their full potential. Approaches that blend broad scalability with personalized reinforcement hold potential for delivering more durable gains in both health and performance. For example, a workplace-based physical activity program that integrated digital activity tracking, individual goal setting, and visible senior-management sponsorship was associated with increases in employees’ activity levels.

Target the whole workforce

Focus on teams as well as individuals. Team-level interventions appear particularly effective in improving health and reducing burnout, yet they remain underused. Targeting the systems and relationships that shape daily work has been shown to improve the health of employees more than interventions targeted solely at the individual. Interventions that build social support and create shared goals—such as team-based mindset, energy management and purpose or collective goal-setting workshops—are proven, high-impact actions. Yet many managers lack the skills to lead in this way; just 20 percent of surveyed managers strongly agree that their organizations help them be successful people managers.
Disaggregate data by demographic group. Few existing interventions in the database (fourteen total) explicitly address sex- and gender-specific health differences. However, demographic groups experience and benefit from workplace initiatives differently. For example, employees who are women, LGBTQI+, younger, neurodivergent, or facing financial or educational disadvantage report poorer health outcomes than their counterparts. Disaggregating health and participation data by sex, gender, and other identity factors is critical to uncovering inequities that aggregated data can obscure. This improves the likelihood that interventions are delivered in a way that increases equity, engagement, and workforce vitality.
Support aging workforces. Workforces are aging. By 2050, the number of older adults will more than double to an estimated 1.6 billion. However, fewer than one in ten interventions in the database directly address older workers. Interventions that sustain energy, capability, and purpose later in life—such as flexible work models and cognitive health initiatives—can help close labor gaps and boost GDP. Employers may also choose to help younger employees prioritize their health earlier. Age-inclusive workplaces can increasingly distinguish high-performing organizations from the rest.

The authors hope the next wave of workforce health interventions will be more systemic, more connected to how people actually work, and more inclusive. Moving “beyond the basics” isn’t about adding more programs; it’s about reimagining the workplace itself as a platform for sustainable human performance.

AI is poised to shape the next wave of workforce transformations by moving organizations from insight to action. When embedded into evidence-based interventions, these tools can make programs more adaptive, scalable, and continuous. For example, emerging AI agents can identify needs, personalize support, and coordinate tasks across systems—delivering timely nudges and real-time guidance to employees and managers as they make daily decisions that shape well-being. Used responsibly, it can enhance impact while preserving privacy and trust, helping organizations embed healthy work into everyday workflows (see sidebar, “Beyond the basics: Where the evidence can go further”).

The practical path forward: A guide for building an interventions portfolio

As the world of work grows more complex, so does the mandate for workforce health. Employers know well-being matters, but many still want to know how to act with precision and scale. The answer lies in combining evidence with design discipline: start with a clear baseline, focus on where it matters most, and build interventions that fit seamlessly into how your organization works.

Below is a five-step road map to move from good intentions to measurable, lasting impact.

Step one: Establish a clear baseline and link well-being to business strategy

Every effective strategy begins with insight. Before investing in new programs, organizations need to understand their workforce’s true state of health and what drives it. A robust baseline—rooted in data, not assumptions—reveals where employees thrive, where they struggle, and how well-being connects to performance, engagement, and retention. Many organizations already track engagement through tools such as pulse surveys, which can provide a helpful starting point.

McKinsey Health Institute research across 30 countries revealed that the interventions required to address burnout are different from those that are designed to promote good health. This variation shows why measurement matters: It pinpoints not just symptoms but also the systemic factors behind them. When well-being metrics link directly to business outcomes, they stop being “soft data” and become core performance indicators.

Step two: Identify and prioritize evidence-based interventions

With a baseline in place, the next challenge is knowing how to act. The Workforce Interventions Database provides a practical, evidence-based starting point. Drawing from 115 academic interventions, it helps employers explore what works, compare the impact versus feasibility of approaches, and prioritize no-regret moves, those that can deliver immediate and sustained value.

Use the filters to view interventions by health dimension, intervention level, workforce objective, or gender applicability. Each point on the chart represents an evidence-based intervention, mapped by its measured impact and feasibility. Selecting any point reveals a short summary of the intervention.

However, positive impact doesn’t come from individual initiatives alone but from the interplay between them. Complementary interventions—whether by type, timing, or both—can reinforce one another, and testing them in combination could uncover effects that don’t appear when they’re implemented in isolation. For example, pairing behavior change programs, such as sleep hygiene education, with environmental supports, such as protected rest periods, can help ensure that new habits are reinforced rather than undermined by workplace realities. Or starting with quick-win interventions to build literacy, awareness, and momentum, then layering in longer-term structural changes such as job redesign or manager trainings to reduce work–family conflict, can help organizations balance visible progress with deeper cultural change. The goal is to curate a portfolio that fits each organization’s unique context—balancing the right mix, type, and timing of interventions alongside the systemic reinforcers that help them stick.

Step three: Design for context, not conformity

Even the best interventions can fail without a fit-for-purpose design. One large, randomized trial of workplace wellness programs found little measurable impact—not because the intervention was poorly designed, but because it focused on individual participation and incentives while overlooking the cultural and structural factors that most shape health and performance.³

Many workplace wellness programs underperform not because they are flawed, but because they don’t align with the way people actually work and live. High-performing organizations tailor interventions to their culture, operating model, and workforce realities.

Organizations need to apply “design thinking” (that is, understanding employee needs and translating insights into solutions that are simple, relevant, and embedded in daily routines). The design principle should be to meet people where they are and make healthy behavior the path of least resistance.

Step four: Pilot, learn, and contextualize

Big changes can start small. Rather than perfecting initiatives before deployment, leading organizations pilot, measure, and refine in real-world settings. Pilots turn hypotheses into evidence, reveal barriers, and can generate internal champions who sustain momentum. Pilots are not just “a phase”—they are the foundation for designing and implementing evidence-based initiatives that work.

When designing pilots, organizations should choose pilot sites strategically—where readiness is high or where challenges are most acute—acknowledging the trade-offs of investing in one area over another. This entails defining success using both health metrics (such as stress reduction) and business metrics (for example, productivity, retention, and innovation) and using insights to adapt and improve before scaling. Some interventions can be more easily scaled across an enterprise, such as online mindfulness sessions, whereas some interventions are designed for a specific context, geography, or demographic. For example, hospitals could pilot light filtering interventions for shift-working nurses, which have been shown to reduce sleep disruption and support alertness and performance.

Step five: Scale what works and embed it through systems

The real test of success for an interventions portfolio is its longevity. Many well-being efforts fade after early success because they aren’t built into the organization’s fabric.

Scaling impact isn’t about doing more; it’s about embedding proven interventions into the way the organization operates every day—through governance, accountability, performance management, leadership role modeling, and clear communication. Leadership behaviors are especially critical—leaders set expectations, reinforce norms, and create the conditions for teams to adopt new ways of working. Sustained change happens when health becomes “how we work,” starting at the top.

Moving from potential to practice isn’t about launching more initiatives. It’s about treating workforce well-being as a performance system—one that integrates evidence, design, and continuous learning. With the right data, focus, and leadership commitment, any organization can make workforce health a true source of competitive advantage.

Conclusion

Workforce well-being is no longer a “nice to have”; it’s a core driver of business performance and competitive advantage. The evidence is here: Organizations that design their interventions portfolios thoughtfully, act on context, and execute with discipline build more resilient, innovative, and adaptable workforces, laying the foundation for performance that endures.

As work transforms, the question is no longer about why to act; it’s about how. With the right insights and tools, the path from potential to practice is ready to be taken.

From potential to practical: Fueling performance with proven workplace health interventions