Employee health and wellbeing has dominated the HR agenda in recent times. World events, economic trends, physical and mental health awareness have all conspired to bring a huge challenge to HR – how to look after a workforce under pressure and enable them to do their best work.
Offering the right kind of support can mean providing a comprehensive set of initiatives and benefits to match the four pillars of wellbeing: financial, social, mental and physical health. But as organisations line up a vast – and expensive – raft of support, is there a danger that this is actually too much? Can organisations overstep their role, delivering support that erodes their employee’s sense of resilience and their ability to deliver work through their own initiative and strength? And when employers offer comprehensive health and wellbeing packages, are they still achieving ROI?
Not how much but how good
“This is a question of quality over quantity,” says Dr Rebecca (Bex) Hewett, Associate Professor of Organisation and Personnel Management at Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University (RSM). “If the organisation is offering things that employees don’t need or want it can backfire because, firstly, people feel that they are not listened to and secondly, these things can create pressure on employees to take advantage of what’s on offer, which is a burden on them.”
Dr Hewett’s research has found that delivering wellbeing support can actually be detrimental to the wellbeing of line managers tasked with ensuring their people are OK: “this layer of management can experience negative wellbeing if they feel under pressure to support the wellbeing of the people they manage,” she notes, “so it’s particularly important to consider who is expected to support wellbeing and do they themselves have the support, time, and skills to do it.”
Getting health and wellbeing right, therefore, is not just about the provision but about how that provision is offered and accessed.
Putting employees first
“In the hospitality industry we are often guilty of prioritising the needs of others and not ourselves,” comments Moira Laird, HR director at Valor Hospitality. Recognising the particular stress and wellbeing challenges that exist for hospitality workers, Laird explains her business is now committed to ensuring all work practices, the working environment and company culture enhances and protects the health and wellbeing of team members. That in turn, importantly, is experienced through the commercial success of the business.
Valor’s provision health and wellbeing provision is impressive, going beyond individual benefits alone to address aspects of company procedure and therefore the underlying culture. A ‘Healthy Habits’ initiatives has been developed to help employees identify and action small changes that make a positive difference to their lives. Annual performance reviews have been replace by quarterly check-ins, offering more of a two-way communication over their work rather than an official measurement.
“Some might feel that creating a supportive business culture may mean team members become less resilient, but we are not of that view,” says Laird. “By giving our people a supportive environment, we are helping to build their resilience. Mental, physical and financial wellbeing are intrinsically linked. If businesses are to help their team feel motivated and confident, they must develop a holistic wellbeing strategy that takes all these considerations into account.
The ROI of wellbeing
“Ultimately, a happy and healthy team is a key driver for employee satisfaction, so while investment in health and wellbeing is a commercial ROI consideration, we shouldn’t underestimate its impact on staff retention,” concludes Laird.
Louisa Oliveira, HR Director UK & ROI at hygiene and health company Essity, details a wide and comprehensive range of health and wellbeing initiatives for her staff, aimed at helping everybody to thrive in their role. Financial and reward based schemes are joined by mental health initiatives, a global EAP programme, healthcare and and even social events including volunteering work. There are discounts on gym memberships and the company covers the cost for entry fees to various sports events throughout the year including 5k and 10k runs, cycling and dragon boat racing. Oliveira states many of the business’ sites use employee-led social committees to organise events including sponsored walks, yoga, Pilates, football and golf.
Crucially, the gateway to these benefits is entirely in the control of the employee: “The tools and support Essity provides rely on employees self-initiating access or asking whether there is support available,” explains Oliveira, “which comes back to the culture and psychological safety we are fostering at Essity through forums such as DEI to enable individuals to step forward and ask for help without fear of judgement, stigma or reprisal.”
Given this, it doesn’t really matter what scale of benefits, rewards and so on a business offers, good health and wellbeing is always underpinned by the experience of that company’s culture.
The risk of the over-whelm
Ann Chambers, HR Director at Ecotone UK agrees health and benefit resources should be considered carefully, but this is more about not over-whelming employees, rather than because the employer may offer too much: “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to employee wellness as everyone is individual and some people require more support than others,” she says. “For us at Ecotone, it’s about not only giving employees access to resources that can help them build greater resilience and support them in overcoming any barriers or challenges they might face, but also giving them a connection to their peers and foster a greater sense of belonging.”
Ecotone’s approach in this area is also one which supports self-help, with the company bringing in external experts to provide talks, webinars and toolkits spanning diverse subjects from nutrition and better sleep, to financial issues and dealing with the menopause. “Our financial clinics have been particularly valuable through the cost-of-living crisis in managing financial stress,” Chambers notes.
Not every employee will feel every area is specific to them maintains Chambers, but this approach allows those who would benefit from support to access it.
“I personally believe investing in employee wellness is vital in maintaining good retention and attrition rates,” she states. “After all, if a business doesn’t dedicate time and money for an employees’ wellness, they are more likely to lose time and money on their illness.”
An on-going conversation
“It’s good to offer a range of resources to employees – but it’s just as important to keep them in the loop on what is available and who to turn to,” says Magda Jablonska El-Aasar, HR director, Corps Security. “This is especially needed for frontline workers, who may not see their line manager daily or have access to a desktop.” in response to this, Magda’s business introduced Corps Connect, a singular portal to give colleagues 24/7 access to resources including their rota and holiday requests, alongside workplace trauma, mental health, EAP information and wellbeing resources.
“HR team members should also take time to meet site-based colleague,” says Jablonska El-Aasar. “Physically, that can mean attending client sites when an incident has occurred to offer on-the-ground support or welfare checks. For example, our HR team members conducted 44 site visits in the last quarter of 2024. It also means making resources accessible and knowing where to redirect colleagues.”
Alicia Nagar, Head of People, Wellbeing and Equity, Mental Health First Aid England sums up the challenge in this way:
“It’s not about offering too much when it comes to employee health and wellbeing but about offering the right support tailored to your people and your organisation.” In other words, throwing every initiative imaginable at employees won’t yield meaningful ROI or outcomes, instead, organisations must focus on strategies that align with their unique workforce’s needs and their culture.”
Listening to employees is high on Nagar’s agenda and she says this can be done through tools like surveys, one-to-one conversations, and focus groups. Staff data can also be useful, highlighting areas such as sickness absence or patterns of disengagement. Using this information, Nagar argues companies can design strategies that address the four pillars of wellbeing – financial, social, mental, and physical – whilst ensuring inclusivity and relevance.
Changing up provision according to needs
“Needs change,” asserts Nagar, “and what works today might not resonate tomorrow. That’s why monitoring and evaluation are critical. Regularly assess the impact of your initiatives and be prepared to adapt.”
This conclusion is support by Dr. Hewett: “The answer to this is making sure that you first ask what people want and then provide something to meet those needs,” she says. “Of course, people have different needs, but getting them involved in the solution can also help – but give them time to do that so that it isn’t an extra burden.”
