Workplace Wellbeing Initiative Trends

 

TREND 1: Leaders as Coaches

The pandemic has raised many issues, not the least being employees who require more support and guidance from their leaders as they navigate change, uncertainty and fear. Leaders have been called upon to develop the skills of a coach to enhance closer connections with their teams, to nurture, support and guide them, as well as lead and manage. This includes supporting workers to enable them to handle working without personal connection (as service delivery over zoom), attend meetings over zoom and continue to work remotely.  All of these can lead to a lack of connection, which can be a significant factor in reduced satisfaction, reduced happiness and the potential onset of mental health challenges.

TREND 2: 4-Day Work Week

The 4-day workweek is certainly on trend, and a long-list of local and national governments are ready to try and implement these shorter weeks. However, the 4-day workweek is not such a rigid concept, and the definition varies across organizations experimenting with it. Some employees prefer having more control on when they choose to work versus a strict schedule of when and where they work. This is growing out of the need to have a flexible schedule that is more amenable to taking care of other priorities. Working 4 days is also correlated with lower rates of burnout and supports gender equality.

TREND 3: Distributed Workforces & Wellbeing

The return to an office is not a given. Some employees have demonstrated they can be productive and innovative working remotely, while others may be relieved or may not have a choice to work somewhere other than their home. Whatever policy or workplace structure that has been implemented, putting the needs of your workforce first is a strong indication of good company culture. Coming out of the pandemic it’s appropriate to let go of the conventional office model and support a positive contribution to employees’ health and wellbeing. It may take years to figure out, but well worth the health and sustainability of all companies’ stakeholders. This also includes leadership evaluating the performances of other businesses. Who thrived during the pandemic and why? What can be learned from this. What can be implemented?

TREND 4: Commitment to the Elimination of Bullying and Harassment

Businesses are seeing the significant detrimental effects of bullying and harassment in workplaces in the form of employee departures, stress claims, media scrutiny and an ever-increasing social awareness of the problem. The psychological effects on an employee can be profound. This also includes the safety of women in the workplace, an issue that has been gaining momentum over the past decade.  Facilitators are reporting a major increase in demand for their services. This also includes a dedicated look at inequalities within the workplace and what needs to be done to bring genuine equality into each workplace.

TREND 5: Increase Focus on Health and Personal Immunity Education

Increasing importance is being placed on general health education, including immune system building education and guidance, as the pandemic winds down and more and more employees push back against getting further booster shots. Evidence mounts that booster injections have a short window of effectiveness, so companies are seeking a more enduring solution in the form of education, lifestyle change and improved personal responsibility among employees.

TREND 6: Traditional Safety Roles to Now Include Wellbeing as a Major Focus

The traditional role of Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)/ Safety Health & Environmental (SHE) Leaders of the 20th century is evolving and expanding as we move into the 21st Century. EHS/SHE has evolved into Total Health and Safety (including workforce wellbeing) as a new design and approach is being taken to go beyond the factories and into modern corporate offices in order to mitigate and prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and near misses. A redesign of the traditional role from a regulatory role to a more holistic approach to the Culture of Safety, Health and Resiliency is occurring. Incorporating wellness and wellbeing practices, policies and program initiatives to include metrics now include a focus on employee culture, engagement, organizational health and safety as well as individual health, safety and wellbeing. These initiatives are tied into company goals and incentives for employees to prioritize their health and wellbeing as well as others. ISO 45003 is the first global standard giving practical guidance on managing psychological health in the workplace and provides the framework for this new model which EHS/SHE Leaders can adopt and lead with leaderships support and engagement.

TREND 7: Workplace Wellbeing Continues to Form ESG Strategy

Purpose, sustainability and stakeholder capitalism are long-term efforts and can be measured through the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) landscape that forms investment strategy. The rise of the ‘S’ has a focus on people and talent in driving the movement towards healthier communities. How do businesses treat people and think about wellness? How do businesses address the ‘S’ through diversity and inclusion? Businesses are exploring what other commitments they can make to invest in people and drive community resilience through purposeful company culture and impact. This includes a re-evaluation of company values, not simply stated, but values that are practiced.

