Back to Previous

Creating a culture of workplace wellbeing: low-cost benefits with big impact

Sep 30, 2025

Workplace wellbeing has become a defining priority for modern businesses. It’s central to how companies attract talent, engage their teams, and retain staff for the long term. Employees want to feel supported not only in their roles but also in their health, lifestyle, and day-to-day lives. For HR leaders, this shift is shaping how wellbeing strategies are built for the years ahead.

The link between wellbeing and business performance is clear. Healthier, happier employees are more productive, more motivated, and less likely to take absence. An established wellbeing culture also strengthens employee loyalty when competition for talent is high.

Creating this culture doesn’t have to rely on large, complex programmes or costly interventions. In fact, the most powerful shifts often come from accessible, everyday benefits that make a meaningful difference to employees’ lives.

Low-cost but effective benefits, such as those offered by the BHN Extras platform, can empower employees to make healthier choices, reduce financial strain, and feel recognised. These benefits work across industries, demographics, and working patterns, helping businesses create a culture where wellbeing isn’t a tick-box exercise, but a lived experience.

The link between workplace wellbeing and employee experience

Workplace wellbeing isn’t just about offering a few perks. It’s about shaping the overall employee experience to make sure everyone has a positive view of their role, their employer (you), and their day-to-day working life. When wellbeing is prioritised, the impact ripples across engagement, productivity, and loyalty.

Wellbeing as the foundation of experience

When your employees feel supported with their physical health, financial security, and personal motivation, they’re more likely to feel engaged and committed with their work. If those areas are ignored, the opposite is true — disengagement rises, absence increases, and staff turnover becomes a greater risk.

This is why workplace wellbeing has become central to modern HR strategies. It influences how people perceive their employer, and in turn, how they contribute to business success.

Reputation and talent acquisition

Businesses that invest in wellbeing also see gains in employer brand reputation. In competitive markets, offering meaningful benefits can be the differentiator that attracts new talent (and keeps existing employees engaged). It signals to employees that the organisation is proactive, forward-thinking, and genuinely invested in their future.

Low-cost benefits, big impact: Practical examples

When it comes to workplace wellbeing, it’s often the small, everyday changes that make the biggest difference. You don’t always need large-scale wellness programmes to drive engagement. It’s about offering accessible and inclusive benefits that resonate with your staff by supporting their health, balance, and financial security.

Here are three examples of how BHN Extras benefits help businesses strengthen wellbeing while boosting employee motivation.

MyGymDiscounts: Making fitness accessible

Regular exercise supports both physical and mental health, yet not every employee has the time or money to commit to a full-price gym membership. Through BHN Extras’ MyGymDiscounts benefit, employees can access discounted memberships across a wide network of gyms and health clubs.

This flexibility makes fitness more affordable and accessible, encouraging employees to build healthy routines that reduce stress, increase energy, and improve overall wellbeing. For employers, this translates into lower absence rates, higher productivity, and a motivated workforce that feels supported in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Cyclescheme: Supporting healthy, sustainable commutes

The cost of the daily commute can be a major source of stress for many employees. Cyclescheme helps by providing tax-efficient access to bicycles and cycling equipment, encouraging employees to choose a healthier and more sustainable form of transport, while saving up to 47% on the cost.

For employers, Cycle to Work strengthens wellbeing and aligns with corporate responsibility objectives, while also contributing to higher staff motivation. Employees arrive at work energised following a healthier, more positive start to their day.

Extras Discounts and bYond card: Everyday financial wellbeing

Financial stress is one of the most common wellbeing challenges employees face. It’s even been reported that up to 52% of employees in the UK have admitted that their financial worries have affected their performance at work. BHN Extras’ retail discounts and the bYond pre-paid card both offer immediate, practical relief by helping staff save money on groceries, clothing, travel, and leisure activities.

These discounts provide real value in daily life, stretching household budgets further and reducing financial pressure. For many employees, the knowledge that their employer is helping them make everyday essentials more affordable is a powerful motivator that fosters loyalty, engagement and ultimately, job satisfaction.

How low-cost benefits shape workplace culture

For HR leaders, the key is recognising that flexible benefits can do more than complement larger wellbeing initiatives. With such low costs for administration and delivery, they create a much larger impact for the value of their investment. By giving employees meaningful, everyday support, businesses create a workplace where wellbeing is not an abstract concept, but a lived reality.

Explore the full range of benefits available through BHN Extras >

Demonstrating care through inclusivity

When you get your benefits mix right, it sends a clear message to your employees that you genuinely care about their wellbeing. Additionally, offering benefits that are relevant and accessible for all employees shows that you’re serious about inclusivity.

