Corporate wellness is a big business. In 2024, the global market was worth just over $63bn and, according to some analyses, is predicted to more than double by 2032.[1]
Companies are taking employee health more seriously in response to the growing interest across wider society. This includes a broader definition of wellbeing, encompassing everything from fitness and nutrition to coaching and therapy.
It’s clear to see why. Healthy people – physically, mentally and emotionally – mean productivity and high performance. McKinsey reports that investing in employee well-being can generate almost $12 trillion in global economic value.[2]
That’s a lot.
However, with burnout increasing across the working world, what was once seen as a nice-to-have perk is fast becoming an essential strategy to combat rising stress.
Wellness initiatives are now seen as a core solution to restore and rebalance the energy employees are depleting by getting their work done.
Is “well-being” enough?
We already know we’re not designed to be in stress states for extended periods. It not only impacts our physical health but also our cognitive function. It’s not great for us or the companies in which we work.
We’re in survival mode when working like this. We narrow our focus to what we deem essential, rather than being in the curious, expansive, exploratory state that helps us to be creative, innovate and thrive.
And, when it comes to thriving, well-being is just one half of the picture. Literally.
Brown et al. (2017) reviewed commonalities across existing definitions of “human thriving” from several research papers to develop the following mega-definition:
“Specifically, human thriving was defined as the joint experience of development and success, which can be realized through effective holistic functioning and observed through the experience of a high level of well-being and a perceived high level of performance.”[3]
(emphasis in bold is mine)
So, we can tap into the expertise of wellbeing and wellness professionals to help employees build strategies for dealing with and recovering from stress.
In addition, we need to look at the other factors that drain energy and prevent people from performing at their best.
Such as:
- Attending too many pointless and unproductive meetings
- Wasting time trying to find key information or documents
- Lack of meaning or context for their work
- Feeling isolated and disconnected from colleagues
- Not being recognised or appreciated
Addressing these areas can go a long way to improve how people feel at work.
Designing team culture for healthy people and a healthy business
Even if reducing workloads is not an immediate option, here are a few ideas to consider that can alleviate stress in other ways. In some cases, they even gain time back for employees to do more of what they do best.
1: Ensure your team has a clear sense of purpose
In busy teams, people are mostly head down in their work, concentrating on checking off their daily tasks.
We might assume everyone is on the same page and understands the team’s goals, but this may not be true. And if they are not, this can cause deeper problems.
For example, team members may waste time on the wrong things without connecting their daily tasks to the ‘why’ behind their work.
Siloes can start to emerge and work gets duplicated. Or worse, team members produce conflicting work that causes mix-ups and challenges later.
Above all, this lack of context can lead team members to question whether their work is truly making a difference. And as Daniel Pink demonstrated in his book Drive, purpose is one of the three key drivers of motivation for knowledge workers.[4]
What to do: Schedule regular big-picture thinking sessions to help individuals connect their tasks and contributions to the higher-level purpose and goals of the team. This helps with focus and prioritisation and even allows team members to influence the direction of their work, bringing more agency, engagement and accountability.
2: Create opportunities for colleagues to connect during work time
Naturally, a cohesive team works better together.
When people understand and appreciate each other’s differences, communication flows easily, and they deal with conflict more effectively and quickly. Where trust, psychological safety and respect exist, people feel valued and connected to their team.
However, we often schedule the social time that builds this environment outside core work hours. We label these activities “team-building” and separate them from what we deem “real” work.
If cohesion is so vital to a positive atmosphere, shouldn’t we craft intentional moments within our work to make this happen?
What to do: Co-design some light social rituals intended for connection and relationship-building (but be careful not to make it “forced fun”).
It could be a regular open question posted in a Slack channel, a check-in at the start of a meeting, or even a full meeting format you create. You might do something to de-brief and celebrate the end of a project or a collective achievement.
Think: “How can we understand a little bit more about each other so we can work well together?”
3: Build methods and processes to facilitate progress
Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer found a surprisingly simple way for managers to help their direct reports have better days: remove barriers to progress.
In The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement and Creativity at Work, the authors found that managers tend to overestimate aspects such as recognition and tangible incentives for their direct reports, and overlook the impact of making “progress in meaningful work” on generating positive emotions.[5]
For example, based on a research study of 2000 people by Lucid, a software firm, 53% of employees waste up to two hours per day trying to find information they need to do their work.[6] That’s up to a day a week that could be spent on more productive (and enjoyable) tasks by creating a more organised system.
What to do: Listen out for common frustrations across your team, and gather regular feedback to identify any bottlenecks they face.
Use group brainstorming and design thinking methods to find solutions for the biggest pain points first. This could include auditing team meetings and tweaking formats to make them more engaging and productive.
This process also shifts your team from working by default to a more proactive and design-led approach.
4: Build the foundations and capacity for change now so that you stay grounded through change
If there’s one thing we’ve collectively learned over the past five years, it’s that we never know what’s on the horizon. Change and uncertainty are becoming more of a feature in our working lives.
While unexpected events can be unsettling, upend your team’s workloads and create more stress, you have no control over how and when they happen. So we need to build our capacity and approach to dealing with them.
By building foundations and structures that support your team and keep you grounded through change, you can reduce the time it takes you to bounce back from disruption.
This is future-proofing your team culture.
What to do: consider your team culture a muscle that you keep exercising and building. Continue to strengthen your working methods, even when things are going well.
Develop routines and rituals that can create a sense of stability and familiarity when everything around you feels uncertain and chaotic.
Regularly reviewing and discussing your team’s habits sets you up to perform highly and at the same time builds skills and mindset for dealing with change.
A radical idea: Can work be energy-giving?
There will always be stressful seasons and periods at work, and addressing the above areas won’t make you immune. But it will lessen their negative impact and give you the tools to work through them.
Your team will feel valued and supported in other ways, bringing more enjoyment, connection and productivity to their work.
And then there comes an even more radical idea…that work can give us energy rather than drain us.
Because we’re:
- Doing fulfilling work that we are proud of
- Making good use of our expertise
- Seeing the impact we’re having
- Regularly removing blockers to progress
- Building productive and positive relationships with our colleagues
Designing and leading our team culture with intention leads to better well-being and high performance. We create environments that are optimised for learning, connecting and growth.
Because that’s the key to avoiding burnout in the first place: creating a positive working environment where employees can do their best work.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive articles like this in your inbox.
References:
-
Corporate Wellness Market Size, Share, and Trends 2025 to 2034. Precedence Research (2025)
-
Thriving workplaces: How employers can improve productivity and change lives. McKinsey (2025)
-
Human Thriving: A Conceptual Debate and Literature Review. Brown et al. (2017)
-
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Daniel Pink (2011)
-
The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement and Creativity at Work. Teresa Amabile & Steven Kramer (2011)
-
Half of workers waste two hours per day looking for stuff. Personnel Today (2025)