Workplace Wellbeing Reimagined: The ROI of Connection

In today’s workplace, something fundamental is missing and it’s not a perk or policy. It’s connection. As employers face rising pressures around employee wellbeing, workforce engagement, and ESG accountability, a new priority is emerging; tackling loneliness and isolation as strategic risks, not simply personal challenges. This applies not just to employees’ elderly relatives, but to the employees themselves, including those who are ageing, caregiving, or quietly disconnected. This is where Sacana steps in.

Introduction: The Cost of Disconnection

Workplace wellbeing has evolved. It is no longer about yoga apps or box-ticking benefits. It is about recognising that emotional support and human connection are core to employee engagement, resilience, and performance.

Loneliness, long viewed as a private issue, is now recognised as a serious workforce and mental health challenge. According to the Campaign to End Loneliness (2023), over one in four UK employees report feeling lonely at work. That number rises among remote workers, mid-life staff, carers, and those without strong social ties.

This matters. Why? Because disconnection directly affects how people work and stay well. According to Deloitte (2022), poor mental health costs UK employers up to £56 billion a year - a 25% increase in just three years. While some of this cost is visible through absences or formal referrals, a significant portion stems from silent disengagement and presenteeism, where employees are physically present but emotionally depleted. This means that loneliness and disconnection are not just wellbeing concerns, they are business risks, affecting productivity, morale, and retention.

Understanding the Workforce: Ageing, Caring, and Isolated

Today’s workforce looks very different from a decade ago. In particular, three under-recognised groups are shaping both the risk profile and opportunity for employers:

The Ageing Workforce

The concept of retirement has changed. In the UK, there is no fixed retirement age. People are living longer, working longer, and often relying on employment for both income and purpose.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), over 1.3 million people aged 65 and over were in employment in 2023, nearly double the number from ten years prior. Many of these employees are navigating senior isolation, bereavement, or declining local networks. They may not present with overt challenges, but they are at greater risk of emotional disconnection, especially in hybrid or solitary roles.

The Sandwich Generation

The “sandwich generation” describes mid-life workers supporting both elderly care and children, often simultaneously. According to Carers UK (2022), more than 2.4 million UK employees fall into this group. The burden of carer support has grown dramatically, especially with the rising costs of formal elderly care services and long NHS wait times.

This dual pressure, working full-time while caring for two generations, leads to burnout, absenteeism, and quiet disengagement. Critically, these carers often do not seek formal mental health or workplace counselling support. But they are crying out for something informal, private, and stigma-free.

Hybrid, Remote, and Disconnected Employees

Remote working has benefits but it also fuels social isolation. Many employees, especially those living alone or with minimal networks, can experience a fractured sense of team and reduced daily interaction. Younger employees may miss informal mentoring. Older ones may feel invisible.

This means that traditional wellbeing tools such as Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) or mindfulness apps, often miss the mark for these groups. They need a more human, more accessible, more structured alternative.

Connection as a Strategic Asset: A New Model for ROI

Return on investment (ROI) in workplace wellbeing has often been reactive. Organisations measure uptake of services or reduction in formal absence. But this reactive model misses the bigger opportunity by preventing issues before they escalate.

Sacana offers a different approach. It is a non-clinical, preventative health intervention designed to support social connection and emotional wellbeing.

We provide structured, on-demand access to trained Matrons via live video. There are no thresholds. No referrals. No booking process. Just a person-to-person conversation, whenever it’s needed.

This means:

• Employees receive instant emotional support before stress accumulates

• Carers can access help without formalising their distress

• Older workers can connect safely, privately, and without judgement

• HR and Procurement teams can demonstrate value through measurable cost avoidance

• The outcome is employee wellbeing that doesn’t wait for crisis, it builds resilience upstream.

How Sacana Works

Sacana is designed to be simple, stigma-free, and scalable.

