How Effective Leaders Are Rethinking Employee Well-Being

BY Christopher O'Keeffe | July 16, 2025

In the early months of the pandemic, companies rushed to offer employees meditation platforms, fitness trackers, and mental health resources, sometimes rolling out half a dozen different solutions at once. The result? Digital exhaustion and programs that gathered dust.

Now, three years later, corporate America is taking a more strategic approach to employee well-being. The shift comes as organizations face mounting pressure from economic uncertainty and policy changes. At the same time, they're contending with a workforce that increasingly views mental health support not as a perk, but as a baseline expectation.

At From Day One’s Manhattan conference, executives outlined how the wellness landscape has fundamentally shifted and why leading companies now treat employee mental health as a competitive advantage rather than just a compliance checkbox.

From Quantity to Quality

The transformation is stark. Matt Jackson, chief growth officer at Unmind, witnessed the initial wave of wellness initiatives firsthand. “There was a big growth in single point solutions being thrown at employees,” Jackson said. “There wasn’t as much intention with the solutions that were being launched, which meant there was low utilization.”

The numbers tell the story: Of the 10,000 health and wellness apps available to consumers, only 5% are backed by scientific research, says Jackson. Companies were essentially throwing solutions at a wall to see what stuck, overwhelming employees with choices while failing to address underlying workplace culture issues.

The companies that learned from those early mistakes have adopted a radically different approach. Instead of piling on wellness apps, companies are integrating mental health support into everyday operations and tracking results with metrics that drive business performance.

The most sophisticated companies are now tying wellness programs directly to business outcomes. NRG Energy has taken this approach to its logical conclusion by linking employee well-being scores to their internal bonus structure. “The result of that, whether it’s better or worse than prior scores, directly impacts the size of our annual bonus pool up or down. So we really put our money where our mouth is,” said Peter Johnson, SVP, head of talent and culture at NRG Energy.

Panelists shared insights on the topic, "Building a Thriving Culture Through Comprehensive Health and Wellness Benefits," in a session moderated by Corinne Lestch, independent journalist and founder of the Off-Site Writing Workshop

The business case is increasingly compelling. Jackson shared that when a management consultant began incorporating psychological safety questions into weekly project check-ins, it found that “where there was greater perceived psychological safety, greater perceived well-being, projects were done on time, they were done on budget, and clients were happier.” When the prioritization of well-being drives measurable business results, even skeptical CFOs pay attention.

The urgency behind these changes stems from a fundamental generational shift. Today’s workforce grew up with mental health conversations normalized in schools and universities, creating what Jackson calls “an expectation of today's workforce to provide me with the same openness and same conversation and same resources around mental health.” Companies that fail to adapt, particularly those with traditional leadership approaches, are discovering that their talent acquisition and retention strategies are increasingly obsolete.

The Leadership Vulnerability Factor

Perhaps the most significant change is how company leaders discuss mental health. The old model of executives maintaining stoic professionalism has given way to what experts call vulnerable leadership, an approach that's proving surprisingly effective.

This authenticity extends beyond grand gestures to daily management practices. Amy Onori, SVP of talent acquisition for Publicis Media has added a simple but powerful message to her email signature. It reads: “Managing work and life responsibilities is unique for everyone. I have sent this e-mail at a time that works for me. Please respond at a time that works for you.”

The message serves a dual purpose: it sets boundaries while signaling to employees that their personal time matters. It’s a small change that reflects a broader shift in how companies think about work-life integration.

Even with all the wellness programs and mental health initiatives, many employees still struggle with a fundamental issue: they’re waiting for explicit permission to prioritize their well-being. The problem runs deeper than policy; it's about psychological safety. “They get so worried that if they leave at four o’clock, that it’s going to look bad. And to me, that doesn’t matter, as long as the work’s getting done," Onori said. For many employees, the fear of judgment outweighs any written policy promising flexibility.

This permission-seeking behavior reflects a broader challenge facing HR leaders, who find themselves caught between competing pressures. Chad Deshler, SVP of sales at LifeSpeak, described the dilemma with a vivid metaphor: “As HR leaders, it’s kind of like a grilled cheese sandwich. You have pressure from top bread and bottom bread, and the cheese in the middle is getting burned.” Executive leadership demands cost-cutting while hiring top talent, while employees want better benefits and higher pay.