TREND 1: Establishing a New Workplace Normal

  • Working alone
  • Ergonomics in home offices
  • Work hours—separation of work and family
  • Building connection and communication
  • Personalizing the hybrid work model

TREND 2: Re-designing the Working Week to Prevent Burnout and Greater Social Wellbeing

    • Managing and preventing burnout
    • Caps on out-of-work hours communications
    • Encouraging people to stop work and live their lives
    • Focus on social wellbeing

TREND 3: Increasing Focus on Financial Wellness

    • Post-pandemic financial recovery by families and individuals
    • Programs to support employees to become better money managers and to reduce the stresses brought on by money issues

TREND 4: Greater Focus on Mental Health and Wellbeing

  • Post-COVID worry and stress
  • Managing fear of the unknown
  • Financial insecurity
  • Loneliness and separation
  • Attention on happiness index

TREND 5: Incorporation of Wellbeing-Focused Leadership

  • Greater care, compassion and empathy; Heart-centered
  • The rise of the CVO (Chief Vision Officer)
  • Adherence to the new stakeholder capitalism, including social NS environmental responsibility
  • Creating new “thriving” cultures
  • Placing a focus on race equity and health
  • Stronger focus on diversity and inclusion, including gender
  • Incorporating wellness into occupational health and safety
  • Aligning workplace health strategies with public health initiatives

TREND 6: Recognition of “Well Workplaces”

  • Emergence of organizations such as WELL; certification of workplaces as “WELLcertified”
  • ISO 45003 standards for safety, placing significant focus on wellbeing factors


We share our 2020 Wellness at Work trends in the backdrop of the Coronavirus pandemic affecting every country, company, community and citizen on our planet. We believe the corporate landscape will forever be changed in the aftermath of COVID-19. Through the pandemic, and as it eases, we believe these wellness-forward trends will emerge.

TREND 1: Top Leadership Brings Greater Care to Addressing Our Uncertain Future

COVID-19 has brought about change that the world has never collectively seen. Within a few short weeks, health care systems have shifted into crisis mode, governments have closed borders, and financial markets have become erratic. We do not know where this will end. And, if the suspected origins of this virus are correct, there may be more to come. So, we will see top leaders being called to a higher level of care for the people they employ and the communities they touch, to guide people through this uncertain maze we call the future, with change, fear and upset at every turn. Leadership coming from care will also extend the focus beyond the immediate sphere of influence and force leaders to take greater responsibility for what is happening in realms beyond their immediate control. Top leadership will be called to look beyond the narrow concerns of profit and returns to shareholders to the assessment of what might be best for the greater good; they will get better at whole systems thinking to acknowledge and take actions that contribute to the wellbeing of the ecosystem of stakeholders (suppliers, communities, natural resources and so forth) that have been underwriting their success. This will bring an entirely new examination of what we, as employers, consider to be ethical and successful.

TREND 2: Emergency Management and Business Continuity Efforts Rise

Our current pandemic has shown us once again that our future is far less predictable than we imagined. Organizations are governed (at the very least) by climate change and environmental factors, rapid population growth, and hyper-expansion of information and technology. They will now add to this list the emerging threat of global viruses. So that the organization can continue to provide services to its customers, organizations will now not only strengthen their emergency management and business continuity plans to mitigate product shortages, labor shortages, and financial difficulties, they will also add prevention and wellness to their efforts. Employers will prioritize prevention and wellness, realizing these strategies help employees manage their stress and boost immunity to prevent disease, as well as connect employees with one another through healthy lifestyles and maintain a positive company culture. As part of this, companies will be compelled to assume a broader interest in the stability of the bedrock upon which their existence depends, including the health of the environment; integrity in government policy, including energy and health; and the evolution of education.

