INDUSTRY INSIGHT
BUSINESSES MUST SHIFT FROM AD HOC OFFERS TO SYSTEMIC SUPPORT. and depression now accounting for the majority of longterm absence cases. Yet many employees still struggle in silence, reluctant to seek help or unsure where to turn.
Health is directly tied to performance, retention and productivity. And right now, businesses are losing people they can’ t afford to lose.
What’ s getting in the way?
Despite good intentions, many organisations still struggle to turn wellbeing into something that truly works. The barriers are not just cultural, but structural and strategic.
First, the language needs to shift. The word‘ wellbeing’ can feel vague or non-commercial. But when we talk instead about performance, energy, focus and retention, we speak in terms that leaders understand and act on.
Cost can be another reason for hesitation. Benefits like gym memberships, health coaching or digital wellbeing platforms are often seen as extras, but burnout, absenteeism and staff turnover are far more expensive than proactive support.
Furthermore, many organisations fail to consider the diverse needs of their workforce. A one-sizefits-all approach ignores the fact that stress manifests differently across age groups, job roles and personal circumstances. What works for a young graduate may not resonate with a working parent or someone approaching retirement.
In some organisations, the message and the culture don’ t align. Leaders may promote healthy behaviours in theory, while rewarding long hours and presenteeism in practice. This creates distrust, and people switch off.
Too often, wellbeing is treated as an add-on, handed to HR, the Health & Safety Manager, Office Manager or tacked onto someone’ s existing role without the time, budget or influence to drive real change. Responsibility should not sit with one person or one team. It needs to be owned across management, embedded into how leaders set expectations, design workloads and show up for their teams day-to-day.
Finally, awareness and stigma still block progress. Many employees don’ t understand when they need support, and when it comes to it, they’ re not sure support exists or they hesitate to use it because they don’ t feel safe doing so. Until that changes, services will remain underused and undervalued.
Implementing better support
This leads up to assessing ROI, which can be difficult when it comes to wellbeing and health measures. Even services with strong evidence behind them, like Employee Assistance Programmes, are questioned when uptake is low. If just 5 % of your workforce uses the service, it is easy to assume it isn’ t working. But the issue is often poor communication or lack of visibility, not the value of the service itself.
Organisations often focus on measuring participation rates rather than meaningful outcomes. They track how many people attended a wellness session but fail to assess whether stress levels decreased or job satisfaction improved. This narrow view of success leads to premature discontinuation of potentially valuable programmes.
Then there is the tendency to take a scattered approach. Businesses sign up for generic wellness webinars or mindfulness apps and expect results, but people need support that is tailored, practical and built into their day-to-day reality. Without that, engagement fades quickly.
There’ s no single answer to the challenge of employee health and wellbeing. But there are solutions, some of which are being underused or overlooked altogether.
For example, Employee Assistance Programmes( EAPs), when delivered well, can offer a safety net for those in crisis or needing quick access to mental health support. Flexible working and clear workload management play a big role in reducing daily pressure. So does giving managers the tools to lead with care, clarity and empathy.
What’ s missing in many businesses is personalised, preventative support, the kind that helps employees stay well before they break down. Health coaching is one way to provide this.
A health coach is a trained professional who helps individuals take ownership of their physical and mental health. They work alongside people to create realistic, sustainable changes in areas like stress, sleep, nutrition, mindset and movement, especially when the demands of work, relationships, finance or life feel overwhelming.
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