What is the return on well-being?

Below is every step of the calculation, in plain words, with the formula and the figures of the default example. You can check everything yourself, or fill in your own figures.

The example: a company with 50 employees, MeapyGo, the 5-session Standard package, and the “likely” scenario.

1. 1

   What does the EAP cost?

   We take the price from our price module, for your number of employees and the package you choose. In the first year the one-off set-up fee is added. From the second year you only pay the annual price and account management.

   If you add the Financial Well-being Academy, we count €12 extra per employee per year.

   FormulaCost year 1 = price per employee × employees + account management + set-up fee

   In the example€53.55 × 50 + €125 + €95 = €2,897.50Cost year 2 onwards = €53.55 × 50 + €125 = €2,802.50
2. 2

   How many people does it help?

   On average 4% of employees use the EAP each year. We don’t use this figure for the saving, but it shows roughly how many people you help.

   FormulaPeople helped = employees × usage; sessions = people × sessions per package

   In the example50 × 4% = 2 people, × 5 sessions = up to 10 sessions a year
3. 3

   How many burnouts do you avoid?

   Each year some employees go off sick with burnout. By default we use 1% a year and a cost of €15,000 per burnout: replacement, lost work and return to work. Both are assumptions: fill in your own figures.

   The EAP reaches people earlier, so some of those burnouts never happen. In the “likely” scenario that is 15%.

   FormulaBurnout saving = employees × burnout risk × share avoided × cost of a burnout

   In the example50 × 1% = 0.5 burnouts expected per year0.5 × 15% = 0.075 burnouts avoided0.075 × €15,000 = €1,125

   Scenario	Fewer burnouts	Less absence	ROI year 1
   Cautious	8%	3%	+279%
   Likely	15%	6%	+380%
   Ambitious	25%	10%	+515%

4. 4

   How much absence do you avoid?

   On average, an employee is off sick short-term for 5.3 days a year (Securex 2025: on an average day 2.43% of employees are absent, over 220 working days). An absence day costs €300 on average (SD Worx 2026: € 1,600 direct cost of short-term absence per full-time employee per year).

   People who get help sooner are off less often and for less time. In the “likely” scenario we count 6% fewer absence days.

   FormulaAbsence saving = employees × absence days × cost per day × share avoided

   In the example50 × 5.3 days = 265 absence days a year265 × 6% = 57.9 days avoided, or 463 hours57.9 × €300 = €4,770
5. 5

   Severe cases

   The EAP also prevents or shortens long absence, for example due to burnout. By default we count one case a year. You choose the severity: moderate counts a third of the cost and duration of a very severe case, severe two thirds, very severe all of it.

   A very severe case costs €24,000 by default and lasts 6 months. Adjust it to your organisation.

   FormulaSaving = cases × cost of a very severe case × severity (1/3, 2/3 or 3/3)

   In the example1 × €24,000 × 1/3 = €8,000Days avoided: 1 × 6 months × 21 working days × 1/3 = 42 working days
6. 6

   Financial Well-being Academy (optional)

   Money worries cost working time. According to PwC (2023), 56% of employees spend 3 hours or more a week at work thinking about or dealing with their personal finances. We assume, cautiously, that the FWBA wins back 1% of that lost time, at the hourly cost of an absence day ÷ 8. If you add the FWBA, that gain counts in the saving and its cost (€ 3 per employee per year) in the cost.

   FormulaFWBA saving = employees × 56% × 3 hours × 44 weeks × 1% × (cost per day ÷ 8)

   In the example50 × 56% × 3 × 44 × 1% = 37 hours, × € 37.50 = € 1,386 a yearCost: 50 × € 3 = € 150. Every euro in the FWBA returns about € 9.
7. 7

   The total saving

   We add up the savings. The saving is counted again every year, with the same figures.

   FormulaSaving per year = burnout + absence + severe cases

   In the example€1,125 + €4,770 + €8,000 = €13,895
8. 8

   The return on investment (ROI)

   The ROI tells you what you gain on top of what you invested, as a percentage of that investment. We use the cost of the first year, the most expensive one, with the set-up fee. An ROI of 0% means you just get your investment back.

   FormulaROI = (saving − cost) ÷ cost × 100

   In the example(€13,895 − €2,897.50) ÷ €2,897.50 × 100 = +379.6%Put differently: every euro returns €4.80.
9. 9

   Payback and 10 years

   Each year we subtract the cost from the saving and add it to the previous years. The first year in which that total is positive is the year your investment is paid back. The chart “Net result, accumulated” shows this over 10 years.

   FormulaNet after year n = sum over the years of (saving − cost)

   In the exampleYear 1: €13,895 − €2,897.50 = €10,997.50Year 2 onwards: €13,895 − €2,802.50 = €11,092.50 a yearAfter 10 years: €110,830