TREND 3: Wellness Becomes a Corporate Responsibility

Care for the protection, safety and wellness of people will become a priority in the future in the workplace. Physical, mental and emotional wellness will be put at the forefront, for example, by building health with ventilation, sanitation, cleaning, light, etc., and other wellness strategies. Where wellness has been something “nice to have,” it will become more of “must to have.” It will be a corporate responsibility that employees are as healthy as they can be, with a well-functioning immune system, education and expertise in personal wellness and wellbeing, a greater possibility of remote working, and significant shifts in perspective that see employees treated reverently as whole human beings. This will also involve an ethical examination of factors detrimental to wellness that have, until now, been accepted and ignored (e.g., the vast amounts of time spent in motor vehicle commutes) and will motivate organizations to redefine their beliefs, policies and practices supporting when and how people work with the aim to facilitate greater wellness and effectiveness.

TREND 4: With Remote Work Comes a Redefinition & Expansion of Leadership

The exploration and expansion of remote working will reveal many unforeseen wellness benefits. As companies adopt remote work policies, from sick leave to flexible work schedules, which were prompted by the Coronavirus outbreak, many companies will keep those policies in place. Their budgets will also see a shift from corporate real estate and other centralized costs to investments in strategies, technologies and resources to keep remote workers connected, productive and resilient. All of this will require the development of new models of leading to include: 1) shifting leadership responsibilities to everyone (rather than a few) and 2) building leadership skills organization-wide to embrace the roles of facilitator, coach, mentor and guide with the purpose of empowering wellbeing, trust and effectiveness within and between people and teams. More and more, people will be trusted to be responsible and to work unsupervised, plus they will be encouraged to grow as human beings through their work. In remote work environments, traditional top-down “command and control” models will become redundant.

TREND 5: Companies Get More Serious about Aging & Stress

An increased number of aging people will remain in the workforce, and organizations will begin to create strategies to not simply manage this but to take advantage of it. The wisdom that comes with experience and age and mentorship will become valued. Ageism and old unhelpful biases and thinking will gradually disappear as retirement will become nothing more than an option (out of many) for those who wish to do so. Older employees will become a vital part of the workplace community. Organizations that resist this trend will struggle with lawsuits, conflict and workforce instability; plus, they will find their brand negatively affected.

Change creates uncertainty, and with such comes possible stress and anxiety. These will need to be managed as technological advances bring the change we perhaps cannot even accurately imagine at this time. AI, and the rapid advances of related technologies, will force a re-evaluation of the roles of human beings in the workplace. This will lead us to realize the new potential in human development and the exploration of spiritual and prosocial qualities, such as intuition, care, compassion and kindness. These will open a new realm of possibilities and marketplaces, as human beings expand their creative potential to new realms.

TREND 6: Telemedicine Takes Root Alongside Personal Responsibility for Healthy Living

In a world where technology reigns, telemedicine will allow people to stay at work or at home and still take care of their health concerns. More insurance companies and government-administered healthcare programs will step up to cover telemedicine in the same way they are covering in-person visits. For example, more states in the US will pass laws mandating that private insurers cover telemedicine services in the same manner that they cover in-person services. In the European Union and other countries with nationalized health care, opportunities for incorporating telehealth practices in innovative reimbursement schemes will be advanced within different health care systems. More doctors will embrace telemedicine, too, due to patient demand. Telemedicine will benefit both employer and employee, including reduced costs of healthcare benefits, lower absenteeism, and increased productivity; plus, telemedicine will increase employee compliance with important preventive care visits.

Alongside telemedicine will be a greater focus on self-care. Individuals will become warier of the fear-based messages that ask them to rely on pharmaceutical, government and other entities for their health. They will get smarter about the deeper causes of many of our world’s diseases: lifestyle factors, such as unhealthy eating, inactiveness, unmanaged stress and smoking. Globally, people will increasingly choose lifestyle approaches to support their own health and wellness, as examples, creating community gardens, participating in forums for natural approaches to infant care, engaging in physical activities communities locally and online, and adopting plant-based eating.


Ten Trends Driving a New ‘Thrive’ Revolution at Work

Our current era will go down in history as one of profound turmoil. Global conflicts, increasing alarm about climate change and our planet’s diminishing natural resources, rising inequalities, a growing distrust in technology, and political upheavals are but a few of the challenges we grapple with. Countless people feel like the world is suddenly upside down—with everything up for question, and in our worst moments, everything up for grabs.