The solution is something along the lines of radical transparency combined with visible boundary-setting. Diana Blancone, chief people officer for Omnicom Media Group, has started announcing her departures for family obligations. “I know myself included, I’ve been more vocal about saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got my daughter's game. I’m going to run out at this time to get home at this time,” she said. When executives publicly prioritize the importance of family and personal commitments, it can foster a culture where employees feel permission to do the same.

“I think transparency is really important with my team. I’ve tried to be as transparent as I can, whether it’s good or bad news, and just say, ‘Hey, this is this is what it is,’” Deshler said. By doing so, direct honesty becomes a radical act of leadership.

Employee well-being directly impacts the bottom line. Effective leaders treat wellness programs as profit drivers that reduce turnover, increase productivity, and improve client satisfaction. They embed mental health in leadership goals, train leaders to be vulnerable, and build cultures where well-being comes first. This is a competitive strategy, not just social responsibility.

Chris O’Keeffe is a freelance writer with experience across industries. As the founder and creative director of OK Creative: The Language Agency, he has led strategy and storytelling for organizations like MIT, Amazon, and Cirque du Soleil, bringing their stories to life through established and emerging media.

(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)

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Redefining Well-Being in Today’s Workplace

What does well-being mean to you? The standard six pillars of well-being are emotional, physical, financial, social, intellectual, and spiritual. Each one complements and impacts the other, and the most forward-thinking companies are careful to include each in their employee benefits package.Traditionally, employers viewed well-being through the lens of physical health and its impact on productivity. Today, the scope has widened, encompassing mental health, financial security, and social connections, in the context of hybrid and remote work as well as in-office. As this thinking evolves, how are leaders assessing the points where employers can be most effective–and how are they aligning those needs with new solutions? As workplace culture becomes a key driver of well-being, how are companies ensuring their efforts foster a sense of belonging for all employees?The key to an effective benefits plan is understanding how each pillar of well-being impacts the other, shared panelists at From Day One’s LA conference. “When you consider well-being, always remember it’s not one silo or one category. It’s about taking a holistic approach to well-being,” said Bernie Knobbe, head of global benefits & well-being at AECOM.Your approach should also be intentional. “Ambiguity kills culture and when you think about well-being and how people flourish in the workplace, if you don’t know why you do what you do and how it fits into the bigger picture, then you’ve got a very little chance of flourishing,” said Matt Jackson, GM & VP, Americas at Unmind. Holistic refers not only to the intersection of the pillars, but of the offering themselves. Vendors should work together to accomplish this, Jackson says.Creating a Space That Embraces WellnessAll panelists emphasized the importance of leadership buy-in to make a wellness program thrive. “Employees look to their managers for guidance and encouragement. So, you have to get those managers to buy into this concept in order for it to be successful. It shouldn’t be top-down… it should be middle forward,” Knobbe said. “Make sure you’re reaching everybody, and that it’s consistent.”Wellness can be a sensitive topic, but companies like BuzzFeed have created “safe spaces for employees to be able to share what they need for their physical and mental health,” said moderator Pamela Avila, entertainment editor at USA Today. Buzzfeed offers panel presentations, wellness fairs to highlight current resources, and manager dens for frank conversations on relevant current events. The company also tailors its offerings depending on role and department.