Rethinking the Workplace Wellbeing Strategy

Let’s face it—workplace wellbeing is a hot topic. Companies talk about prioritizing workplace wellness. Leaders talk about how they want the best for their teams. But what does it really look like to implement real, lasting change in how people feel at work? Oftentimes, it’s unclear what is actually being done, or even where to start when it comes to workplace wellbeing.

If you're a leader, health and safety manager, or just someone who cares about building better workplaces, it’s essential to understand that wellbeing isn’t just a nice-to-have. It's foundational. While workplace wellbeing can be related to employee happiness, it is essential for performance, retention, and the future of work itself.

In a recent webinar, The Harvard Business Review discussed the new book, Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters: The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, where they dive into a new approach to employee wellness and what organizations can do to boost productivity and happiness amongst their teams. Here’s what they say:

The first step is to think about the current state. Ask yourself, so, how are we really doing? 

• How fulfilling is work for your team?
• What’s the actual state of wellbeing in your organization?
• What are the consequences when wellbeing isn’t prioritized?

Spoiler alert: burnout, disengagement, quiet quitting, and turnover—all cost a lot more than proactive support efforts.

After determining the current state, the next step is to establish a systematic approach for change. 

Wellbeing isn’t solved by a mindfulness app or a lunchtime yoga session. It’s important to note that while these quick fixes aren’t bad, they simply don’t address the core of what’s driving dissatisfaction. These programs can be seen as worker-based or trying to “fix the worker.” But to get to the core of what’s driving wellbeing, we need to take a hard look at fixing the work. The path forward? A systematic, data-driven approach.

To start, let’s first distinguish between:

• How you feel at work (stress levels, belonging, relationships)
• How you feel about work (pay, culture, leadership trust)

In other words, separate inputs from outputs. What’s causing what?

Meet the Drivers of Wellbeing: The D.R.I.V.E.R. Framework 

Through research conducted by De Neve and Ward in Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters: The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance, six main categories emerge as consistent drivers of wellbeing (often abbreviated as DRIVER):

• Direction and purpose
• Relationships and belonging
• Inclusion and fairness
• Value and recognition
• Effort and workload balance
• Rewards and compensation

Pay and flexibility often get the spotlight for workplace wellbeing, but the most underappreciated factor is belonging and acknowledgement. People want to feel seen and want to experience fairness in the workplace. They want to know their company—and their coworkers—care about them as people.

“People don’t quit jobs. They quit bosses and management.”

And when social connection gets neglected (especially in favor of compensation alone), retention takes a hit. High-paying roles aren’t enough to keep people if they feel invisible.

What Are Successful Companies Doing? 

There’s no one-size-fits-all model when it comes to workplace wellbeing. But companies that are getting it right are doing these two things well:

1. They evaluate what truly matters.
   This includes separating outcomes (engagement, retention, quit rate) from their drivers (relationships, flexibility, inclusion).
2. They act on data. 
   For example, implementing a survey across an organization can be a first step to reach employees and begin to assess and improve well-being. Regardless of the industry, surveys provide valuable information to an organization.

The point? Any company, in any industry, can get this right. And the best companies are using data, not assumptions, to guide their decisions.

Why It Matters More Than Ever 

Investing in wellbeing isn’t just about being a “nice” company. It’s a competitive advantage across three critical business levers:

• Recruitment: Job seekers increasingly factor in wellbeing. For example, job ads that didn’t mention wellbeing led to fewer applications.
• Retention: Stressed employees are job hunting. Constantly. Most people browse jobs while still employed. High stress = high attrition = high cost to companies.
• Productivity: Engaged teams are more empowered, more creative, and more resilient.

The financials back this up: companies with high average wellbeing outperform traditional benchmarks in the stock market. It's not a short-term feel-good publicity stunt—it’s a measurable return on investment (ROI).

What About Artificial Intelligence (AI)? 

People are worried that AI is going to take our jobs. But that’s the wrong question. Instead of asking how many jobs AI will affect, we should ask how it will affect work itself.

Will AI reduce wages? Will it limit flexibility? Or could it actually improve work by removing tasks people find tedious or draining?

Technology isn’t inherently good or bad, it’s about how we use it. We need to ask ourselves: How can AI be shaped to improve wellbeing across each DRIVER category?

We should aim for AI to augment the human experience, not replace it. The future of work will require more social intelligence, not less. And AI can help enhance social intelligence.

Where Do We Go from Here? 

Workplace wellbeing is not a human resource issue. It’s an organizational issue. Everyone, from the C-suite to line managers, needs to be engaged in the solution. Leaders should act as bridge builders. They should not treat wellbeing as a side activity but instead embed it into how work is managed.

Forget ping pong tables and wellness weeks. Let’s build workplace wellbeing into systems and cultures where people actually want to show up—and stay.

Questions? Reach out to our Health & Safety team today! Or, if you’re in the Retail Industry, reach out to our Retail team today to discuss workplace wellbeing at your organization.