It’s no surprise turmoil permeates our organizations too. According to the world polling firm Gallup, employee disengagement is at an astounding 85%, a global norm resulting in approximately $7 trillion in lost productivity. (Your organization is likely reeling from this gloomy reality.) Today’s workplaces are frequently powered by burned out, stressed out people—not the kind of human energy that fuels sustainable innovation and growth. “We have simply accepted overextension as a way of life,” says Dr. Emma Seppälä, Science Director at the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. A sad but too often true commentary on our collective condition.

Yet, perhaps it is our turmoil—and our shared lack of feeling engaged, fulfilled, energized, and secure—that’s causing an upsurge in prioritizing wellbeing. So much so that I believe the revolution to thrive has finally come to work. According to experts at the Global Wellness Institute’s Wellness at Work initiative and other inspiring leaders, this revolution is fueled by (at least) ten trends now underway.

TREND 1: Thriving is no longer optional

More employers recognize human thriving is core to sustainable success. Marianne Hewlett, Senior Vice President at the global digital transformation company Atos, says this year we’ll even see “wellbeing becoming a board priority, not just the domain of the HR department.” I wholeheartedly agree. More leaders are learning to use the world’s collective stresses and imbalances as catalysts for evolving new ways of thinking and new values, capabilities and solutions to enhance thriving. We’ve lived the alternative: we’ve seen vitality give way to illness and disease, joy traded for disengagement at work and at home, and effectiveness eroded by burnout. We’ve too often endangered our most precious inner resources—hope, resilience, compassion, generativity—and, as a result, diminished our capacity to live, work and connect fully. The time is ripe for employers to perceive people not as static human resources but as vibrant human becomings, with untold potential to be unleashed toward positive outcomes.

Plus, as competition for talent grows globally, a thriving work culture is becoming a key strategy to attract and retain the best. Anna Bjurstam, Vice President at Six Senses Resorts & Spas, says it clearly, “We can no longer accept workplaces that do not allow us to thrive—whether in the built environment, the culture, or the activities to promote wellbeing. Thriving is not only about ROI, it is a way of life employees require to stay and be passionate.”

TREND 2: Move over wellness programs-it’s time to reinvent work

The nature of work today is dynamic and fluid, and it will become even more so in the future. The automation of work; artificial intelligence; the gig economy; trending values toward authenticity, personal autonomy and work-life integration; and a flood of other technological, demographic, cultural and geopolitical changes are prodding us to redefine what work means as part of the employment—and human—experience.

Effectively navigating today’s work upheavals requires sustaining high levels of motivation, energy and creativity. To nurture this capacity, employers from global corporations such as the Virgin Group to smaller firms such as Blue Earth Network are relying less on wellness programs alone. They are reinventing work and workplaces by putting people at the center. This means recasting everything about work—relationships between people, organizational structure and culture, the physical environment, the use of technology, brands and communication, the act of working itself—as an avenue to inspire people to bring physical, mental and emotional wellbeing to their jobs every day. Work does not need to be an unending drain on vitality. Wise employers are taking the lead by creating work and workplaces where people actually leave work more refreshed, capable, resourceful and well than when they arrived. 

TREND 3: Transcending ourselves with purpose

Workplace wellness has so frequently been narrowed to fitness challenges, health benefits, and paid-time-off that it has lost touch with one of its most essential ingredients: meaningful purpose. Not any longer! Organizations such as Atlanta-based bank SunTrust and online retailer Zappos emphasize the power of shared purpose to energize employees and customer relationships, operate with greater clarity and effectiveness, and (re)build trust between business and society. Purpose pays—not only is shared purpose an intrinsic motivator to get great work done, purpose-driven organizations enjoy a distinct competitive advantage by performing better in key business measures such as revenue, innovation in products and services and strategic transformation.