• Trained Matrons offer 24/7 support via secure video

• Non-clinical service - no diagnosis, no medical language, no waiting lists

• GDPR and ISO 27001 compliant infrastructure ensures safety and data integrity

• Available via mobile (Android & iOS), desktop, or company intranet including API integration with workplace platforms

• Structured conversations, not scripts - offering structured conversation and real individual listening

This model is distinct from therapy but rooted in evidence. Studies show that human connection improves both mental and physical health outcomes, while reducing the risk of chronic loneliness, burnout, and even dementia risk (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015).

This means employers can offer a flexible, accessible support layer that strengthens individual and organisational health, without clinical complexity.

Procurement and Prevention: Designed for Delivery

Procurement teams need services that are cost-effective, safe, and scalable. Sacana is built with these priorities in mind.

Our commercial models:

• Per Capita Model – predictable pricing for large or multi-site teams

• Call-Off Hours – flexible usage with real-time tracking

• Licensing Model – unlimited usage across employee and family groups, ideal for inclusive carer support and elderly care coverage

Each model includes:

• Full moderation and safeguarding protocols

• Real-time management information dashboards

• ESG and social value metrics for reporting

• Integration capability with benefits platforms, HR systems, or wellbeing portals

This means Procurement can deliver both workplace wellness and operational confidence - while meeting governance, compliance, and social impact standards.

Alignment with ESG, Social Value, and ICS Priorities

Sacana directly contributes to organisational ESG and social value commitments, especially within the ‘Social’ strand:

• S1 – Workforce Wellbeing: Sacana provides 24/7 preventative emotional support for all employees, including those at higher risk of isolation or burnout.

• S2 – Health Inequality: Our non-clinical access model ensures inclusion for those without a diagnosis or access to formal care.

• S3 – Community Impact: By reducing silent escalation, Sacana eases pressure on NHS, social care, and community mental health pathways.

It also supports Integrated Care System (ICS) goals around early intervention, demand reduction, and digital-first care navigation.

This means that Sacana is more than a wellbeing offer, it’s a system-aligned, data-tracked, preventative health intervention with real organisational value.

The HR and ESR Value Proposition

For HR and ESR leaders, Sacana offers solutions across key priorities:

• Employee retention – particularly among experienced and older workers, carers, and hybrid teams

• Work-life balance support – offering relief to the sandwich generation without needing formal disclosure

• Inclusion and access – removing barriers to support for those who feel unseen

• ESG and HR solutions – aligning with social value frameworks and sustainability metrics

• Cost avoidance – lowering demand on EAPs, crisis interventions, and long-term health claims

This means your corporate wellness strategy becomes preventative, not reactive. And your organisation becomes known for both productivity as well as dignity.

Why Sacana?

Because workplace wellbeing isn’t about platforms, it’s about people.
Because employee engagement is built on trust, not tick-boxes.
Because social connection is the key to thriving organisations in a disconnected age.

Sacana is:

• Preventative – protecting employees from isolation and burnout

• Non-clinical – accessible without stigma or diagnosis

• Inclusive – designed for employees and those they care for

• Procurement-ready – offering scalable, compliant delivery across sectors

When employees feel connected, they contribute more and stay longer. Sacana turns structured connection into a business advantage.

A Direct Fix for a Human Problem

You cannot solve loneliness with technology alone. And you cannot build resilience with slogans. But with the right support, preventative, non-clinical, and quietly powerful, you can change what happens next. In a disconnected age, connection is ROI. Let Sacana help you build it.

To find out more or request a conversation:
Jane Prentice, Commercial Director
jane.prentice@sacana.com
www.sacana.com

References

Campaign to End Loneliness (2023). Loneliness and the Workplace

Deloitte (2022). Mental Health and Employers: The Case for Investment

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023). Employment in People Aged 65 and Over

Carers UK (2022). Sandwich Caring Across the UK

Holt-Lunstad, J. et al. (2015). Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review, Perspectives on Psychological Science

UK Government (2023). State Pension Age Review

Sacana safeguarding, reporting, and moderation protocols (2025)

Global Voices: ISO 27001 certified infrastructure

Workplace Wellbeing Reimagined: The ROI of Connection in a Disconnected Age