Stop asking for budget – start showing the cost of doing nothing

You’ve spotted the signs. Motivation is low, good people are leaving, energy and performance are dropping off. You know your workplace culture needs attention – but when you raise it, there’s hesitation. Other priorities take precedence. Budget feels out of reach.  

It’s a common pattern. Culture work is often seen as a nice-to-have or a long-term ambition, rather than a near-term need. But the reality? Failing to act costs far more than acting early. Poor workplace culture doesn’t just cost you engagement. It quietly drains your business, through absenteeism, turnover and underperformance. 

And the impact runs deeper than many leaders realise. 

The hidden cost of doing nothing

When culture starts to slide, the warning signs might not be instantly visible. But they show up clearly in business outcomes. Let’s look at just a few ways poor culture hits the bottom line:  

• Employee disengagement is expensive. Gallup found that only 21% of employees worldwide feel engaged at work – costing the economy $438 billion in lost productivity.

• High turnover carries direct and indirect costs. From recruitment fees and lost knowledge to onboarding processes and the knock-on effect of team instability, the costs add up fast.  

• Absenteeism tends to rise when people feel disconnected, unsupported or burned out. 

• Poor performance becomes harder to challenge (and harder to turn around) when people stop caring and stop contributing. 

However, all of this is avoidable. But not if work culture keeps being treated as a luxury. 

Reframing the budget conversation

Instead of asking, “Can I have budget for culture?”, it’s time to flip the script. Ask: “Can we afford the cost of not investing?” 

It’s a simple shift that changes the focus. It reframes culture not as an add-on, but as a performance risk. A retention risk. A strategic risk that deserves the same attention as any other. And it opens the door to a better conversation about ROI, because the return on employee engagement is real. 

Investing in culture pays back in loyalty, energy, innovation and productivity. It helps people perform better, stay longer and care more. And that matters, because good people are hard to keep. 

Time to move from instinct to insight

If your instinct is telling you something’s not right, trust it. But instinct alone won’t get the backing you need. That’s where diagnostics like THRIVE can help. 

THRIVE helps you pinpoint exactly where culture is costing you – and where to focus your efforts for maximum impact. It takes the guesswork out of culture change, giving you a clear business case.  

Because culture is never neutral. It’s either working for you or against you. 

Ready to turn this into action?

Learn how to build a compelling case for culture investment by joining our Work Wonders Builder tier. You’ll get access to exclusive sessions, including our upcoming Building Better Business Cases masterclass on 23 October – packed with practical advice on how to secure support and funding for culture, comms and people initiatives.

Sign up to Work Wonders Builder tier today and get the insight and tools you need to make change happen.