“We also try to identify what different teams and different levels of our employee population need,” said Chandler Bondan, chief people officer at BuzzFeed. For example, those covering tough news topics might need additional mental health support. And honoring the lifestyles and values of a diverse workforce is key. Bondan shares that Buzzfeed ended a contract last year with its insurance provider due to its restrictions on IVF and LGBTQIA+ care, opting for “a carrier that would be more inclusive of our population.”The executive panelist spoke about "Redefining Well-Being in Today’s Workplace"Leveraging employee resource groups can be a pathway to making well-being offerings more inclusive. Jackson shares how Major League Baseball initially had an individual mental health ERG but found that it was more effective to have mental health integrated into all its other groups instead. “If you can talk about mental health in the context of how you experience life across those different ERGs, it’s going to resonate and have a much greater impact,” Jackson said. ERG’s are also “a great employee listening tool” to see which benefits are working, and which are not, he says.Well-Being as Company CultureMore and more, company culture is becoming a driving factor behind not only employee retention but also overall business success. “FOX Sports is a household name. But we’re no longer getting people because of just our brand. It’s really [about the philosophy,]” said Kim Beauvais, EVP, HR & business operations, FOX Sports. For Beauvais’ organization, offering an inclusive wellness benefits package helps build a culture of psychological safety, and therefore, risk-taking. “We believe it’s okay to fail, it’s okay to try things,” she said. “And listen, we’re not curing cancer. We’re putting on sports TV! It should be fun. It should be fulfilling. There should be a purpose in what you’re doing. And you should feel like it’s a fun place to come to work.”Culture needs to be cultivated with intention, especially when employees are being asked to return to the office at least some of the time. You don’t want all employees to feel forced to return only to continue to stare at a screen. “We have to help people feel connected when they’re back in the office, so that they have a sense for being there,” said Jack Schutzbach, VP, HR, Americas, Groupe SEB.Understanding Your WorkforceEspecially in large corporations, well-being offerings should speak to employees’ unique lifestyles and work situations, Beauvais says, citing different needs like childcare, at-home work set ups, physical labor vs. desk jobs, etc. “The shift that we had to make over the last five years was that empathetic leadership, that empathetic philosophy that not every employee is created equal. We have multiple buckets and types of employees, [and] their situations are all very different,” she said. HR leaders need to be visible among employees, listen to their needs, market current benefits, and carefully investigate potential offerings to make sure they are viable for the current workforce.And always remember that generally, use of benefits can be confusing or stressful to employees. “We try to make exceptions where we can, to make sure that it’s an easy part of someone’s day, not a hard part. Being as flexible as possible is a good [idea],” Bondan said.“The role of the HR business partner is changing,” Beauvais added, so that it’s less about enforcing rules and more about providing support and care so employees can stay healthy and productive. “Being a part of their world and understanding what they’re going through, so that they do lean on you in those moments that they wouldn't normally reach out to you, is really important,” she said.Understanding Your Role in the ProcessUltimately, you must remember that as HR you are in a people-first business. “One of my favorite sayings is, ‘We’re human resources. Human is our first name. Resources is our last name.’ Our customers are our resources, and we’re responsible for the human side of our business. So, we add value when we do that,” Knobbe said. “And ROI–it’s both ‘return on investment’ and ‘return on individual.’ If you can get your programs and your communications right, people feel like it's about them, not just about whatever it is they’re trying to accomplish.”Jackson shares there are three layers of well-being benefits: organization, interpersonal, and individual. For years, HR was mostly just focused on the individual, emphasizing personal resilience and being reactive to problems after they occur. In today’s workplace, that’s no longer enough.“What’s your responsibility as an employer? The organizational layer is all about how you want to talk about mental health. How do you want to talk about culture? How do you want to talk about well-being? How do you set the right tone for the rest of the organization?” Jackson said.The structural elements should be supporting your company values, be it mental health benefits, fertility benefits, parental leave or more. And manager training should incorporate these values, teaching how to be “empathetic leaders that create mentally healthy environments,” Jackson said. “If you are intentional and look across how you run your organization from a well-being, benefits, and culture perspective, and assess at each of those three levels, that’s a good starting place to think about what you need to do to create that mentally healthy environment.”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 and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