Smart organizations assist employees in discovering their personal purpose, too. Why? Because finding true meaning in life is linked to a gamut of good outcomes, from better sleep and physical health to protection from cognitive decline. Purpose-driven people benefit from higher eudaimonic wellbeing—that enduring kind of happy—and lower inflammatory gene expression, a physiological process underlying cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and other diseases. Plus, they show higher focus and engagement at work, qualities clearly sought by employers.

TREND 4: Wellbeing amplified by women-friendly workplaces

Creating women-friendly workplaces benefits everyone, not just women. “With women making up 50% of the potential global workforce, there will be a growing focus on the unique challenges of women at all socioeconomic levels,” says Mim Senft, CEO of Motivity Partnerships and Cofounder of Global Women for Wellbeing. “This will put a brighter spotlight on diversity, the challenges of care-giving, pay inequities, ageism, and other wellbeing concerns that don’t just plague women employees.” Underinvesting and underutilizing female talent is shortsighted to boot; evidence from Mercer, Bank of Mellon and World Economic Forum already underscores the link between advancing women at work and vital measures of organizational performance—greater financial returns, better operating results and higher stock price appreciation.

TREND 5: Deep inclusivity: beyond check-the-box diversity initiatives

“Inclusion is the missing piece that makes a workplace healthy,” says Joel Hershfeld, IT and Healthy Workplace Advisor at Materials Distribution Agency in Canada. Today, embracing inclusivity is taking on greater depth, as check-the-box diversity initiatives are no longer sufficient. Organizations increasingly operate as boundary-spanning networks, requiring them to build structures and practices—around recruiting, promotion, and development to leadership and team management—that bring out the best in all people. Strategic approaches to workplace diversity and inclusivity are blending conventional categories such as ethnicity, nationality, and age group with less obvious (but no less important) distinctions such as gender identity, values and worldviews, lifestyle practices and thinking styles. #TimesUp, #LGBTIQ, #ThePressForward and other societal and industry movements are adding to the pressure to ensure everyone has opportunities to be respected, belong, succeed and be well.

This is hard work, sure. But as the latest global research from Deloitte Insights suggests, organizations such as consumer goods giant Proctor & Gamble that are serious about diversity and inclusion produce more innovative, engaged and high-performing teams; are more profitable than their peers; enhance their brand appeal; and attract top talent for their future. Not to mention: everyone is worth it.

TREND 6: Mental wellbeing finds traction

Employers are experimenting with a spectrum of mental health approaches: from advocacy for mental health conditions to an explosion of mindfulness programs to sleep training and brain training to Silicon Valley’s consciousness-hacking in the search for optimal performance and flow. But research shows that we have a long way to go. For instance, public research initiative BrainFacts.org reports that “the cost to the global economy of neurological and mental health disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, including healthcare expenses, loss of productivity in the workplace, and impact on families, reached $2.5 trillion in 2010, and could reach $6 trillion by 2030. By then, the economic burden of mental unwellness will be higher than those of cancer, diabetes and respiratory conditions combined.”

The upside? New advances in understanding brain structure and function, along with neuroplasticity (the amazing capacity of the brain to learn and change), means that people can boost brain fitness, lower their stress and increase their productivity via online games and videos, interactive tools, mindfulness and meditation, regular micro-breaks, and a host of other wellness practices. Gerry Bodeker, public health academic at University of Oxford and Columbia University and Chair of the Mental Wellness Initiative insists, “Inspired leaders will make strides to implement evidenced-based strategies for the mental wellbeing of their employees. They’ll recognize that the happiness, generativity, effectiveness and wisdom that results is the very foundation of organizational excellence and enlightened leadership.” 

TREND 7: One size fits one

The personalization of health and wellness has been advancing for decades, and today it is moving toward deeper insights and greater scale. Wellness DNA and other biomarker testing, digital diagnostic and health tools, gamification, cognitive technologies for behavior change, artificial intelligence, and data integration are among the many advances enabling health and wellness options (from food to pharmaceuticals) to be individualized to a person—from her needs, challenges and physiology to her lifestyle preferences and personal values. Gloria Treister, corporate wellness veteran and founder of Wellness Evolution, claims, “Educating employees about the root causes of their wellness concerns and then helping them identify key areas to optimize their unique biochemistry will empower them to take charge of their own health and wellbeing.” As a result, more employees will participate in wellness lifestyles at work and at home, and also become a more proactive part of their health and wellness care team. 

