Why today’s approach to wellbeing and performance is producing the outcomes organisations are trying to prevent

Preview access: publication date 21 June 2026

Organisations invest heavily in people, yet most are making critical workforce decisions without the data to support them. Engagement surveys, EAP services and wellbeing programmes have become the default response to performance and retention pressures. But when the system is the problem, more activity doesn't produce better outcomes. This report draws on Human Capital Intelligence audit data from 23 UK organisations covering over 130,000 employees across public, private and third sectors, revealing:

• Why finance-grade human capital data is absent from most people decisions
• How presenteeism hides in plain sight and what it's costing
• The capacity constraints that keep HR teams reactive rather than strategic
• Where wellbeing spend goes, and why it rarely reaches the people who need it most