Katie Chambers November 25, 2024

Focusing on Well-Being to Evolve Your Employee Value Proposition

An employee’s well-being is closely tied to their work environment, and employers must take ownership to support it. “Our job as HR professionals and as leaders is to return them to their loved ones in at least as good a position, if not a better position, than they were when they came to the company,” said Kenneth Smith, vice president of human resources at Vail Resorts.Smith joined four other executive panelists during a session about “Focusing on Well-Being to Evolve Your Employee Value Proposition,” moderated by journalist Cynthia Barnes. Getting the right perspective is everything, Smith says. Leadership must begin by understanding and connecting with team members on a personal level—because well-being is personal. “One of the most critical components of well-being is empathy, and I think that it’s important for us as leaders to understand our people, and that is a pathway to empathy which only comes from really paying attention to them and noticing them,” he said. Only then can employers truly focus on what their people need to succeed as people. Vail Resorts has adopted a core strategy, “Explore, Grow, Belong” to emphasize inclusion and belonging, which in turn fuels employee well-being. They also shifted their hiring approach, focusing less on whether employees ski and more on their skills and contributions. Because at some point, everyone is a beginner skier, Smith says. Psychological SafetyAn employee’s well-being in the workplace begins with psychological safety, says Donald Deas, director, HR business partner at the E.W. Scripps Co.“We have a different group of employees that are coming into the workforce now, and providing some psychological safety for them is critical to how we move them through the process of their personal and professional development,” he said.It all starts with onboarding, which Deas says should focus on fitting individuals into the organization’s culture by identifying what is meaningful to them, which fosters a sense of belonging. A company’s value proposition is part of a holistic package of benefits that attracts and retains employees. Beyond the typical medical and retirement benefits, what else can you offer employees? “We have counseling capabilities free for our employees,” Deas said. “We have different activities that keep them physically in shape,” as health is top of mind, he says.Executive panelists spoke about "Focusing on Well-Being to Evolve Your Employee Value Proposition"He also emphasized the need for processes to address unique employee needs while maintaining a fair approach that respects individual circumstances without confusing fairness with equality. Engagement and PurposeRecently, Discover has started having ASL interpreters at town halls and are looking at how they can bring in more neurodiverse people into the organization. It’s part of a bigger effort to help people feel included and engaged at work, says panelist Jill Coln, vice president of talent management, development and culture at Discover Financial Services.“If people are not engaged in the work that they’re doing, then that just starts to degrade their desire to be at the job, their desire to do well,” she said. Engagement goes hand-in-hand with purpose. When an employee doesn’t feel purpose in their position, it’s hard for them to feel value or well-being in the work community, says Coln.With a possible pending acquisition by Capital One on the horizon, the company has had to work harder to answer the questions on their employee's minds. People have been wondering, “What’s going to happen next, if this company buys us? Am I going to have benefits?” she said. “It’s all about communication, communication, communication.” Even if you don’t know details, Coln added, you can let employees know something is coming soon and that they will be kept in the loop.Since the merger, Discover has introduced programs called “Excelling Throughout Transformation” and “Leading Through Ambiguity” to guide leaders and employees through the changes, helping employees focus on what they can control. It helps keep them engaged and offers purpose, even amid changes. Diversity of Mental HealthFostering a healthy work environment requires a physically safe environment and a psychologically safe environment, says panelist Melissa Doman, organizational psychologist and BetterHelp business advisor. But there is another key, and that includes helping employees develop communication skills so they can feel confident in advocating for themselves. “One of the most pivotal things to employee well-being at work is actually giving people the words and the skills to talk about mental well-being at work,” she said. This helps employees gain confidence in advocating for themselves, and helps employers understand the diversity of mental health among employees. “I think a huge miss [in the workplace,] is when you have things like a Wellness Wednesday or something to bring people together, it does not take into account people’s experiences of mental health,” she said. Emphasizing that mental health should go beyond that, Doman added.She referenced David Rock’s SCARF model (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness), suggesting it as a framework for employers to understand and meet employees’ motivational needs, ultimately enhancing their sense of purpose.Integrating WellnessPanelist Marisa Carson, vice president of talent management and organizational effectiveness at Elevance Health, agreed that employers should dive deeper in order to help address workers’ mental health.She advocates for ongoing, year-round mental health initiatives beyond designated awareness days, encouraging managers to engage daily with their teams, showing empathy and addressing mental health needs“I would encourage all of you to look at that evergreen culture of mental health at work as something that runs parallel to any other form of professional development,” Carson said. “If it is seen as this optional wellness endeavor, people will treat it as such, and it’ll only come up a couple times a year.”Of course, something is better than nothing. Talking about mental health awareness on World Mental Health Day is great. But when mental health support is integrated into the company culture, it’s more effective. “What about all the other days in the year when life is still happening?” she asked. “There needs to be consistent messaging and consistent training.” It’s an ongoing conversation, not a box to check. It’s integral, not words on a website for new hires to hear about once a year. Rather, offer training once a quarter, or whatever makes sense in your organization,” Carson said. One big piece of integrating wellness is utilizing managers, as they are those who are reaching employees every day. So keep managers trained and sensitive to the needs of their people, and companies will see better employee well-being. In today’s evolving work environment, integrating well-being into an employee value proposition is no longer optional, it’s essential. When well-being becomes an everyday priority, companies don’t just improve retention; they cultivate a more resilient, motivated workforce that’s better prepared to face challenges together. Ultimately, it’s about creating a workplace where employees can thrive personally and professionally, benefiting both the people and the organization as a whole.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

