Why Corporate Culture Is the Solution for Employee Well-Being and Performance: Six Building Blocks for Success

BY Katie Chambers | August 14, 2023

When Dr. Richard Safeer was starting out his career as a family doctor, he noticed that his stressed-out patients would come in for their appointments directly from work then head straight back to the office. They were neglecting their exercise and nutrition due to the day-to-day strains of juggling kids, jobs, and other priorities, says Safeer, author and chief medical director of employee health and well-being at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

“Most of the people who were coming into my office probably wouldn't have needed to be there, if they only knew what they could do themselves to have a healthier day. It became very clear to me that their commitment to their job was superseding their commitment to their health,” Safeer said.

Safeer’s quick discovery led him to his current role, and to write the book A Cure for the Common Company: A Well-Being Prescription for a Happier, Healthier, and More Resilient Workforce. He explains that a culture that supports a well workforce can have a profound effect on avoiding anxiety, burnout, disengagement, and poor mental health, and offers a point-by-point blueprint to creating a robust culture of health at your company. Journalist Kelly Bourdet interviewed Safeer in a fireside chat during From Day One’s July virtual conference to learn more about cultivating this culture of well-being.

Recognizing the Individual Needs of the Employee as a Leadership Strategy

Safeer notes that while the World Health Organization defines wellness as “a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease,” it’s important not to get caught up in semantics. Instead, employers should recognize that each employee will have their own individual needs.

“I think that most leaders don't fully appreciate the impact that each of us has on the health and well-being of those we lead, whether it’s the immediate direct reports, or the entire part of our organization that we influence,” Safeer said. He cites a study from UKG which showed that the percentage of employees who said that their spouse had a big influence on their mental health was equal to the percentage who said that their manager had a big impact on their mental health. Employers must recognize their employees’ needs, as well as their own impact on those needs, and prioritize well-being within corporate culture.

The Six Building Blocks of Employee Well-Being 

Safeer has identified six building blocks of corporate culture to promote employee well-being, easily remembered through the acronym ‘plan for success.’

  1. Peer Support
  2. Leadership Engagement
  3. Norms
  4. Social Climate
  5. Culture Connection Points
  6. Shared Values

He emphasizes that the team leaders must be the ones to set the standards for each of these building blocks for employees to follow, and that each block impacts the others.

The Employer as a Role Model for Well-Being

Block two, leadership engagement, suggests that employers or managers become role-models of well-being. This doesn’t just mean showing off while eating a salad in the lunchroom, but consistently embodying all of the tenets of employee well-being, even the subtle ones: taking a break, getting up and taking a walk with a colleague, refraining from sending late-night emails, and showing appreciation and respect for individual’s contributions.

Another tip is removing barriers to well-being from within the work environment. Simply put: that copy machine that’s driving everyone bonkers? Fix it! Employees will have a better day and see their manager’s solutions-oriented mindset as an extension of the corporate culture. It also builds trust.

Dr. Richard Safeer and Kelly Bourdet kicked off the From Day One July virtual conference in their fireside chat titled, “Why Corporate Culture Is the Solution for Employee Well-Being and Performance” (photo by From Day One)

Management can also set the norms, block three of employee well-being, which Safeer defines as “the expected behaviors of a group of people.” For example, encouraging employees to all take a break for lunch at noon, so that working through lunch does not become the norm. This can also tie into block one, peer support. If a leader sees that a colleague needs a break, they could suggest taking one together. Breaks can, and should, still happen even when a team is virtual, which is why it can be helpful to designate a specific time and even encourage a group-wide away message.

Safeer finds the key to achieving a corporate culture that promotes well-being is to include the employee in conversations and to show vulnerability. “It’s important for our employees to feel heard, and to have their well-being journey supported,” he said. Through authentic conversations, employers can build trust with their teams and create a more positive, productive culture.

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Honeysuckle Magazine, and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, and CBS New York.

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Her team deploys wellness resources to visit work sites for a “grassroots feel” that isn’t “one-size-fits-all” and encourages organic connections among employees.The focus should be on what truly matters to an organization’s unique workforce. Mindy Fitzgerald, head of operational excellence and HR director at Air Products, says that it’s less about “programs and visions” and more about practical offerings like “a resource, a tool, a class, or a person to meet them where they’re at.”Supporting Mental HealthFor Houston Methodist, employees struggling with the day to day demands of helping out patients during Covid needed their own emotional support, so it began offering free mental health care to employees through a pool of its own neuropsychologists—most of whom were unable to see patients in person during the pandemic and were looking for ways to give back.The need was still so great that post-pandemic, the organization created its Emotional Health & Wellbeing Office. “We provide free psychiatric and psychological care for employees and beneficiaries on our health plan.”  We also provide music therapy, art therapy, and customized programs—we look at the person in a holistic way,” said Laura Matthews, VP, HR, physician organization & academic institute, Houston Methodist. “The first year we started, we saw about 3,500 appointments. In 2025, we ended up at around 14,000 and still have a good wait list. 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Holistic and Inclusive Well-Being Strategies for a Multigenerational Workforce

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Connection as the Catalyst for Both Well-Being and Performance

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