‘Set and forget’ no longer works in addressing wellness concerns

At a recent roundtable, senior human resources professionals reflected on the need for more holistic approaches to staff wellbeing, both against the backdrop of a changing professional landscape and an increasing need for HR to focus on commercial imperatives.

Earlier this month, HR Leader – in partnership with Gallagher – hosted a roundtable lunch in North Sydney at which HR managers spanning the legal, fund management, and technology sectors gathered to discuss the myriad workplace challenges being faced by the HR function in the current climate, and what issues and opportunities lie ahead in the new year.

The roundtable took place on the back of the publication of Gallagher’s 2025 Workforce Trends Report: Workplace Wellbeing, which showcased insights and analysis on employee wellbeing and the nexus to business performance. Among the takeaways from the report was the startling finding that one in four workers is currently experiencing burnout – which is coupled with a decrease in employee engagement, and desire to stay with a current employer. Moreover, three in four workers deem it important to have an organisational focus on wellbeing.

“Employees are at breaking point,” the report said.

This said, the report went on, there have been “many positive inroads” with wellbeing and benefits in recent times.

“Employees are much more aware of what good and bad looks like, thanks to a continued focus on wellbeing in broader society. This heightened awareness is a double-edged sword for many businesses. Employee expectations have now risen and the old way of doing things will not suffice to quell the rising tide of employee discontent,” it said.

Such a prospect, however, brings with it real opportunity: “The organisations that act and do so quickly will be the ones to reap the rewards. Continuing to ignore employee feedback will prove costly.”

Speaking at the roundtable, Gallagher’s national manager of corporate benefits, Silvia Pothoven (pictured), said that any attempted “set-and-forget” approach from employers “just doesn’t work anymore”, at a time in which technological advancements are upending workforce operations, shifting expectations and demands for office attendance, and the broader societal focus on wellness.

And, in an age where “it feels like everything is moving faster, especially since COVID-19”, she said, the onus is on HR to be on the front foot, not only in proactively ensuring optimal wellness but also doing so with a commercial lens.

Can the workplace wellbeing problem be solved?

Ben Carter, HR director at global law firm Dentons, agreed that the pandemic accelerated thinking on workplace wellness, with it now being close to, if not the, number one priority.

“As a society, we’ve made huge progress over the last few years around agile and hybrid working, [which has been] enormously beneficial to people, and also for families and carers as well,” he said, while noting that in professional services firms like his, challenges around long and intense working hours, as well as client demands, remain evergreen,” Carter said.

In the face of this, “[HR needs] to make sure that our people feel supported to operate sustainably in a high-pressure environment”.

Wilson Asset Management director of people and culture Veronica Carroll made a similar point: “I don’t think we’ll ever have a magic solution. The markets are always on; there are always things going on. Our teams are under enormous pressure, and for HR, it’s about managing, and it’s about preventing rather than solving.”

Wellness, Swaab head of people and culture Angela Sharpe said, needs to be holistic (encompassing mental, physical, financial, and social needs) and form part of an organisation’s business strategy, rather than being a box to be ticked.

“We recently partnered with the Sydney Breast Clinic to provide testing to staff. We’re covering the costs, the time off to undertake the process, and we also implemented skin checks and general health checks,” she said.

“One of the things I think we need to do is to continue to check in with staff and find out what value our employees are actually getting from [these initiatives]. Because while we think covering a gym membership may be beneficial, that’s not going to apply to everyone. People want to be sure that wellness programs are constantly evolving.”

This is also necessary, Konica Minolta chief people and culture officer Gabrielle Stevens said, in the context of hybrid working, in that employee and management expectations must be balanced against broader wellbeing. Constantly checking in with policies that have been set is necessary, she said, and must be an ongoing process.

“Every generation in the workplace seems to be more aware of what wellbeing needs they have, which is a good thing,” she said.

Such ongoing proactivity is essential, Pothoven said in response to attendees, given the number of businesses that Gallagher encounters that do not have visibility over the effectiveness of wellness benefits for their teams.

Having ways to meaningfully measure the benefits of initiatives, and then effectively utilise the data, is something that often “falls on deaf ears”, she remarked, which is problematic in the context of elevated rates of burnout.

Focus on commercial imperatives

Zooming out, part of the reason for such an ongoing focus on workplace wellness (and not succumbing to a “set-and-forget” approach) is the increasing need for the HR function to be “commercially led”, as Carroll put it.

“[HR needs] to understand the business, what its drivers are, what are the problems you’re trying to solve, what it’s trying to achieve, and then work the people initiatives around that – not the other way around,” she said.

“I think the HR profession is evolving to that, and I think – particularly at a senior level – if you want to be able to influence outcomes, you need to understand what the business is trying to achieve, so that you can then factor that in and tailor initiatives to achieve those outcomes.”

Stevens supported this, noting that HR has become more of a strategic function in recent years, meaning it not only has to be commercially driven but also “about initiating change and identifying what those changes need to be, rather than being the ‘order taker’ role”.

“I think that’s just so positive for the outcomes of the business, but also for the people in the business, because the voice of HR is so elevated now, and it’s so completely tied to strategy and achieving business goals,” she said.

One thing Sharpe has discovered, on this front, is the need for HR leaders to identify external factors out in the marketplace and then “bring that to the table” and share how those trends will impact the workforce.

“I find that a lot of our partners, for example, are quite often in their own world, and they’re unaware of what’s actually happening and the impact on others,” she said.

Carter supported this, saying that understanding what’s happening across the market, on top of appreciating how the business operates and makes money, is “the difference in becoming senior in HR”.

This is especially important, he added, given the “big, profound impact” of COVID-19 upon the workforce and businesses, and how it “brought HR right to the front of the agenda”.