How Much Does An Unhappy Team Cost A Business?

unhappy employee team cost staff business bootstrapped

It's no secret that those who don’t enjoy their job will become less productive in the office — which could have harsh implications on business operations entirely, leading to a significant loss of profits. To combat this, you may need to recruit new staff which could see additional costs to your business. So, what is the true cost to a company of an unhappy workforce and what can companies do to engender a positive workplace environment that works in favor of both the business and its staff? 

The Price We Pay 

Considering that satisfied employees outperform companies with unhappy workers by 202%, it’s clearly beneficial for a company to take notice of the happiness of its staff and understand the position of their unhappy, less productive workers. 

How does this impact profit margins? Personal Group, a staff services company, discovered that people who were happy with their job were 12% more productive than those who felt negatively about their role. Staff that aren’t satisfied will typically be less enthusiastic and involved — and this disengagement is reportedly costing the UK £85 billion a year in lost productivity, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workforce report. 

Remember to think about how long working hours can create a negative perspective for a worker, and in turn, have bad impacts on employee performance. A poll carried out by The Hoxby Collective found that 33% of workers said they’d suffered mental health problems directly because of rigid working hours. If your staff are unfit for work, this will cost you. According to estimations by The Centre of Economic and Business Research, absenteeism alone will cost the UK economy £21 billion by 2020, while overworking your staff can also lead to exhaustion and lack of sleep — another contributor of poor productivity levels that costs the UK economy £40.3 billion a year. Consequently, it’s key to create a positive working environment that staff want to get up in the morning and work in if companies want to keep paid sick days to a minimum. 

Believe it or not, there’s a link between having low staff morale and feeling depressed. According to research from the Centre for Mental Health, it costs employers £3.1 billion in staff turnover and £10.6 billion in sickness just to cover mental health problems of staff in the workplace. From implementing staff perks and bonuses to creating a happy, communicative atmosphere; all employers should be investing in lowering the risk of mental health issues for their staff. 

As well as lowering their productivity levels in the workplace, the chances of them leaving also increases. The Oxford Economics and Income Protection Providers Unum has calculated that the average amount of replacing a staff member sits at approximately £30,614 — taking into account hiring, lost time, training, and adapting new staff to the workplace culture. Can your business afford to keep covering or taking on new staff

It’s apparent that staff morale is crucial to the development and ultimate success of a business, and there are many initiatives employers can enforce to boost employee happiness. 

Improving Staff Morale 

A survey of 2,000 people found that almost half of workers have considered leaving their job role due to poor management – as well as this, 39% said they felt undervalued and 30% claimed it was down to development within their role. Are these factors that you can explore as part of a business strategy to improve staff morale

If you feel as though you have poor management and witness staff members leaving frequently, this should become a core focus for your business. Assess how your supervisors and managers treat and interact with their staff — could they do with having stronger relationships to encourage better communication? If so, consider scheduling a series of corporate days out, should as indoor skiing to help boost collaboration across all of your departments or organize onsite charity fundraisers, staff quizzes or regular nights out to inject a sociable aspect into the corporate environment. 

In relation to morale, you should be looking at organizing internal and external employee training days. Sending your staff on these will not only make them feel valued — another factor of workplace happiness — but should also mean your company will benefit from more knowledgeable and confident business decisions, which should prove lucrative in the long run. 

Give your employees more authority over their working day — from how long it takes to complete a task properly, to how they schedule their day. This level of control and variety will help make workers feel more important and excited for the day ahead, while re-evaluating the time it takes to complete a task and finding healthier balance will lower the risk of them feeling rushed or stressed, thereby reducing the chance that they will take time off for anxiety-related issues. 

Sick days can be costly for businesses, so why not take a focus on employee and business partner health? The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence claims that a well-researched and managed wellness plan can reduce sick days by almost a third — which means the expense of covering shifts and reduced productivity levels will go down accordingly, too. 

Evidently, you must have a happy workforce to ensure great results as a business. Show initiative and start implementing positive processes today to ensure that your staff feel happy, secure and valued at work. 


I hope you enjoyed this article about how much an unhappy team of employees can cost a business and how to minimize the risk of this happening.

Interested in more articles about employee management?

Read My Blog Posts:

- How To Improve Employee Satisfaction In The Workplace

- Ways To Develop A More Fun Company Culture

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