Rolling out low-cost benefits such as a Cycle to Work scheme or discounted gift cards ensures you can offer the same benefit to your whole workforce at the same time. These types of benefits provide universal value, regardless of role, location, or life stage. This fairness ensures wellbeing isn’t only accessible to those with certain salaries, schedules, or lifestyles. Instead, it becomes a shared experience that unites employees under a common banner of support.

Strengthening staff motivation and engagement

Culture and staff motivation are deeply linked. When employees feel looked after, they are more likely to feel engaged and motivated in their roles. Trust is a cornerstone of workplace culture, and well-placed benefits help build it over time. When employees see that their employer consistently invests in their health, financial security, and motivation, they are more likely to trust leadership and remain committed to the organisation.

Shaping culture beyond the office

Wellbeing benefits also extend the reach of workplace culture outside the workplace. Employees don’t only experience their benefits at work, they have an ongoing impact at home, on families and daily life. This naturally creates a stronger emotional connection with the employer, as employees feel the organisation is supporting their broader lifestyle, not just their professional output.

Planning for 2026: Why HR leaders should act now

As HR leaders look ahead to 2026, workplace wellbeing is rising higher on the agenda. Shifts in employee expectations, economic pressures, and a sharper focus on retention mean organisations can no longer treat wellbeing as a secondary priority. The businesses that thrive in the coming years will be those that put employee health, motivation, and engagement at the centre of their strategy.

The case for BHN Extras benefits

Large-scale wellness programmes can take time, resources, and budget to deliver. BHN Extras’ flexible benefits are cost-effective, easy to implement, and highly scalable. Not only do they provide quick wins that make a real difference to a person’s current situation, but they also evolve with that person’s needs to remain relevant for all lifestyle choices and milestones.

A competitive advantage

In a competitive market, benefits can set employers apart. Demonstrating a strong commitment to wellbeing enhances employer brand, helping to attract and retain top tier talent. It positions the business as forward-thinking, supportive, and aligned with modern workplace values.

Build wellbeing into your culture today

Creating a culture of workplace wellbeing doesn’t have to involve launching a complex offering. Introducing a range of low-cost, easy-to-implement, flexible benefits through BHN Extras can deliver powerful results to shape healthier habits, ease financial pressures, and boost employee motivation every day.

Now is the time to take action. As you plan for 2026, prioritise benefits that deliver both immediate impact and long-term value. With BHN Extras, you’ll find a simple, scalable way to make wellbeing part of your everyday culture.

Sign your business up to BHN Extras today >

Frequently asked questions about workplace wellbeing

What is workplace wellbeing?

Workplace wellbeing refers to how supported employees feel in their health, lifestyle, and motivation. It includes physical, mental, and financial wellbeing — all of which contribute to engagement, productivity, and retention.

How do flexible benefits impact workplace wellbeing?

Flexible benefits are designed to meet the employee wherever they are in life, regardless of employment type, level of income or life stage. These accessible perks offer solutions to reduce stress, improve health, and ease financial pressure, which collectively strengthens your culture and inspires motivation.

Why are BHN Extras benefits cost-effective for employers?

They’re simple to implement, scalable, and widely valued by staff. All of the BHN Extras benefits offer quick wins for HR leaders by delivering measurable impact on morale and wellbeing, all without significant budget requirements.

Why is it important to support physical and mental wellbeing at work?

The bottom line is that healthier, happier, motivated staff perform better, collaborate more effectively, and stay longer. This reduces unnecessary recruitment costs, lowers absenteeism, and helps maintain business continuity. Additionally, by becoming known for fostering a supportive culture, you should be able to attract higher quality candidates for any new roles you do recruit for.

Check out our list of 20 employee wellbeing initiatives to see what else you could be doing to support physical and mental wellness in your workplace >

Why should an employer support financial wellbeing?

Financial stress is a major wellbeing challenge which can often trigger unwanted mental and physical health problems. With much of the UK confirming they have at least mild financial concerns, it’s becoming absolutely fundamental for employers to step in and offer a solution.

As with every cost, there is some kind of return on the investment. In this case, it’s a boost in retention, as studies have shown that 91% of employees are more likely to stay with a company that provides financial wellbeing support.

Why should HR leaders act now for 2026 planning?

Employee expectations are shifting quickly, but it’s clear that wellbeing will continue to be a central factor in both the retention and acquisition of your workforce. By embedding low-cost, flexible benefits into 2026 strategies now, HR leaders can build stronger cultures, attract talent, and stay competitive.