Carrie Snider November 19, 2024

Well-Being at Work: Creating a Culture That Truly Cares

“The role of the employer is expanding,” said Matt Legere, the SVP of employee benefits consulting at brokerage firm Brown & Brown Insurance. “You have to be relevant to what employees are talking about and what they’re stressed out about at their kitchen table. Are you as an employer offering something that’s relevant in those moments?”At From Day One’s Manhattan conference on building a culture for workers and companies to thrive in times of change, Legere and his colleagues in employee wellness gathered to discuss how employers can use company culture to demonstrate their commitment to well-being. Crucial to success, the group agreed, are making well-being a centerpiece, respecting individual boundaries, and localizing policies and benefits to the people who use them.Make Well-Being an Ordinary Topic of Conversation“We’re humans, we’re all at work, and we’re here to be productive, of course, but our humanity doesn’t leave us just because we get to our desk,” said Morgan Bass Roper, director of inclusion and belonging at financial services firm BNY Mellon.Leaders must set this example openly and consistently. Some companies are making mental health and personal wellness a centerpiece for discussion, hoping to make it an ordinary part of the employee experience. BNY Mellon invited Maeve Duvally, author of Maeve Rising: Coming Out Trans in Corporate America, for a fireside chat with the company’s corporate affairs chief.“They had a conversation around authenticity in the workplace, allyship in the workplace, and about the coming-out journey. But in particular, they talked about Maeve’s mental health journey and how the resources and the allyship she received allowed her to feel comfortable to come out at work,” Bass Roper said. “Bringing Maeve to our company–a financial services company that’s been around for over 200 years–sends a message to folks who were listening to that, that ‘Maybe I can feel comfortable sharing a little bit more of myself and my journey, because it’s being put on this big stage at work.”Set the Example for Work-Life BalanceNobody but you can draw the line for world-life balance, says Chuck Abramo, the VP of human resources at hospitality company Delaware North. “Make sure you understand where your boundary is, both on the professional side and the personal side. Be able to say, ‘This is where I need to close the laptop today.’” It’s imperative that leaders do this in full view of their teams.Abramo says that he might prefer working late at night, which some might perceive as an imbalance. However, this approach enables him to work more flexibly. “I think that flexibility, and knowing that I can do that without somebody looking at me sideways, is incredibly important. Creating that culture is key. You could never put a dollar amount on it, I could never get X amount of comp at a different organization to replace that flexibility.”In conversation moderated by Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, the speakers discussed the topic "Does Your Company Genuinely Care About Well-Being? How to Show It Through Your Culture"Alyson Watson, founder and CEO of employee healthcare platform Modern Health, sets aside time in the work day for therapy and coaching sessions, and every evening carves out an extra hour or so to spend with her son–absolutely no work interruptions allowed.Everyone will balance the portions of their life differently, and the balance will certainly shift over time. For Watson, whose position puts her on call at all hours, wellness and high-performance are not mutually exclusive. “A lot of life is sacrifice. There may be moments in my life where I need to prioritize my family, and maybe the way I show up at work slips a little bit. Sometimes it’s the opposite, and I’m really focused on work because we’re raising around a funding or we’re launching a big new client,” she said. “I think there’s a world where we can do both: We can take care of ourselves, prioritize our mental health, prioritize our physical health, and support people to reach their potential.”Localizing Well-Being for All WorkersJust as work-life balance is best judged by the individual, so are the benefits workers use to achieve that equilibrium. That’s why HR leaders must commit to soliciting employee feedback and taking advice with an open mind. “We don’t know what they need until we ask them,” said Legere.He’s become quite keen on localizing wellness benefits and policies too. “You can look at your plan from a wellness perspective, physical, emotional, financial, and social,” Legere said. “But you can’t apply broad-based philosophies to every single location.”Legere pays close attention to communication and language. There’s little value in providing benefits and policy information to a predominantly Spanish-speaking workforce only in English, for instance. “Do they feel valued if we can’t communicate something that’s really complex in a way that they can understand?”In order for everyone to uphold a culture of well-being, and reinforce it consistently, Abramo says it begins as soon as workers walk in the door. “As HR leaders, we have defined it in our values so that we can tell people as we’re bringing them on board, so that we can take this to the other side and say, ‘Hold people accountable to those values.’”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza June 21, 2024