TREND 8: Biophobic to biophilic

“Homes, buildings and communities are being completely reimagined to be healthier for people and the planet,” says Mia Kyricos, strategic advisor to the groundbreaking Build Well to Live Well research, wellness lifestyle brand expert, and Chair of the Wellness Communities initiative. This reimagining taps into our innate impulse to connect to nature. When we play in a park, sit by a flowing stream, or hike up a mountain, we think and feel better, heal faster and experience less stress. Steelcase, Apple, Interface, Google and Kickstarter are part of a growing list of organizations experimenting with biophilic-designed workplaces, using natural light, materials, colors and textures; trees, plants and water; and flexible workspaces that connect people with nature. And through nature, connect people with more of themselves.

Don’t underestimate this trend! It goes well beyond building workplaces that “do no harm” toward nature-inspired spaces that strategically optimize performance, lower stress and fatigue, drive healthy life- and work-styles, and empower thriving and renewal within people and relationships. Plus, the organization “by nature” achieves 100% engagement by everyone in the biophilic space—an unprecedented number given the low participation rates of most wellness programs. 

TREND 9: The wellbeing of we

We’re experiencing a big change in how people come together to achieve common purposes and do work. Rarely is work done by one of us. Instead, the best work usually happens between us. Teams, global networks, partnerships, ad hoc project groups—the unit of work has moved from me to we, and so have strategies for wellbeing. Organizations are exploring a range of practices to foster high-trust environments of mutual respect and psychological safety—where people bring out the best in each other, and as a result, improve the shared outcomes they achieve. Accenture is transforming societal issues such as race and religion into bridge-building dialogues at work before those issues turn into workplace toxicities. HeartMath is inventing new social coherence technologies to optimize collective action. And Morningstar is democratizing power using self-managed teams where colleagues find joy weaving their unique talents into activities that strengthen fellow colleagues.

Sock manufacturer THORLO uses whole relational wellness. THORLO President Richard Oliver notes that the essence of this approach is, “…tending to your relationship with yourself first—your self-awareness and why you do what you do—as well as your relationships with others and your local community. Even your relationship to the planet.” This deep framework of trust in relationships across THORLO’s business system enables the company to not only provide immense customer value and grow internationally, but also more easily pivot when market opportunities change. Taking care of the we is at once a strategy for wellbeing and business sustainability.

TREND 10: The conscious evolution of leadership

None of the other nine trends have staying power without the conscious evolution of leadership. Working across the globe, there isn’t a leader I know that doesn’t want to elevate their capacity to personally thrive and make thriving a game-changer for their teams, relationships and organizations. More leaders are ready to up-level their internal operating systems—those beliefs and worldviews empowering or limiting what they can achieve—and become more effective at leading with an inspired vision to contribute to uplifting workplaces and societies. They are realizing that technology, the built environment, culture, brands and everything else about the company can elevate (or erode) humanity.

Consider the close to 2,500 businesses in 50 countries and 130 industries now operating as B-Corps (“benefit” corporations), as well as the conscious leadership movement (think IKEA, Unilever, and Salesforce) to make commercial enterprise a force for wellbeing. LeeAnn Mallory, incoming Chair of the Board for Conscious Capitalism Dallas, says, “Exemplary leaders are modeling the way with more openness, more humility, and the willingness to cross functions and organizational levels to create positive impact for all of their stakeholders.”

Organizational titles are even reflecting this trend. Don’t be surprised to see more titles like Chief Value Officer, Chief Equality Officer, Chief Ecosystem Officer, Chief Wellness Officer, Chief Purpose Officer and Chief Wisdom Officer as leaders strive to lift people, performance and the planet to higher virtues such as service, compassion, responsibility and wisdom.

 

The Global Wellness Institute serves as an umbrella organization for numerous Initiatives, that are independently chaired and run. The resources, editorial, research and opinions presented by the Initiatives do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Global Wellness Institute.