Salutary
Definition: producing good effects; beneficial.
It means something is not objectively pleasant, but that provides some benefit.
Why I Looked It Up
I found this in a sabbatical application submitted by a university professor:
Rubbing shoulders with [discipline] scholars again with be salutary.
In this case, the use was more generic – rubbing shoulders with other scholars wasn’t viewed as negative; “salutary” just meaning “good” more generally.