World Wellbeing Week 2025: Prioritising mental and physical health

World Wellbeing Week is a global event held annually to highlight the importance of personal wellbeing.

It recognises the many dimensions of wellbeing, from purposeful work and financial stability to physical, mental and emotional health. It also shines a light on social resilience, responsible leadership, strong community ties and environmental care.

Supporting wellbeing at work means creating an environment where people feel valued, supported and able to thrive. When employees feel that their wellbeing is being supported, the benefits are felt across the entire organisation.

Wellbeing matters more than ever

As the world of work continues to evolve, with new technologies, hybrid models, and rising demands, the wellbeing of employees is under increasing strain. World Wellbeing Week serves as a timely reminder of why employee wellbeing can no longer be viewed as optional. It’s a strategic imperative.

Recent findings from the HR Priority Report by Reward Gateway and Edenred reveal a stark truth: employee wellbeing is in crisis. Four in ten UK employees report that workplace concerns have negatively impacted their wellbeing, leaving many feeling unmotivated, unsupported and burnt out.

The current state of employee wellbeing

The data paints a troubling picture as 28% of UK employees say their mental wellbeing has worsened in recent years.

The top drivers of burnout are:

• Excessive workload (50%)
• Lack of resources (34%)
• Feeling unrecognised (31%)

Psychological safety is also under threat with fewer than half (47%) of employees feel they can take risks or make mistakes without fear of blame. These issues not only impact morale but directly affect retention and productivity.

Managers play a pivotal role in shaping workplace culture, yet many are underprepared. Just 57% of people managers feel confident in their ability to lead effectively, and 21% say they received no adequate training when stepping into people management roles.

The case for investing in wellbeing

Investing in employee wellbeing only has benefits. Employees spend as much time at work as they do at home, so it’s vital the workplace supports them. When your employees’ wellbeing is thriving, they take fewer sick days, deliver higher performance, and have lower rates of burnout and turnover.

Gallup research underscores this impact. Burnout-driven voluntary turnover accounts for 15% – 20% of payroll budgets each year, costing the global economy $322 billion (approximately £238 billion) in turnover and lost productivity.

World Wellbeing Week is a powerful reminder that creating a culture of wellbeing isn’t optional, it’s essential for sustainable success during uncertain times.

So, how can your organisation improve and protect your employees’ wellbeing?

3 ways to improve and protect employee wellbeing

Here are our top 3 tips:

1. Embed wellbeing into every HR policy

Wellbeing shouldn’t be an afterthought, it should be a consistent thread running through every HR policy and process. That means setting clear expectations, addressing the root causes of workplace stress and ensuring meaningful support is always available.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Review HR policies through a wellbeing lens. From health and safety, working hours, and sickness absence to recruitment, performance management, and return-to-work procedures, every touchpoint should actively support employee wellbeing
• Design processes with care. Performance reviews, disciplinary actions, and other formal procedures should reflect an understanding of how mental health and personal circumstances can impact behaviour or performance. Support options and reasonable adjustments must be explored before taking formal steps.
• Go beyond the minimum. Proactive policies around fertility, menopause, pregnancy loss, and gender transition show a genuine commitment to a people-first culture, one that values inclusion, dignity and care.
• Champion support and accessibility. Employees should always know what help is available, how to access it, and whether it’s provided internally or through external advocates. Clear, stigma-free communication makes a real difference.
• Stand by your values. In times when equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) are being questioned, your organisation’s commitment to doing the right thing, and protecting your people, becomes more important than ever.

Our HR policy support services are designed to help you review, refine and future-proof your people policies. We ensure they’re legally compliant, aligned with your organisational values, and built to promote wellbeing, fairness and consistency across every stage of the employee experience.

2. Empower managers to support wellbeing

Managers have the most immediate and lasting impact on employee wellbeing, but many aren’t set up to succeed. Just 57% feel equipped for the role, and 1 in 5 have received no formal training.

Often promoted based on performance rather than leadership experience, these ‘accidental managers’ are left to navigate complex people challenges without the tools or support they need.

This increases pressure, inconsistent decision-making, unnecessary HR escalations, and, most importantly, missed opportunities to support employee wellbeing.

Introducing empower®: Practical support for people managers and real-time insights for HR.

empower® gives managers the confidence to act early, safely and consistently. With step-by-step guidance and built-in templates, empower® helps them handle issues early and lead conversations with empathy, to support both wellbeing and business outcomes.

Key features:

• Clear, practical guidance for managing everyday people issues;
• Conversation frameworks to lead with empathy and confidence;
• Easy-to-use templates for documentation and follow-up;

empower® also delivers real-time people analytics and insights, helping HR and employee relations teams spot emerging trends before they become serious problems. Whether it’s a spike in absences, grievances, or team-level issues, empower® enables proactive, data-driven interventions.

3. Training improves wellbeing in the workplace

Creating a workplace that truly supports wellbeing starts with one essential step, giving people the knowledge, confidence, and language to talk about mental health, and take meaningful action when it matters most.

By embedding mental health awareness into your culture through targeted training, regular check-ins, access to mental health first aiders, and visible leadership support, you lay the foundation for a psychologically safe environment where people feel seen, supported and empowered to thrive.

Support for neurodiversity starts with understanding

Specialist training plays a critical role in helping managers understand the unique experiences of neurodivergent employees, such as differences in communication styles, information processing, or responses to stress.

With greater awareness, managers can have more inclusive conversations, make appropriate adjustments, and provide better day-to-day support, helping every individual feel valued and understood.

Create lasting impact

Education is key to sustaining a culture where wellbeing is a shared responsibility and unlock everyone’s potential.

Ongoing mental health training gives managers the tools to recognise early warning signs, lead with empathy, and confidently initiate supportive check-ins with their teams.

Our range of training options support your people and create lasting impact, improve resilience, and even potentially save your organisation costs associated with poor mental health, such as absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover.

Ready to improve wellbeing in your organisation?

Whether you’re looking to review your policies, empower your managers or embed meaningful training, we can help you build a wellbeing strategy that works for your people and your business.

Get in touch to explore how our HR consultancy, employee relations transformation technology and training programmes can support your organisation.