Support employee wellbeing with less wellness

Across most workplaces I work with, the problem isn’t a lack of wellbeing initiatives. It’s actually too many, writes Jade Harman.

Yoga at lunchtime. Mindfulness seminars. Social events. Walking meetings. Step challenges.

All of these can be valuable, especially when they give employees a break from their desks. But for it to be successful, it needs to be done consistently. We’re inundated with ways to improve our health, but there isn’t enough time in the day to do all of them.

The customer service manager, who’s also a single mum of three, isn’t wondering which initiative to try. She’s wondering how she’s supposed to fit any of them in.

At the same time, we’re dealing with an overload of information, much of it conflicting. It’s no surprise people feel overwhelmed. When people are overwhelmed, they don’t take better action. They take no action.

We’re focusing on the wrong things

After every workshop I run, I finish with a Q&A. It’s always my favourite part.

Every time, I’ll be asked something along the lines of:

• What’s with the carnivore diet?
• Should I avoid seed oils?
• Should I be taking creatine?

Of course, I get some additional questions, too, but the main theme of the most common ones paints a really interesting story. We’re concerning ourselves with the wrong things.

If you look at how most Australians are eating, the biggest opportunity for improving health isn’t extreme diets or supplements. It’s really basic, boring stuff. We need to eat more fibre, better protein, and less discretionary foods.

The types of questions your employees are asking tell you everything. Your employees don’t need more information; they need clarity on what matters and how to apply it.

Why this matters at work

Nutrition isn’t just a personal issue; it’s showing up in how your people think, focus, and perform across the workday. It’s incredibly common to skip breakfast, be fuelled by caffeine, forget about lunch, and then snack on sugar to get by.

In the short term, this impacts energy, decision making, mood, and engagement. In the long term, it contributes to poorer health outcomes and increased risk of chronic disease.

When employees are under-fuelled and over-caffeinated, it impacts how they show up at work, and over time, it impacts their health outcomes.

Why most wellbeing initiatives don’t stick

A one-off workshop doesn’t qualify as a wellbeing initiative. It’s all information, and light on behaviour change. Employees may be engaged in the session, but once they leave and go back to real life, nothing changes.

Employees need help determining what’s right for them by filtering out the wrong information, and then help to implement it. Your initiatives need to be less about what to do, and focus on how to help employees do it instead.

There’s also a tendency to apply the same approach across different roles. A desk-based employee and a labour-intensive worker have completely different demands, schedules, and barriers.

The missing piece

Behaviour change doesn’t come from a single session. It comes from repetition, reinforcement, and relevance to employees. The most effective workplaces don’t just run wellbeing initiatives. They create ongoing exposure to simple, consistent messages from the same voice.

What you can do

The goal isn’t for HR managers to become health experts. It’s to create an environment where healthier choices feel easier for your team.

1. Simplify the message

Whether it’s nutrition, exercise, mental health, or another aspect of wellbeing, pick one experienced and trusted expert, rather than many on the one topic. Ensure they can simplify the information in their field and focus only on the “big rocks”, the big needle movers for better health.

2. Reinforce, don’t just deliver

Running a wellness initiative needs information, plus behaviour change. Behaviours don’t change overnight, so repeated exposure to the same message helps to keep it top of mind beyond the one workshop. Follow-up programs like regular 1:1’s or group coaching sessions work to help build on behaviour change and troubleshoot when life gets in the way.

3. Shape the environment

Ensure you look at what’s available in the environment. Is it a vending machine or a DIY snack bar? Can your staff book meetings over lunch breaks? Is it easier for staff to grab a chocolate bar or a banana? Do all celebrations involve food or alcohol? You’ll get an idea of what’s being reinforced without even meaning to.

The workplaces getting this right aren’t doing more. They’re doing it differently. When you simplify the message, make it relevant, and reinforce it over time, you don’t just improve health. You improve how your team shows up every day.

Your team doesn’t need more information. They need help to actually follow through.

Jade Harman is a clinical nutritionist and speaker.

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