Editorial
We’re living through an era defined by uncertainty, including economic instability, rapid change, and the quiet but persistent pressures of ongoing disruption. The continuing challenge for HR leaders is how to support employee well-being while also demonstrating that workplace well-being initiatives are a strategic business imperative.
Despite increased investment in mental health benefits and wellness programs, many employees still feel disconnected, overwhelmed or at risk of burnout. What’s becoming clear is that traditional wellness initiatives often fall short, especially during times of organizational stress. To create resilient, high-performing organizations, we need to build well-being into the very foundation of how we work.
Why Traditional Workplace Wellness Approaches Miss the Mark
Many workplace wellness efforts are well-intentioned, but ultimately ineffective because they remain surface-level. They focus on individual responsibility without addressing the systemic contributors to stress like unrealistic workloads, poor communication or unclear expectations. Others treat well-being like a checkbox: a meditation app here, a webinar there, without embedding support into the flow of work.
These gaps are especially pronounced during periods of change or uncertainty, when anxiety rises, workloads shift and employees feel they must “prove” their value. Without deeper structural support, short-term solutions simply aren’t enough.
The result? Limited impact, low engagement and minimal return on investment.
But when well-being is strategically integrated, it supports individual resilience and organizational performance. High-trust cultures, psychologically safe teams and emotionally supported employees make better decisions, collaborate more effectively and stay longer.
Employee Well-Being Is Good for Business: The ROI of Workplace Wellness
Workplace well-being isn’t just a “nice to have.” When organizations prioritize well-being in a meaningful and sustained way, they support employees and see tangible business benefits. Employee engagement and retention improve, decision-making becomes faster and more collaborative, and teams are better equipped to innovate and adapt in the face of change. At the same time, organizations see reductions in absenteeism and turnover-related costs. In moments of uncertainty, these advantages become even more critical. Prioritizing well-being is a strategic differentiator that enables organizational agility without burning out employees.
Not to mention that having a well-being strategy helps attract candidates! The American Psychological Association's Work in America Survey found 92% of employees said it is very or somewhat important to them to work for an organization that provides support for employee mental health.
A Framework for Sustainable Well-Being
A good well-being strategy is one that is weaved throughout the organization.
Implement Trauma-Informed Leadership
One way to build a resilient workplace is by equipping managers with trauma-informed leadership practices. Managers shape how employees experience uncertainty, and their ability to recognize distress, create space for open dialogue, and lead with empathy can make a significant difference.
This doesn’t mean turning every manager into a therapist, but it does mean helping them foster psychological safety, support diverse perspectives and navigate difficult conversations with clarity and care.
Make Mental Health Everyone’s Business
While leadership plays a crucial role, building sustainable well-being also means empowering employees to support one another. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is one way to do this. It trains employees to recognize signs of mental distress, respond appropriately and understand the boundaries of their role.
By creating a shared language and culture around mental health, MHFA builds a distributed support network within the organization — something that becomes especially valuable during times of high stress.
Normalize Boundaries and Set Clear Expectations
Uncertainty often creates pressure to “do more with less,” leading to exhaustion. Organizations must proactively set expectations that protect employee energy and engagement.
Normalize taking time off. Define working hours and what sustainable performance looks like. Establish communication norms, especially for distributed or hybrid teams. When employees know what’s expected and feel supported in meeting those expectations, they’re more focused, innovative and energized.
Focus on Transparent Communication
Poor organizational communication can be particularly damaging to organizational trust during times of uncertainty. When information is inconsistent, unclear or lacking, employees fill the gaps with assumptions. They may imagine worst-case scenarios, leaving them in a persistent state of worry and stress about job stability and the organization’s future.
Organizations can address this through transparent communication practices such as regular company updates, clarity around decision-making processes and communication plans that ensure managers can cascade information accurately. At times of disruption, you may want to increase the frequency of communication and create safe channels for employees to ask questions.
Leaders can be reluctant to say when they don’t know something, but saying “I don’t know” or “I’ll get back to you” or “This is when we expect to know more” is better than silence, which may leave employees wondering.
Look Beyond Traditional Benefits
EAPs and health insurance are important foundations, but they are just a start. HR leaders have many more opportunities to weave policies and practices that support well-being throughout the organization.
This can be things like comprehensive leave policies (parental, bereavement, sabbaticals), care support for children or elders, and financial well-being resources to address major sources of stress. We can also support building flexibility into work structures through options like flexible scheduling, remote/hybrid arrangements, and results-focused evaluation rather than "time spent" metrics.
Small adjustments to daily work patterns can also have outsized impacts on well-being. For example, experiment with implementing meeting-free days or blocks for focused work, establish clear communication norms around response times and after-hours expectations, and normalize breaks throughout the day. Don't forget to create clear, simple procedures for requesting accommodations, train managers to have supportive conversations about needs, and identify universal accommodations that can benefit everyone.
Don’t Forget the People Supporting Everyone Else
HR teams often carry the emotional load of the organization, especially during layoffs, restructures or other periods of upheaval. They support anxious employees, hold space for difficult conversations and navigate complex change, all while managing their own uncertainty. And all of this without necessarily having the space or support to process it.
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This emotional labor adds up and can eventually lead to burnout, detachment and attrition among HR professionals. So, supporting them becomes a strategic necessity.
Organizations can help by resourcing HR appropriately, acknowledging that this emotional labor is real and valuable work, and investing in additional coaching and mental health support for those in HR roles.
Embed Well-Being Into Your Organizational Culture
When organizations create a well-being strategy that is embedded into leadership practices, peer support structures, communication norms and performance expectations, they create a foundation that can be resilient and adaptable even in turbulent times.
By designing intentional, scalable and integrated approaches, HR leaders have a unique opportunity to build sustainable workplaces where employees and the business can thrive. Get started by:
- Auditing your current state: Review touchpoints in the employee experience and identify opportunities to embed well-being principles.
- Choose what you want to measure: You can track indicators like psychological safety, conflict resolution and team cohesion alongside operational metrics to demonstrate how well-being efforts support business outcomes.
- Start small, and don’t be afraid to experiment!: Gather feedback from employees and business leaders and choose one area to transform first (like meeting practices or manager training). Use those wins to gain momentum for broader change.
Editor's Note: Interested in employee well-being? Read on:
- Workplace Well-Being Efforts Are a Band-Aid, Not a Cure — New research shows well-being programs fail more often than not. Why? Organizations are addressing symptoms, not root causes.
- Burnout Is the New Normal — A certain level of burnout has long existed in the workforce. But multiple studies suggest we've hit an all time high.
- Weave Well-Being Into Your Employee Experience Strategy — Supporting well-being clearly has potential to make a real bottom-line business impact, but offering corporate wellness program alone doesn’t cut it.
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