In an age where ESG and sustainability dominate boardroom discussions, one pillar remains misunderstood and under-prioritised: social sustainability. It’s not just about treating employees well—it’s about future-proofing Luxembourg organisations.
Social sustainability is the capacity of a social system to SUSTAIN its ABILITY to survive in the long-run. Prevailing business wisdom may suggest that revenues, costs, cash flows, profits – in one word “money” – decides the life and death of a company. However, research has revealed that the pursuit of money as a goal causes behaviour detrimental to the long-term survival of individuals, communities, organisations and societies.
Studies in psychology and behavioural economics (Vohs, 2006; Piff, 2014; Cohn, 2014) have consistently shown that when money becomes the primary goal, it leads to more dishonest, unethical, and disengaged behavior.
Yet, studies in fields such as social and evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, medicine, biology, sociology and management have discovered that having peoples’ health and wellbeing as a goal leads to superior economic results.
Statistics jointly published by the World Economic Forum1 and Gallup show that higher employee wellbeing was associated with higher employee productivity, increased customer loyalty, lower staff turnover and higher overall company profitability. The results were based on a meta-analysis of 339 independent studies accumulated by Gallup, including the wellbeing and productivity of 1,882,131 employees and the performance of 82,248 business units, from 230 independent organisations across 49 industries in 73 countries.
A 2025 Oxford University study on “workplace wellbeing and firm performance” found compelling evidence of the strong positive relationship between employee wellbeing and firm performance. Data from approximately 1 million employee surveys across 1,782 publicly listed companies research found that employee wellbeing boosted company profitability through 6 factors: increased engagement and productivity, lower absenteeism, better employer branding and reputation, better retention, increased creativity and enhanced collaboration and communication.
When will we start applying scientific evidence to ensure social sustainability of ourbusinesses and Lux society at large?
My scientific research on the economics of employee engagement4 revealed that investments in employee wellbeing can yield returns of well over 100% pa. In fact, most of the employee wellbeing intervention projects I have been involved with generated ROIs of over 200% pa. The evidence is clear. If companies (and societies) want to sustain their ability to survive in the long-term, they need to put people first and profits will follow.
Luxembourg records among the lowest employee engagement and highest levels of workstress. Absenteeism and emotional exhaustion are skyrocketing. The lack of engagement costs us around €15bn in lost productivity each year. When will the Luxembourg eco-system realise that people are not the problem but the solution? The government spends billions on scientific research supporting Uni.lu, FNR, LIST, LIH, and LISER. When will we start applying scientific evidence to ensure social sustainability of our businesses and Lux society at large?
This article was published in the 7th edition of Forbes Luxembourg.
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